Brexit continues to harm the UK’s attractiveness as a place to look for work for EU professionals, but there are signs that this may be contributing to the creation of new opportunities for workers already in the UK, according to new analysis by LinkedIn.
LinkedIn’s Workforce Insights report, released today, includes an analysis of the job searching behaviour and international migration of LinkedIn members, and a survey of 600 UK recruiters.
UK less attractive to EU27 workers
The UK continues to become relatively less attractive to job seekers from the EU: the share of international views of UK jobs that come from EU 27 countries, which declined after the referendum vote, continues to fall – dropping from 52 per cent in Q1 2018 to 47 per cent in Q1 2019. According to LinkedIn’s analysis of its tens of millions of members across the EU, in the three year period since Q1 2016, migration of professionals from other EU countries to the UK has fallen by 30 per cent. In the first three months of 2016 11 LinkedIn members moved to the UK from the EU 27 countries, per 10,000 UK members. This had fallen to 7.7 members per 10,000 UK members for the same period this year. These statistics are backed up by sentiment among UK recruiters: 43 per cent of respondents say the UK is less attractive to candidates from the EU since the referendum, and 60 per cent say Brexit is negatively impacting the UK’s talent brand. Sixty four percent say Brexit is creating a skills gap in certain areas due to diminished access to international candidates.
Mariano Mamertino, Senior Economist at LinkedIn, commented,
Take a closer look at the robust employment numbers from the ONS and you will see a labour market getting close to working at full capacity. At the same time, our analysis shows a continued drop in the share of EU professionals interested in jobs in the UK, and a drop in those moving here, while recruiters are consistently reporting that the perception of the UK as a good place to find work has been hit. Fast forward a few months and this may take an extra toll on British businesses that are already reporting skills shortages in certain areas.
Opportunities for workers in the UK
Between 2016 and 2019, outward migration from the UK to countries outside the EU has also fallen. There has been a 34 per cent drop in UK to non-EU migration, from 19.7 to 12.9 members per 10,000. UK residents who may have left in the past, appear to be staying in the country, and this may be partly due to the high number of job opportunities available, as reported by the ONS. Recruiters report that, faced with a perceived smaller talent pool and diminished access to EU professionals, many businesses are already exploring new ways to compete for the best domestic UK talent. Three quarters (75per cent) of respondents report an increase in businesses looking to source candidates from within the UK, rather than internationally. Recruiters say salaries are also rising in response to talent shortages: half (5 4per cent) of recruiters report that businesses are increasing salary offers to hire the right people, and 43 per cent report that businesses are giving existing employees salary increases to prevent them looking elsewhere. Benefits are also being improved: almost half of respondents (49 per cent) report that businesses they work with are increasing benefit offers, such as pension contributions, and 41 per cent are offering candidates more flexible working opportunities in order to make their organisations more attractive to potential candidates. There are also opportunities for young people: nearly half (45 per cent) of talent professionals are seeing an increase in the number of graduate programmes on offer, while a similar number (40 per cent) have noticed a bump in the number of internships.
Mamertino continued,
In the long term, talent shortages risk making the UK less competitive, but for now there is evidence to suggest that businesses are responding to the talent shortages by increasing their focus on the workforce already here in the UK. This includes extending their search into sometimes neglected pools of labour, including the young, the old, and those who have left the workforce. Recent ONS data shows how this is also contributing to increased female employment – which is the highest it has ever been – and more students and young people in the workforce too.
Interested in managing talent and recruiting EU workers? We recommend the Talent Management and Leadership Development Summit 2019 and Immigration for Recruiters: Right to Work in the UK training day.
Aphrodite is a creative writer and editor specialising in publishing and communications. She is passionate about undertaking projects in diverse sectors. She has written and edited copy for media as varied as social enterprise, art, fashion and education. She is at her most happy owning a project from its very conception, focusing on the client and project research in the first instance, and working closely with CEOs and Directors throughout the consultation process. Much of her work has focused on rebranding; messaging and tone of voice is one of her expertise, as is a distinctively unique writing style in my most of her creative projects. Her work is always driven by the versatility of language to galvanise image and to change perception, as it is by inspiring and being inspired by the wondrous diversity of people with whom paths she crosses cross!
Aphrodite has had a variety of high profile industry clients as a freelancer, and previously worked for a number of years as an Editor and Journalist for Prospects.ac.uk.
Aphrodite is also a professional painter.
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