Fall in flow of EU nationals coincides with drop in job applicants

An abrupt fall in flow of EU nationals into the UK has coincided with a drop in the quantity and suitability of job applicants being reported by employers, according to the latest quarterly Labour Market Outlook from the CIPD and The Adecco Group.

The survey of 2,001 employers found that the growth in labour supply is failing to keep pace with labour demand, exacerbated by a ‘supply shock’ of far fewer EU nationals coming into the UK. The respondents said that they received an average (median) of 20 applicants for the last ‘low-skilled’ vacancy they tried to fill, compared with 24 candidates in summer 2017 and 25 candidates in autumn 2015.

And the gap isn’t just affecting so-called low-skilled roles either. Employers received an average (median) of 10 applicants for the last medium-skill vacancy they tried to fill, compared to 19 applicants in summer 2017. They also reported receiving a median number of 6 applicants for the for the last high-skilled vacancy they tried to fill, compared with 8 applicants last year.

“The most recent official data shows that there has been a significant slowdown in the number of EU nationals coming to work in the UK over the past year,”