100,000 Polish workers say goodbye to Britain as jobs become harder to find

Around 100,000 Polish workers have quit Britain over the past year, ministers said yesterday.

The retreat has come as jobs become harder to find and the pound has weakened against European currencies.

Officials now believe that as many as half of those who flooded in from Eastern Europe after the EU relaxed its rules in 2004 may now have gone home.

That would mean as many as 350,000 have returned over the past two years.

Any exodus has yet to show up in surveys published by the Government's Office for National Statistics, which has been stepping up efforts to record accurate levels of immigration.

ONS estimates have continued to show the population is increasing because of immigration.



Polish people who came to the United Kingdom to find work are returning.

However there have been signs, particularly in the construction industry, that fewer Eastern European workers are available, leading to concerns about labour shortages.

Border and immigration minister Phil Woolas said: 'It would appear an estimated 100,000 Polish workers left over the past year.

'Businesses need skilled workers from countries like Poland to help them grow.

'But we need to balance the needs of the economy with managing population growth.'

A spokesman for the UK Border Agency said: 'Our figures show that fewer Eastern Europeans are coming here and research suggests that half of those that came to the UK to work have now gone home.

'On top of this our new points system means only those with the skills we need will be able to work or study here and no more.



'This strict new system, plus our plans for newcomers to earn citizenship, will reduce overall numbers of economic migrants coming to Britain, and the numbers that stay.'

Among indicators available to ministers is the Worker Registration Scheme, set up in 2004 when Poland and seven other Eastern European countries joined the EU. The scheme was intended to check the number of incoming workers and limit their rights to state benefits.

Last year 150,245 Poles applied to join the register. But this year numbers are likely to be below 100,000.

The scheme does not count all Eastern European migrants because it does not include self-employed workers, while many are thought to have avoided it entirely.

According to a study by the ONS, the number of Eastern Europeans with jobs has gone up by 381,000 since 2001 and the number of other foreigners in employment rose by 480,000.

In all around 700,000 Eastern European migrants are thought to have come to Britain.

The Conservatives claim the fall shows that immigration levels can be reduced. Shadow Home Secretary Dominic Grieve said: 'We are glad the Government is coming round to our way of thinking.

'This is yet more evidence that immigration can be controlled and the Government should answer our calls to have an annual limit on non-EU immigration.'

