UK immigration hits record levels despite severe labour shortages

JESSICA FRANK-KEYES

IMMIGRATION to the UK has hit record levels, despite labour shortages in key sectors, amid a fresh wave of public positivity towards arrivals. In the year ending in June 2022, long-term immigration into the UK was around 1.1m, up by 435,000 on the previous annual figure.

Employment-related migration fell in vital sectors such as hospitality and transport, sparking worker shortfalls , a UK in a Changing Europe (UKICE) report found.

But the post-Brexit era has seen the biggest flow of refugees to the UK since the Second World War.

It comes just days after Prime Minister Rishi Sunak unveiled tough new legislation aimed at stopping small boat crossings in a bid to deliver on his five key pledges ahead of an election.

Jonathan Portes from UKICE said: “The biggest shake-up in UK immigration policy for half a century coincides with a sustained shift in public attitudes in a more positive direction.”