Report Finds Only One in Five New Jobs in a Decade Went to Britons

Only one in five staff jobs created over the past decade has gone to a Briton, according to a new report from the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). The analysis found that out of 3.7 million new payrolled roles since 2014, just 734,000 were filled by UK nationals.

EU citizens accounted for 408,000 of these new positions, while the vast majority – 2.5 million – were taken by migrants from outside the EU. The CSJ noted that the increase in non-EU employment accelerated significantly after the pandemic, with 2.1 million such roles added since 2020.

The think-tank warned that while employers have gained access to overseas labor, taxpayers have been burdened with the cost of Britons being left on benefits due to a lack of opportunities. This comes as Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood acknowledged lobbying from fellow ministers for increased foreign worker intake. The Daily Mail previously reported that Whitehall departments spent at least £5 million on over 1,500 visas for migrant staff since the last election.

Sir Iain Duncan Smith, founder of the CSJ and a former Cabinet minister, stated that the report indicates the crisis extends beyond the welfare system. He argued that successive governments have relied on welfare to compensate for economic failures rather than fostering prosperity. "Ministers have repeatedly pulled the easy lever of immigration rather than providing a better deal for left behind communities," he said, emphasizing that welfare reform, immigration, and regional growth should be addressed holistically.

The CSJ's analysis of HMRC figures revealed a decline in British nationals in payrolled jobs in several regions between July 2014 and December 2025. For instance, Scotland saw a decrease of 53,000 British jobs, and the West Midlands experienced a drop of 32,000.

Conversely, non-EU payroll jobs saw substantial growth in certain areas during the same period. London alone added 465,200 non-EU positions, with the South East gaining an additional 284,500. The health and social work sector represented 29 percent of the increase in non-EU nationals on payrolls, followed by administrative and support services at 16 percent, and accommodation and food services at 12 percent.

Richard Tice, Deputy Leader of Reform UK, criticized the report's findings, calling it a "damning indictment" of successive governments' low-wage economic models that disregard a significant portion of the British population. He asserted that Reform UK would aim to end the welfare trap, halt mass immigration, and prioritize British workers for available jobs.

In response to the high numbers of migrants settling in the UK, the Home Secretary had previously announced plans to extend the waiting period for Indefinite Leave to Remain. However, following pushback from the Labour left and trade unions, Mahmood indicated at the recent Labour conference that these proposals might be softened. She stated that the government would seek a balance between fairness for legal immigrants and British citizens.