Migrant workers in the Humber sub-region

Aims

To look at the detailed distributions of migrant workers and identify key issues emerging for local service providers in the Humber sub-region.

Methodology

The research was commissioned by the Humber Improvement Partnership. The article presents counts of migrant workers published by the Institute of Public Policy Research [IPPR].

Key issues

The article summarises the part of the research about the location of workers, provides a chart of National Insurance Number [NINo] and Workers’ Registration Scheme [WRS] registrations 2004-2007, a distribution map of A8 / other countries and a chart of A8 nationality WRS registrations by local authority. A8 migrants are in every local authority in the UK. Concentration per 1,000 head of the population is a good indicator of the impact that migrant workers may be having on local economies and services. The population is relatively young, few claim benefits, employment rates are high, and most work long hours. The limitations of and differences between WRS and NINo data are discussed including difficulties of showing cross-border travelling from home to work, and lack of data on those here as there is no record of people leaving. Possible reasons are given for a drop in figures. Most migrant workers from A8 countries are Polish, and there are more men. WRS data indicates seasonality in work registration. Work sectors are in areas of lower skilled work.

Conclusions

Inward migration from A8 countries may have peaked, making it important to revisit the data in a year or two’s time.