CBI responds to latest quarterly immigration statistics

Matthew Fell, CBI Chief UK Policy Director, said:

“These latest statistics highlight the continuing trend of falling net EU migration amid growing shortages across all skills levels in the UK.

“92% of businesses cited Brexit as impacting their ability to recruit and train staff in 2018. This means Hospitals, schools and housebuilders are already struggling to get the staff they need. Banning workers from overseas earning less than £30,000 will only make this worse.

“Against the backdrop of Brexit economic assessments, implementing a restrictive approach to immigration would result in a double whammy for the UK economy.

“Any new system must be based on evidence rather than politically driven targets. Most importantly, firms of all sizes and sectors will need ample time to adjust to what will be a seismic change.”

Notes to Editors

The CBI set out its approach to a new post-Brexit migration system in Open & Controlled report, using evidence from 129,000 firms across 18 industry sectors.

The statistic ‘92% of businesses cited Brexit as impacting their ability to recruit and train staff’ was revealed in a CBI Brexit Preparedness survey, conducted in October 2018.