LCCI Quarterly Economic Survey, Q3 2014 – Immigration

Less than one third of London businesses employing migrant workers

According to research from the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the perception that huge swathes of the London labour market are being swallowed up by migrant workers is a misnomer. The research shows that only 28% of London businesses employ workers from outside of the UK.

However, the skills brought by migrant workers are critical to helping the capital’s businesses compete in an increasingly international market. The main reasons stated for employing staff from other parts of the EU are their foreign language skills (29%) and a short supply of UK applicants with the required skills (27%) or experience (23%).

Demand for migrant workers is far higher among larger firms that are likely to require more skilled workers, and this includes those in sectors such as IT, communications, education and health.

ComRes interviewed 516 London business decision makers between 26th August and 22nd September 2014. Data were weighted to be representative of all London businesses by company size and broad industry sector.

Date Published: 07/10/2014