Study refutes claim that foreign nationals are depriving British-born workers of jobs
There is no link between rising immigration and rising unemployment, independent economists have found – contradicting persistent claims from anti-immigration activists and politicians that an influx of foreign nationals into the UK in recent years has led to more British-born workers on the dole.
The respected National Institute of Economic and Social Research found that there was "no association" between higher immigration and joblessness – even at times of recession or low growth of the sort that Britain is experiencing at the moment. In fact, the Institute's researchers suggested that the opposite might be the case and that immigration acts as an economic stimulus, pushing total employment levels higher and dole claimant numbers lower than they would otherwise have been.
"Perhaps surprisingly," their economists said, "the interaction between migrant inflows and GDP emerges as positive, indicating that during periods of lower growth, migrant inflows are associated with ... slower [dole] claimant growth than would otherwise have occurred." The researchers did concede that the stimulating effects of migration on the overall labour market at a time of recession are likely to be small.
The anti-immigration pressure group MigrationWatch claimed yesterday that rising immigration from Eastern and Central Europe since European Union enlargement in 2004 had contributed to a surge in youth unemployment in Britain, which is now above 1 million. MigrationWatch released its own report, saying: "Youth unemployment in the UK increased by almost 450,000 in the period from 2004 Q1 to 2011 Q3. Over the same period, numbers of workers from the A8 countries grew by 600,000.
"Correlation is not, of course, proof of causation but, given the positive employability characteristics and relative youth of migrants from these countries, it is implausible and counter-intuitive to conclude ... that A8 migration has had virtually no impact on UK youth unemployment."
However, critics of MigrationWatch pointed out that youth unemployment started rising before 2004, the point when Polish and other former Soviet bloc nationals were freely permitted to enter the UK to work.
And Jonathan Portes, the director of the National Institute of Economic and Social Research and former chief economist at the Cabinet Office, also argues today that most of the rise in youth unemployment took place in 2008 and 2009, a period during which the number of Eastern European workers entering Britain to seek employment dipped. Government ministers have implied a link between immigration and joblessness. "Controlling immigration is critical or we will risk losing another generation to dependency and hopelessness," said Iain Duncan Smith, the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, in a speech last July.
The Coalition has imposed a cap on immigration from outside the European Union and has pledged to reduce net migration to "the tens of thousands" a year by the end of this parliament in 2015. The Office for Budget Responsibility, however, has cast doubt on whether the Government will succeed in meeting this goal, with the Coalition's fiscal watchdog estimating that average annual migration until 2016 will be 140,000.
Net migration hit a record high of 252,000 in 2010, although this was mainly due to a sharp fall in the number of Britons leaving the country rather than an increase in immigration.
To analyse the impact of migration on the labour market, the Institute's researchers compared the overseas nationals who were allocated national insurance numbers in an area with the number of people claiming the dole locally.
Case studies: immigrant success stories
"I came with nothing. Now I employ four people" - Datsa Gaile, 39, Northampton
In seven years I have gone from living in a single room, scouring the country for a job – to editing my own newspaper and employing people. When I came to live in the UK in 2006, a friend and I arranged accommodation and work with an agency in Latvia. But when we arrived in London there was nothing. We thought we would have to stay on the streets. I realised I had to do things for myself. I made a CV and got a job. Then I brought my children to the UK. In 2009 I began studying for a BA in business studies at Northampton. At university, I began a paper for the Latvian community. We print 10,000 copies per month.
"I don't believe I'm taking someone else's job" - Agata Wasziewicz-Schmidt Dos Santos, 29, interpreter, Newquay
My husband and I came here in 2008 from Poland. First I worked at Starbucks because I couldn't get work in languages, even though I speak Polish, Portuguese and English. As soon as I changed my email address to a less foreign name, I started getting invited to interviews. I don't believe I'm taking someone else's job, because there aren't many people who speak Polish and Portuguese. I give back to the community, by working in schools and hospitals. My husband owns a martial arts business. He trains other instructors – one of them is an unemployed Brit.
