A poll of 24 countries revealed a significant rise in British acceptance of economic migration through different immigration programs. The UK stands out as one of the most welcoming countries worldwide for inviting overseas employers. Since the pandemic, the UK has been battling against a serious workforce shortage. To deal with this workforce shortage, the only effective method is immigration.
People in the UK think that when there are limited jobs in the market, preference must be given to the local people over people who are in Norway, France, Spain, Canada, the US, Australia, and Japan. However, only Germany and Sweden were more friendly and interested in inviting overseas workers.
65% of people in the UK agreed that the primacy should go to the local people over overseas workers in 2009. On the other hand, when the same question was asked in 2022, only 29% of UK people agreed with this statement. It is considered an amazing shift, according to the study’s author.
The results come when companies are urging increased immigration to help fill more than 1 million job openings.
According to Prof. Bobby Duffy, director of the Policy Institute at King’s College London, “it was unimaginable a decade ago that the UK would top any international league table for positive opinions of immigration.” Prof. Duffy shared the results of the most recent round of the survey exclusively with the Guardian and the BBC.
For the idea that immigrants positively influence the country’s growth, the UK placed fourth out of 24 countries, overtaking Norway, Spain, the US, and Sweden.
The change in the notion that “Local people should be considered first for jobs” could be the recession of 2009. In 2009, the UK went through a severe recession, which was double today’s unemployment. Conversely, at present times, the UK has been going through a serious workforce shortage, affecting economic activities. There are approximately 1.1 million vacant positions in the UK across different sectors. Out of these 1.1 million vacant positions, around 300,000 are before the pandemic.
In 2022, the UK immigration minister, Mr. Robert Jenrick, expressed that employers must look for locals to fill the vacancies. In case there is no local to fill the open vacancy, you can hire overseas workers. To increase the arrival of seasonal and care workers, the concerned authorities have streamlined and increased visa programs.
According to the world value survey, out of 24 countries, the UK is least likely to think that immigration leads to unemployment. Also, the UK ranks as the second country out of 24 to believe that immigration helps to fill vacant positions on an urgent basis.
People in the UK think that immigration promotes cultural diversity positively without leading to crime and harm to the nation’s safety.
Similar questions were asked by the people of 24 different countries but at different times. These 24 countries are responsible for more than half the world’s population. The data accumulated through the UK survey was compared with other countries’ data.
According to Madeleine Sumption, director of the migration observatory at Oxford University, “we observed an extraordinary change in the UK.” She said the findings were consistent with declining public unease over immigration after the 2016 EU referendum.
Further, she added, “I believe it has the potential to make room for a less polarized conversation about immigration. To the extent that there is agreement that immigration may benefit the country and the point is how to manage it properly, you would think it would be more of a technocratic argument.”
She continued by saying that migrant workers’ contributions to the economy have also received favorable media attention, particularly in labor shortages in sectors such as agriculture.
The country’s point-based system helps pick up the best workers from worldwide who can actively contribute to the country’s economic and social development. This system helps to bring diversified talent by considering skill sets and experience first, not where they come from.
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