Four Out of Five New UK Jobs Since 2014 Filled by Immigrants, Report Shows
A new CSJ report in the UK reveals that four out of five new jobs since 2014 went to immigrants, alongside a sharp rise in working-age welfare claimants.
A new report by the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ) in the United Kingdom reveals that four out of every five new jobs created in the country since 2014 have been filled by foreign nationals. According to the data, out of an increase of approximately 3.7 million jobs in the tax system, only 734,000 positions went to British citizens, compared to 408,000 EU citizens and roughly 2.5 million citizens from outside the European Union.
The "Boris Wave" and Welfare Dependency
The study points to a sharp surge in immigration since 2020, a period dubbed the "Boris Wave," during which nearly four million immigrants received work or study visas in the UK. Alongside the rise in foreign workers, a dramatic increase of 2.3 million working-age Britons claiming out-of-work benefits was reported. Real annual spending on working-age welfare has surged by 50 billion pounds since the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, founder of the CSJ and presenter of the comprehensive 250-page report titled "Dependency State," accused successive governments of systematically using welfare as compensation for economic failure in various parts of the country. Instead of fostering growth and developing the skills of local residents, government ministers repeatedly chose the "easy lever" of encouraging large-scale immigration.
Economic Impact and Government Response
The data shows that the growth in foreign workers has concentrated primarily in sectors such as care, hospitality, retail, and administrative services, which traditionally serve as entry points to the labor market for disadvantaged populations. Conversely, the report warns that government budget forecasting encourages short-term thinking, as it captures immediate increases in tax revenues and employment numbers while ignoring long-term costs associated with future benefit eligibility and an aging immigrant population.
In response, the UK government stated that the majority of the country's workforce consists of domestic citizens and that it has implemented a skills-based immigration system to prioritize British workers while addressing economic needs. Simultaneously, the government is promoting welfare reforms that include investing in one million job opportunities for young people and assisting people with disabilities to integrate into the labor market.