Independent
Showing posts with label immigration myths. Show all posts
Showing posts with label immigration myths. Show all posts
January 10, 2012
December 16, 2010
Immigration does not cause unemployment
This article was submitted by one of our readers, Roddy Newman. We welcome any contributions from our supporters (as long as those contributions conform to the law and are in reasonably good taste). Please send your articles to us via email.
Fringe racist parties sometimes claim that immigration causes unemployment, and although their claim is untrue, as I will explain, many people who at the moment would not dream of voting for such parties, believe that myth, and may thus vote for them in the future.
For example, this June 2010 Pew Research poll revealed that 50% of Americans agree with the statement: "immigrants today are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care".
So, if the West ever has to go through the mass unemployment of the 1930's again, fringe racist parties could grow dramatically if the immigration causes unemployment myth is not debunked, as, for example in the US in the 1930's, many Mexicans, some of them US citizens, were rounded up and deported, because of claims that they were taking scarce jobs which white Americans could do.
Of course, if immigration did cause unemployment, countries like the US and Australia, whose populations almost all emigrated to those places in recent centuries, would have over 99% unemployment. The fact that they do not, and the fact that the large numbers of immigrants from all over the world who the US has been taking in every year since 1965, when people from all over the world were for the first time given the opportunity to move the US, do not continually increase the American unemployment rate, prove that racist parties are wrong when they say that immigration causes unemployment. In reality, immigrants spend all, or most of the money they earn in the countries which they move to, which creates jobs for the people who have to grow, or make, or provide, or sell the goods and services which immigrants buy or use.
So immigration simply increases the size of national economies, and people like Texas Republican politician Lamar Smith, who said this year that the USA's 15 million unemployment rate could be cut in half by taking jobs off 8 million illegal immigrants, and French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who used to say that the then 2 million immigrants in France were the reason for France's then 2 million unemployment rate, are wrong.
Of course, far right parties like the French NF are run by the least intelligent politicians in their countries, so it is to be expected that they should make incorrect statements like that. This Edinburgh University study found that BNP voters had a lower average IQ level than big 3 party, Green, SNP, and Plaid Cymru voters, and non-voters.
Because BNP type views appeal most to the least intelligent types of people, it is also thus to be expected that Green Party voters, who were found by the Edinburgh University researchers to have the highest average IQ level, have a more intelligent attitude to immigration than other types of voters, which is why the Green Party want to, for example, build a museum to highlight the contribution which immigrants have made to the UK.
Of course, the immigration causes unemployment myth, is part of a pattern of similar, relatively low intelligence, racist politician claims, by, in particular, BNP politicians, and all of those claims have to be refuted if racist parties are to be comprehensively defeated at the ballot box.
For example, the BNP win votes by moralising about Islamist terrorism when they may well have more terrorist connections than any other fascist party on the planet, as I showed in this article.
The BNP won votes after the expenses scandal by moralising about the corruption of the big 3 parties, but the BNP, and the also racist UKIP, are very corrupt, as I explained in this article.
The BNP wins also votes by moralising about violent Islamists, but both the leaders they have had, admired a now dead American fascist party leader who openly advocated killing all of the world's billions of non-white and Jewish people, as I pointed out in this article. Another way the BNP wins votes, is by moralising about crime, but their fascist ideology helps to create murderers and rapists, as I showed in this article. Moreover, BNP candidates and officials have a remarkable number of convictions for violent crime, as I explained in this article.
Finally, the BNP wins votes by moralising about Islamist extremism, when its founder was an admirer of Arnold Leese, a pre-World War 2 British fascist party leader who advocated gassing Jews long before the Nazis did (in 1928), as I pointed out in this article.
As these kinds of BNP moralising lead to not only an increase in BNP support, but also to racist and religious violence, and other hate crimes, it would be a good idea for anti-racist lawyers to sue the BNP for telling deliberate and malicious lies to incite racist and religious hatred, which
is the parent of racist and religious hate crimes. As I showed in this article, an American civil rights law firm has bankrupted numerous racist organisations and activists by suing them for compensation after hate crimes, but British law is stricter than American law, so it would be
possible to sue the BNP for not just engaging in hate crimes, but also for inciting hatred, which is why BNP leader Nick Griffin was successfully prosecuted for inciting racial hatred after he denied the Holocaust in a magazine.
