Immigrant employment rate 'higher than UK-born average'

The employment rate among immigrants from countries that joined the EU four years ago is higher than the UK-born average, according to a report by the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR).

The employment rate among nationals from the eight Central and Eastern European countries that joined the EU on 1 May 2004 stands at 84%. The figure is 9% higher than the UK-born average, and is the highest employment rate of all immigrant groups in the UK.

Polish nationals form the single largest foreign group living in the UK. However, the report suggests that approximately half of all immigrants who moved to Britain from the new EU member states have already left the country.

The think-tank, which is considered by some to have strong ties to the Labour party, also predicts that fewer emigrants from these nations will come to the UK in the future, and that more will return home.

Among the factors behind this trend, the IPPR cites economic development in new EU countries and increased migration to other EU member states, as they relax their immigration restrictions.