Falling immigration spells trouble for UK’s construction sector

Georgeta Gheorghe 07/03/2018 | 12:39

The UK constructions sector will record a shortage of workers, after Brexit, Bloomberg warns. According to statistics, one in four Romanian workers in the UK are employed in the country’s constructions sector. 

According to Bloomberg, almost a fifth of the labourers in the housing industry is represented by immigrants. The slowdown in the flow of immigrants recorded after the 2016 referendum on Brexit, is already pushing wages up and puts construction companies in a difficult position.

Moreover, the numbers are at odds with the UK government’s plans to increase the number of homes the government is planning to build each year. A total of 300,000 new homes are scheduled to be built every year to tackle the housing crisis affecting London and the Southeast.

EU nationals make about half the workforce on London’s construction market.

According to Bloomberg data, a net 12,000 immigrants arrived last year through September, compared with peak levels of around 50,000. “This group, along with workers from Romania and Bulgaria, accounts for the largest percentage of non-U.K. construction employees,” the source said.

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