Fringe racist parties sometimes claim that immigration causes unemployment, and although their claim is untrue, as I will explain, many people who at the moment would not dream of voting for such parties, believe that myth, and may thus vote for them in the future.
For example, this June 2010 Pew Research poll revealed that 50% of Americans agree with the statement: "immigrants today are a burden on our country because they take our jobs, housing and health care".
So, if the West ever has to go through the mass unemployment of the 1930's again, fringe racist parties could grow dramatically if the immigration causes unemployment myth is not debunked, as, for example in the US in the 1930's, many Mexicans, some of them US citizens, were rounded up and deported, because of claims that they were taking scarce jobs which white Americans could do.
Of course, if immigration did cause unemployment, countries like the US and Australia, whose populations almost all emigrated to those places in recent centuries, would have over 99% unemployment. The fact that they do not, and the fact that the large numbers of immigrants from all over the world who the US has been taking in every year since 1965, when people from all over the world were for the first time given the opportunity to move the US, do not continually increase the American unemployment rate, prove that racist parties are wrong when they say that immigration causes unemployment. In reality, immigrants spend all, or most of the money they earn in the countries which they move to, which creates jobs for the people who have to grow, or make, or provide, or sell the goods and services which immigrants buy or use.
So immigration simply increases the size of national economies, and people like Texas Republican politician Lamar Smith, who said this year that the USA's 15 million unemployment rate could be cut in half by taking jobs off 8 million illegal immigrants, and French National Front leader Jean-Marie Le Pen, who used to say that the then 2 million immigrants in France were the reason for France's then 2 million unemployment rate, are wrong.
Of course, far right parties like the French NF are run by the least intelligent politicians in their countries, so it is to be expected that they should make incorrect statements like that. This Edinburgh University study found that BNP voters had a lower average IQ level than big 3 party, Green, SNP, and Plaid Cymru voters, and non-voters.
Because BNP type views appeal most to the least intelligent types of people, it is also thus to be expected that Green Party voters, who were found by the Edinburgh University researchers to have the highest average IQ level, have a more intelligent attitude to immigration than other types of voters, which is why the Green Party want to, for example, build a museum to highlight the contribution which immigrants have made to the UK.
Of course, the immigration causes unemployment myth, is part of a pattern of similar, relatively low intelligence, racist politician claims, by, in particular, BNP politicians, and all of those claims have to be refuted if racist parties are to be comprehensively defeated at the ballot box.
For example, the BNP win votes by moralising about Islamist terrorism when they may well have more terrorist connections than any other fascist party on the planet, as I showed in this article.
The BNP won votes after the expenses scandal by moralising about the corruption of the big 3 parties, but the BNP, and the also racist UKIP, are very corrupt, as I explained in this article.
The BNP wins also votes by moralising about violent Islamists, but both the leaders they have had, admired a now dead American fascist party leader who openly advocated killing all of the world's billions of non-white and Jewish people, as I pointed out in this article. Another way the BNP wins votes, is by moralising about crime, but their fascist ideology helps to create murderers and rapists, as I showed in this article. Moreover, BNP candidates and officials have a remarkable number of convictions for violent crime, as I explained in this article.
Finally, the BNP wins votes by moralising about Islamist extremism, when its founder was an admirer of Arnold Leese, a pre-World War 2 British fascist party leader who advocated gassing Jews long before the Nazis did (in 1928), as I pointed out in this article.
As these kinds of BNP moralising lead to not only an increase in BNP support, but also to racist and religious violence, and other hate crimes, it would be a good idea for anti-racist lawyers to sue the BNP for telling deliberate and malicious lies to incite racist and religious hatred, which
is the parent of racist and religious hate crimes. As I showed in this article, an American civil rights law firm has bankrupted numerous racist organisations and activists by suing them for compensation after hate crimes, but British law is stricter than American law, so it would be
possible to sue the BNP for not just engaging in hate crimes, but also for inciting hatred, which is why BNP leader Nick Griffin was successfully prosecuted for inciting racial hatred after he denied the Holocaust in a magazine.
