18. REMITTANCES AND FLOWS FROM CENTRAL AND EASTERN EUROPE TO THE UK
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skilled occupations (such as teaching). Three people indicated that they were currently unemployed. In addition, the interviewees primarily held intermediate-level qualifications in the form of diplomas (or equivalent), but in overall terms such qualifications appeared to have little influence on their current type of employment in the United Kingdom.
Results The results provide a detailed insight of CEE migrants’ motivations, aspirations, and expectations for traveling to or remaining within the United Kingdom. The discussion considers the extent to which these have remained the same or changed over time in an era of global financial crisis, and why this may be the case. This is crucial because without having a detailed insight into such issues, it becomes difficult to understand current practice in respect to the nature and level of CEE remittances and how these may evolve in the future.
CEE Migrants’ Motivations and Expectations for Traveling to or Remaining within the United Kingdom and the Influence of the Global Financial Crisis Consistent with the existing literature on CEE migration, economic motivations—in terms of both high rates of unemployment or a lack of opportunities in the labor market in their country of origin (a “push” factor) and perceived or actual employment opportunities in the United Kingdom (a “pull” factor)—were identified as the key reason for moving by virtually all of the interviewees. But on the other hand, existing studies do not tend to focus on the extent to which the relative importance of push-pull factors have changed over time for CEE migrants. In this respect, the study revealed that for around 60 percent of respondents, the influences on their decision to come to the United Kingdom (and the North West region) had not changed since they had arrived. This was despite, in theory, their “agency” increasing as a result of becoming eligible for certain forms of state benefits (such as income support and housing benefit) once they had been in continuous employment for more than 12 months. As one interviewee summarized: “Work and solid pay is still the main motivation to stay despite the current downturn … this country (the United Kingdom) currently provides much more employment opportunities for people than in Poland.” For most of the remaining respondents, the research revealed that securing employment in the United Kingdom, coupled with a view that conditions in their home country had deteriorated further relative to the U.K. labor market (and a perception of fewer opportunities for their children in the future), had simply served to reinforce the importance of the “push” and “pull” factors that had caused them to move before the economic downturn. As another respondent noted: “At the moment I am here because I