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Spatial, sectoral and temporal trends in A8 migration to the UK 2004-2011. Evidence from the worker registration scheme

Spatial, sectoral and temporal trends in A8 migration to the UK 2004-2011. Evidence from the worker registration scheme
Spatial, sectoral and temporal trends in A8 migration to the UK 2004-2011. Evidence from the worker registration scheme
Since the enlargement of the European Union on 1st May 2004, large numbers of migrants from the A8 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Estonia) have joined the UK labour market and East-Central Europe has become one of the principal source regions of migrants to Britain. Nationals from these states now constitute some of the largest foreign-born populations in the country. As part of the transitional arrangements following accession, A8 migrants were required to register under the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) if they took up employment in the UK for one month or longer. The WRS operated between May 2004 and April 2011.

The WRS represents a uniquely detailed source of information on East-Central European labour migration to the UK in terms of the employment taken up by A8 migrants immediately after arrival in the UK. The research presented here analysed administrative data from the WRS in order to shed light on spatial, sectoral and temporal trends in registration flows. The findings in this report can help inform understanding of migration patterns, and responses to them, at the national and local government levels.

The volume of labour migration flows from East-Central Europe has been substantial, with 1,133,950 registrations recorded over the lifetime of the WRS (May 2004 – April 2011). These flows have been concentrated in particular segments of the labour market, with most A8 migrants engaging with the hospitality and agricultural sectors and often working through recruitment agencies as opposed to directly for employers. The volume of new arrivals from the A8 countries has decreased since the onset of the recession in 2008 but still remained substantial at the end of the WRS period. The demand for migrant labour has been relatively consistent in agriculture compared to other sectors of the economy during the recession, suggesting that employers in this sector may still require overseas workers as they struggle to source labour regardless of prevailing labour market conditions. In other sectors the requirement for overseas workers had receded to a large extent by 2011. Conceptually this points to A8 migrant labour serving distinct ‘functions’ in the UK labour market.
2042-4116
17
University of Southampton
McCollum, David
c3c30d9b-f56f-440e-9b72-d6c088adea36
Cook, Lorraine
b6875888-7b48-4002-b5a3-11a6ee1dc412
Chiroro, Canford
697ea8ac-b750-4c41-b2a2-3a0144cbb4d5
Platts, Alison
7cb65d35-0afd-4f89-b432-f7d3e27e9512
MacLeod, Franca
00ee2233-5fc7-4cd9-b661-fdc5443d36dc
Findlay, Allan
6f2552dd-27d4-4a2d-845e-842826584b8a
McGowan, Teresa
4524e894-04de-4822-8508-f4b966e12ae2
McCollum, David
c3c30d9b-f56f-440e-9b72-d6c088adea36
Cook, Lorraine
b6875888-7b48-4002-b5a3-11a6ee1dc412
Chiroro, Canford
697ea8ac-b750-4c41-b2a2-3a0144cbb4d5
Platts, Alison
7cb65d35-0afd-4f89-b432-f7d3e27e9512
MacLeod, Franca
00ee2233-5fc7-4cd9-b661-fdc5443d36dc
Findlay, Allan
6f2552dd-27d4-4a2d-845e-842826584b8a
McGowan, Teresa
4524e894-04de-4822-8508-f4b966e12ae2

McCollum, David, Cook, Lorraine, Chiroro, Canford, Platts, Alison, MacLeod, Franca and Findlay, Allan , McGowan, Teresa (ed.) (2012) Spatial, sectoral and temporal trends in A8 migration to the UK 2004-2011. Evidence from the worker registration scheme (ESRC Centre for Population Change Working Paper, 17) Southampton, GB. University of Southampton 39pp.

Record type: Monograph (Working Paper)

Abstract

Since the enlargement of the European Union on 1st May 2004, large numbers of migrants from the A8 countries (Poland, Czech Republic, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary and Estonia) have joined the UK labour market and East-Central Europe has become one of the principal source regions of migrants to Britain. Nationals from these states now constitute some of the largest foreign-born populations in the country. As part of the transitional arrangements following accession, A8 migrants were required to register under the Worker Registration Scheme (WRS) if they took up employment in the UK for one month or longer. The WRS operated between May 2004 and April 2011.

The WRS represents a uniquely detailed source of information on East-Central European labour migration to the UK in terms of the employment taken up by A8 migrants immediately after arrival in the UK. The research presented here analysed administrative data from the WRS in order to shed light on spatial, sectoral and temporal trends in registration flows. The findings in this report can help inform understanding of migration patterns, and responses to them, at the national and local government levels.

The volume of labour migration flows from East-Central Europe has been substantial, with 1,133,950 registrations recorded over the lifetime of the WRS (May 2004 – April 2011). These flows have been concentrated in particular segments of the labour market, with most A8 migrants engaging with the hospitality and agricultural sectors and often working through recruitment agencies as opposed to directly for employers. The volume of new arrivals from the A8 countries has decreased since the onset of the recession in 2008 but still remained substantial at the end of the WRS period. The demand for migrant labour has been relatively consistent in agriculture compared to other sectors of the economy during the recession, suggesting that employers in this sector may still require overseas workers as they struggle to source labour regardless of prevailing labour market conditions. In other sectors the requirement for overseas workers had receded to a large extent by 2011. Conceptually this points to A8 migrant labour serving distinct ‘functions’ in the UK labour market.

Text
2012_WP17_Spatial_Sectoral_and_Temporal_Trends_in_A8_Migration_McCollum_et_al.pdf - Other
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More information

Published date: 1 March 2012
Organisations: Social Statistics & Demography, Centre for Population Change

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 338978
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/338978
ISSN: 2042-4116
PURE UUID: b9a3164a-f431-466e-899e-dac57b9e3b6f
ORCID for Teresa McGowan: ORCID iD orcid.org/0009-0002-9231-3743

Catalogue record

Date deposited: 23 May 2012 10:18
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 03:23

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Contributors

Author: David McCollum
Author: Lorraine Cook
Author: Canford Chiroro
Author: Alison Platts
Author: Franca MacLeod
Author: Allan Findlay
Editor: Teresa McGowan ORCID iD

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