August 01, 2009
Ministers take far-right fight to estates
White, working-class areas to be targeted as Government attempts to thwart rise of the British National Party
White, working-class estates are to be targeted by a government campaign to head off the threat from far-right extremism. A list of "hot spots" considered susceptible to the far-right's messages is being drawn up by officials in the Department for Communities and Local Government. About 100 council wards will be identified by using crime, unemployment, and income data, supplemented by "soft intelligence" from local sources.
Each community will be targeted with "tailored" measures designed to steer them away from the far right. The tactics used will include:
In an interview with The Independent, John Denham, the Communities Secretary, admitted that the Government had been guilty of failing to communicate with the traditionally Labour-supporting areas in the past and now had to launch a "sustained and visible campaign" to re-engage white, working-class communities with mainstream politics.
"Very few people would actually see themselves as white supremacists or white fascists," Mr Denham said. "But we know that those communities are the ones that often say no one's speaking up for us. That's a sense populist parties can exploit. I think that there has been a concerted effort over the last 10 years to target resources at the most deprived communities. But I think if we're honest about it, the extent to which that work has really engaged a lot of local people has been patchy... Some are undoubtedly people who have voted Labour in the past."
The Government will use the campaign to take on the issue of immigration, explaining its points-based application system and tackling "myths" about social housing. Research published this month revealed that less than 2 per cent of public housing stock was occupied by people who had moved to Britain in the past five years, but a Government report this year found that people on working-class estates believed that refugees were being given priority for social housing.
"The factual evidence about take-up of housing is very clear," said Mr Denham. "But it doesn't mean that people don't believe that new social housing is going to migrants. There is a real discussion to be had about the priority given to the length of time someone has lived in an area – we think that is a legitimate discussion. That enables you to put the facts on the table."
The communities involved are expected to be identified soon after the summer recess, with work beginning in September. The scheme will also focus on highlighting help already available for accessing jobs, housing and child care, as well as action taken to tackle antisocial behaviour and health care.
Independent
White, working-class estates are to be targeted by a government campaign to head off the threat from far-right extremism. A list of "hot spots" considered susceptible to the far-right's messages is being drawn up by officials in the Department for Communities and Local Government. About 100 council wards will be identified by using crime, unemployment, and income data, supplemented by "soft intelligence" from local sources.
Each community will be targeted with "tailored" measures designed to steer them away from the far right. The tactics used will include:
- Holding "open and honest" discussions to allow residents to air grievances without being accused of racism, while tackling immigration "myths";
- Tackling segregation by bringing together people from neighbouring, but ethnically distinct communities;
- Focusing a £1bn new jobs fund on the areas, offering jobs and work experience for unemployed young people;
- Fostering more community leaders, who can help local authorities to respond to the concerns of communities;
- Forcing local authorities to be more transparent on social housing policies.
In an interview with The Independent, John Denham, the Communities Secretary, admitted that the Government had been guilty of failing to communicate with the traditionally Labour-supporting areas in the past and now had to launch a "sustained and visible campaign" to re-engage white, working-class communities with mainstream politics.
"Very few people would actually see themselves as white supremacists or white fascists," Mr Denham said. "But we know that those communities are the ones that often say no one's speaking up for us. That's a sense populist parties can exploit. I think that there has been a concerted effort over the last 10 years to target resources at the most deprived communities. But I think if we're honest about it, the extent to which that work has really engaged a lot of local people has been patchy... Some are undoubtedly people who have voted Labour in the past."
The Government will use the campaign to take on the issue of immigration, explaining its points-based application system and tackling "myths" about social housing. Research published this month revealed that less than 2 per cent of public housing stock was occupied by people who had moved to Britain in the past five years, but a Government report this year found that people on working-class estates believed that refugees were being given priority for social housing.
"The factual evidence about take-up of housing is very clear," said Mr Denham. "But it doesn't mean that people don't believe that new social housing is going to migrants. There is a real discussion to be had about the priority given to the length of time someone has lived in an area – we think that is a legitimate discussion. That enables you to put the facts on the table."
The communities involved are expected to be identified soon after the summer recess, with work beginning in September. The scheme will also focus on highlighting help already available for accessing jobs, housing and child care, as well as action taken to tackle antisocial behaviour and health care.
Independent
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