Workers from EU Accession Countries 'Limited in Number' but filling the hard to fill positions Manpower report: ‘EU enlargement - one year on’
One year on from the expansion of the EU to include 10 new countries,
7% of UK employers are employing people from the new accession
states, according to a Manpower survey ‘EU enlargement –
one year on’ released today, 29 April 2005.
The report, based on independent research of 2,100 British companies,
conducted by NOP, was commissioned to celebrate the 12 month anniversary
of the 10 new accession states joining the EU on 1 May 2004. The
report examines how business is embracing the change and taking
advantage of a wider labour pool. This research follows-up a previous
survey conducted by Manpower in June 2004 one month after the
enlargement of the EU.
The latest Manpower survey shows that employers in the Construction
industry are the most likely to employ people from the new Member
States, with one in ten (10%) taking on these workers. Employers
in the Hotels and Retail (8%) and the Finance and Business Services
sectors (7%) are the next most likely to recruit.
The research also shows that many of these workers are finding
work in London - 15% of employers in the Capital are employing
new EU workers. Other popular destinations for EU jobseekers in
the UK are Yorkshire & Humberside (14%) and the West Midlands
(13%). Wales, the North East, North West and the East Midlands
have recruited fewer new EU workers with just 2% of companies
in these areas taking on these employees.
Manpower also found that there is a strong correlation between
business size and tendency to employ workers from the new EU states
- 31% of large companies compared with just 14% of small and micro-sized
businesses have taken on new Member State workers.
Ruth Hounslow, Head of Public Affairs at Manpower, says: “The
expansion of the EU has provided people with more freedom to travel
to find work. Our research shows that the number of such workers
from new Member States engaged in work in the UK today is limited
– something Manpower predicted was likely.
“However, this research also appears to demonstrate that
workers from the new Member States are a valuable resource for
British businesses, with expansion of the EU providing a good
opportunity to address some of the UK’s skills shortages.”
Separate research compiled from an analysis of data from the
Manpower UK branch network of 300 offices shows that the number
of job seekers from new Member States has grown over the last
year. 30% of branches are seeing on average more than 20 job seekers
every month compared to just 16% in June 2004.
An analysis of which roles new Member state workers are filling
shows that most of these job seekers continue to find employment
in positions that there is a great demand albeit for lower level
skills. The figures broadly reflect the situation in June 2004.
Jobs most commonly filled are Warehouse & Distribution (28%),
Production & Assembly (21%) and Unskilled Trade (24%) –
positions where there are also lots of vacancies and where roles
have been hard to fill.
The report also shows that workers who have joined British firms
tend to stay put: just under half of employers questioned who
have taken on workers from the new EU Member States said that
the workers they have recruited since 1 May are still in employment
with them.
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The report ‘EU enlargement – one year on’ is
available free of charge by contacting the Manpower press office
on 020 8870 6777 or email: Jeremy@saltlondon.com; jill@saltlondon.com
About Manpower
Manpower is the UK’s leading workforce management company,
specialising in permanent and temporary recruitment, HR services,
managed services, outsourcing and HR consultancy.
Manpower has been established in the UK since 1956 and today
works with organisations in both the public and private sector.
Manpower’s UK-wide network of 300 offices allows the company
to meet the needs of local and national customers. This includes
numerous small and medium sized enterprises, as well as larger
organisations such as BMW, BT, Heinz, Hertfordshire County Council,
IBM, National Health Service, New Deal South Wales, Royal Mail
and Xerox.
The focus of Manpower’s work is on raising productivity
through improved quality, efficiency and cost-reduction, enabling
customers to concentrate on their core business.
Manpower has a highly skilled workforce of 100,000 temporary
employees who stay loyal to the company (and its customers) thanks
to best in class employment benefits. These include a contract
of employment and a free e-learning tool offering staff over 1,000
courses in a diverse range of subjects, keeping Manpower’s
workforce up to date with today’s ever-changing working
environment.
