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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Romanian and Bulgarian migration: UK worker numbers show dip | Romanian and Bulgarian migration: UK worker numbers show dip |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| There were 140,000 Romanians and Bulgarians employed in the UK in the first three months after visa controls were lifted, figures show. | There were 140,000 Romanians and Bulgarians employed in the UK in the first three months after visa controls were lifted, figures show. |
| This was down by 4,000 on the final quarter of 2013, but up by 29,000 compared with the same time last year. | |
| On 1 January, Bulgarians and Romanians gained the same rights to work in the UK as other EU citizens. | On 1 January, Bulgarians and Romanians gained the same rights to work in the UK as other EU citizens. |
| The Office for National Statistics figures show the number of people employed in the UK by country of birth. | The Office for National Statistics figures show the number of people employed in the UK by country of birth. |
| 'Inflammatory rhetoric' | 'Inflammatory rhetoric' |
| The government has not said how many new arrivals it expects as a result of the visa changes. | The government has not said how many new arrivals it expects as a result of the visa changes. |
| The pressure group Migration Watch estimated the UK could expect 50,000 arrivals a year from the two countries and the UK Independence Party predicted large numbers of new immigrants. | The pressure group Migration Watch estimated the UK could expect 50,000 arrivals a year from the two countries and the UK Independence Party predicted large numbers of new immigrants. |
| Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander says the data "gives the lie to UKIP's scaremongering on immigration". | Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander says the data "gives the lie to UKIP's scaremongering on immigration". |
| He said: "The very modest number of Romanians and Bulgarians coming to work in Britain this year is in stark contrast to the inflammatory rhetoric of earlier this year." | He said: "The very modest number of Romanians and Bulgarians coming to work in Britain this year is in stark contrast to the inflammatory rhetoric of earlier this year." |
| UKIP leader Nigel Farage said the figures showed "another huge increase" in foreign workers. | |
| The BBC's home editor Mark Easton said a "huge wave" of new arrivals clearly hadn't happened in the first three months of the year. | The BBC's home editor Mark Easton said a "huge wave" of new arrivals clearly hadn't happened in the first three months of the year. |
| But he said it was too early to get a full picture of the numbers that would move. | But he said it was too early to get a full picture of the numbers that would move. |
| "This is just the first three months, there may be all sorts of reasons why that number is not as high as some people predicted." | "This is just the first three months, there may be all sorts of reasons why that number is not as high as some people predicted." |
| Partners and children | |
| Sir Andrew Green, of Migration Watch, said he stood by the 50,000 figure, which included partners and children of those seeking work. | |
| "The latest figures suggest there'll be a continuing flow of Romanians and Bulgarians but they don't tell us much about the scale of the flow," he said. | |
| Oxford University's Migration Observatory said there were usually more workers from the two countries in the first three months of a year than the last three months of the previous one. | |
| Dr Carlos Vargas-Silva, a senior researcher at the observatory, said the workforce figures were a "valuable first step" but that the long-term implications of lifting the restrictions were still not known. |