Jobs

In the UK we are familiar with the phenomenon whereby the economy creates more jobs, and this number is matched almost exactly by the increase in the number of working immigrants. Unemployment remains stubbornly high. Not unreasonably, those campaigning for “Leave” in the UK’s EU membership referendum on June 23rd suggest that this is substantially down to our inability to restrict the flow of low skilled labour into the UK whilst we are members of the EU.

Here is evidence that it may take some difficult decisions to achieve that – http://www.nzherald.co.nz/business/news/article.cfm?c_id=3&objectid=11635350

This article reports that “New Zealand created 120,000 new jobs in the past two years, but the number of unemployed and underemployed rose. Essentially New Zealand imported a net 123,900 people to do those jobs.”

New Zealand has complete control over its immigration policy and has a points based policy that is all but identical to the Australian system that UKIP propose to introduce in the UK, once we have left the EU.

It seems that here, as in the UK, business hates the idea of restrictions on the supply of labour that might push up wages, especially for the low skilled. And they are very effective in lobbying. So, driving down UK low skilled unemployment, after Brexit, is going to take a points based immigration policy implementation that draws howls of protest from “industry”. The fight really only starts with Brexit!