Temporary exodus linked to the pandemic, a real Brexit effect or a clever mix of the two?
1.3 million foreign workers have left the United Kingdom since the end of 2019, according to a study conducted by the Economic Statistics Center of Excellence of the Office for National Statistics, the British equivalent of INSEE.
Nearly 700,000 foreign workers have fled London, nearly 8% of the British capital's population.
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Begun in 2016, the year of the Brexit referendum, the departure of “
non-natives
” was accentuated with the pandemic.
“Much of the burden of job losses linked to the pandemic has fallen on non-British workers
,
”
study authors Michael O'Connor and Jonathan Portes explain.
The country has experienced three confinements in a row since March 2020. Some European residents who did not yet benefit from permanent resident status, -
settled status -
have not been able to access social benefits or housing assistance.
Once the containment measures are lifted, this flight of foreign workers could penalize employers in the hotel-catering and trade sector across the Channel, who fear a shortage of foreign labor.
217,000 non-British workers employed in commerce have already left the country last year and nearly 158,000 in the hotel and catering sector.
Since January 1, 2021, Europeans wishing to emigrate across the Channel have been subject to a new points-based immigration system, in which financial resources are taken into account to obtain a visa, valid for five years.
Designed to favor qualified European workers, the new selection thresholds require nationals to prove a minimum income of 20,000 pounds per year (23,155 euros).
A system which penalizes in particular European citizens who wish to travel across the Channel to become a young girl or au pair.
British families pay them an average of £ 100 per week, or £ 5,000 per year.
It remains to be seen in the coming months whether the exodus of Europeans is confirmed or whether some workers will finally return to the country when activity resumes.
