In the past year, native British workers took the bulk of jobs created in the United Kingdom.<br />
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According to official figures released earlier this month by the Office for National Statistics (<a href="ONShttp://www.statistics.gov.uk/">ONS;), people born in Great Britain filled approximately two out of every three of the 584,00 jobs created in the country during 2012. <br />
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The spike in employment among British-born workers was over 380,000, the biggest increase since the late 1990s. Since 1997, most new UK jobs went to people born in other countries. <br />
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The rise in British-born workers gaining employment is thought to be directly linked to the country’s crackdown on immigration over recent years. This shift comes six years after former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown, made his statement calling for, <em>“British jobs for British workers.”</em><br />
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Immigration Minister <a href="Mark">http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/about-us/our-organisation/ministers/mark-h… Harper </a>welcomed the news, pointing out, <em>“These figures show that we are building a better immigration system that works in the national interest and is supporting growth.” </em><br />
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Though the numbers released by the ONS do show that British-born citizens are benefiting the most, skilled migrants are still able to work in the UK when British businesses need them.<br />
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The report released by the ONS also shows that despite slow economic growth, the total number of people in employment has reached an all-time high for the fourth quarter of 2012. In fact, unemployment fell to 2.5 million during the same period and those claiming unemployment benefits fell to 1.54 million, the lowest number since June 2011.