European interest in UK jobs dwindles

Non-EU workers "interest in low-paying work in the UK cannot offset their 41 per cent drop in interest from European workers since 2019, with hospitality especially affected.

On the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the Brexit referendum,

Not the drastic drop in interest in EU job-seekers elsewhere, a report suggests tighter post-Brexit immigration rules have a stark implications beyond the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

While interest from outside the EU in British jobs of all foreign workers has dwindled during 2020, demand from outside the EU has now receded to almost pre-pandemic levels, and interest from within it has continued to dwindle - in particular the low-paying jobs which are hardest hit by post-Brexit immigration rules

Clicks to job ads from non-EU countries only fell 1%, and searches by non-EU Irish people whose citizens are still entitled to live and work in the UK following Brexit dropped similarly over the same period.

The decreasing interest of the EU, which goes along with increasing interest from the rest of the world, could be due to the end of free movement for EU nationals in early 2021.

There is an increased interest from jobseekers coming from non-EU countries, commanded by Commonwealth countries like India and the former British territory of Hong Kong, but not sufficient to compensate for falls in EU interest rates.

Indeed, the analysis shows that with the UK economy regaining momentum and vacancy rates expanding, employers wishing to fill high-paying jobs might be able to replace EU candidates with personnel from the rest of the world, but those hoping to recruit for poorer-paid jobs from abroad could face additional challenges.