British nationals getting just one-fifth of new jobs as non-EU hiring soars, report finds

Become an Independent member to bookmark this article Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Membership today. Join today Already a member? Log in Only one in five job additions to UK payrolls since 2014 were taken by British citizens, with the vast majority going to workers from outside the EU, new analysis indicates. About 734,000 British nationals were added to HM Revenue and Customs ’ Paye system - which automatically deducts tax from monthly wages - between 2014 and the end of 2025, according to the Centre for Social Justice (CSJ). By contrast, 2.5 million non-EU citizens and 408,000 EU nationals entered the tax system over the same timeframe, research from the centre-right think tank’s State of Dependency report suggests. The 250-page document warns that successive governments have relied on low-skilled migration to fill employment gaps, while an increasing number of domestic workers have been left out of work and turned to welfare for support. This trend has become notably more pronounced since 2020, the think tank stated. Across nine of the UK’s 12 regions and nations, the total number of British nationals on company payrolls declined between the start of the decade and 2025, with non-EU migrants accounting for most of the difference. open image in gallery Sir Iain Duncan Smith at a press conference in Victoria Tower gardens (Ben Whitley/PA) ( PA Wire ) In Scotland, for example, British employees registered via Paye have fallen by 53,000 since 2020, while more than 153,000 non-EU nationals joined the payroll. In London over the same period, the number of UK nationals on the system fell by 26,500, whereas the count of non-EU nationals rose by 407,000. Despite the growing presence of non-EU workers, British citizens still make up the vast majority of payroll employees across the country, according to official data. Around 25.6 million Britons were registered under Paye as of December 2025, out of a total of 32 million workforce entries, HMRC statistics show. The CSJ noted that while immigration over the last two decades supported overall economic growth, it masked a slower rate of GDP growth per head. Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the Conservative former work and pensions secretary who chaired the CSJ’s investigation, said: "The report shows that this crisis extends beyond the benefit system. "The truth is that successive governments have used welfare over decades to compensate parts of the country for economic failure rather than creating the conditions for prosperity. "Compounding this, ministers have repeatedly pulled the easy lever of immigration rather than providing a better deal for left behind communities. "Welfare reform, immigration and regional growth must now be treated as parts of the same challenge."