migration and rural economies: assessing and addressing risks
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MigrationandRural
Economies:AssessingandaddressingrisksEconomicsofMigrationWorkingPaper6
byLauraChappell,MariaLatorre,JillRutterandJaideepShah
June2009
ippr2009
InstituteforPublicPolicyResearchChallengingideas Changingpolicy
WWW.IPPR.ORG
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Aboutippr...............................................................................................................................3
Abouttheauthors ..................................................................................................................3
Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................3
Listofabbreviationsandglossary ..........................................................................................4
Foreword.................................................................................................................................5
Executivesummary.................................................................................................................6
1.Introduction........................................................................................................................9
2.Patternsofmigrationtoruralareas .................................................................................12
3.Migrantsexperiencesoflifeandworkinruralareas.......................................................19
4.Migrantsimpactsonruraleconomies ............................................................................22
5.Futuretrendsandimplicationsforruraleconomies.........................................................37
6.Conclusionsandrecommendations..................................................................................45
References ............................................................................................................................59
Contents
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TheInstituteforPublicPolicyResearch(ippr)istheUKsleadingprogressivethinktank,producing
cutting-edgeresearchandinnovativepolicyideasforajust,democraticandsustainableworld.
Since1988,wehavebeenattheforefrontofprogressivedebateandpolicymakingintheUK.Throughourindependentresearchandanalysiswedefinenewagendasforchangeandprovidepractical
solutionstochallengesacrossthefullrangeofpublicpolicyissues.
WithofficesinbothLondonandNewcastle,weensureouroutlookisasbroad-basedaspossible,
whileourinternationalandmigrationteamsandclimatechangeprogrammeextendourpartnerships
andinfluencebeyondtheUK,givingusatrulyworld-classreputationforhighqualityresearch.
ippr,30-32SouthamptonStreet,LondonWC2E7RA.Tel:+44(0)2074706100E:info@ippr.org
www.ippr.org.RegisteredCharityNo.800065
ThispaperwasfirstpublishedinJune2009.ippr2009
Aboutippr
Acknowledgements
TheauthorsareverygratefulforthethoughtfulcommentsprovidedbyChrisKolekandAnitaGambie
fromtheCommissionforRuralCommunities.AtipprMichaelJohnsonprovidedimportantbackground
research,SarahMulleywasanexcellenteditorandprovidedimportantsteerstotheresearchand
GeorginaKyriacouperformedthefinaleditandproduction.Thepaperwouldalsonothavebeenpossiblewithoutthegenerosityofthepeoplewhogaveuptheirtimetobeinterviewedandtakepart
infocusgroups.Wethankthemverysincerely.Finally,wearegratefultotheEconomicsofMigration
projectssteeringcommitteewho,asever,providedimportantinsights.
Abouttheauthors
LauraChappellisaResearchFellowatippr.WhileatipprLaurahasauthoredandeditedanumber
ofpublicationsontheeconomicsofmigrationtotheUKandmigrationanddevelopment,bothfor
ipprandfororganisationssuchastheOECDandUNDP.PreviouslyLauraworkedasanODIfellowat
thePacificIslandsForumSecretariatinFijiandfortheLiberalDemocratPolicyandResearchUniton
Treasuryissues.LauraholdsanMScwithDistinctioninDevelopmentEconomicsfromtheSchoolof
OrientalandAfricanStudies,andaBAinPhilosophy,PoliticsandEconomicsfromtheUniversityof
Oxford.
MariaLatorreisaResearcheratippr.Shespecialisesinquantitativeanalysisofsocialpolicyandhas
contributedempiricalanalysistoseveralrecentipprprojects.BeforejoiningipprMariaworkedwiththe
Colombiangovernmentandresearchcentresfocusedontheeconomicdevelopmentofdeveloping
countries,particularlyinLatinAmerica.
JillRutter isaSeniorResearchFellowatipprandleadstheMigration,Equalities,andCitizenship
teamsresearchonmigrantintegrationintheUK.Shehaspublishedextensivelyonallaspectsof
migrationintheUKandabroadwithwellover70books,chapters,andpapersontheissue.Priorto
joiningippr,JilllecturedatLondonMetropolitanUniversityandwasapolicyadviserattheRefugee
Council.
JaideepShah wasaResearchAssistantatippr.JaideephasanundergraduatedegreefromtheLondonSchoolofEconomicsandapostgraduatedegreefromOxfordUniversity,andpreviously
workedasaresearchassistantattheCentreoftheStudyforAfricanEconomies,OxfordUniversity.
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ThisworkingpaperformspartofipprsEconomicsofMigrationproject.Theprojectaimsto
shapethinkingaroundhowweconceptualisetheeconomicimpactsofmigration,provide
newevidenceabouttheextentandnatureofthoseimpactsintheUK,andprovidenewinsightsastohowpolicymightbestaddressmigrationtomaximiseeconomicbenefit.We
hopethattheprojectwillcontributetoabetter-informedpublicdebateandamoreprepared
policycommunity,betterabletoevaluatemigrationseconomiccontributions,andmanage
themtothebenefitofall.
Thisworkingpaperexaminestheroleofmigrationinruraleconomies.Thissubjectis
importantfortwomainreasons.First,migrationisoftenthoughtofasanurban
phenomenonandindeed,formostoftheUnitedKingdomsrecenthistorymigrantshave
beenconcentratedinurbanareas.However,morerecentmigrantsfromCentralandEastern
Europehavemovedmuchmorewidelyacrossthecountryatrendillustratedbythefact
thattheEastofEngland(aregionwithasignificantruraleconomy)hasreceivedmoremigrantsfromnewEuropeanUnionmemberstatesthanLondonsinceMay2004.To
understandthesenewpatternsofmigrationweneednewanalysis.Wecannotsimplyassume
theeffectswillbethesameasthosearisingfromprevious,morepredominantlyurban,
migration.
Second,theUKsruraleconomiesareavitalpartofournationaleconomy.Indeed,
promotingruraleconomicsuccessandtacklingruraldisadvantagehasbeenmadea
governmentpriority,promotedbytheCommissionforRuralCommunities.However,whileit
isbecomingincreasinglyclearthatmigrationisaffectingruraleconomies,detailsoftheinter-
relationshiparemuchlessclear.
Anumberofquestionsarise.Whatrolesdomigrantsplayinruraleconomies?Whatcontributionsdotheymake?Whatproblemsmightariseasaresultofmigration?Andwhat
risksmighttherebeifmigrationpatternsweretochange?
Withmigrationtoruralareasincreasing,itisvitalthatthesequestionsareaddressedto
ensurerural,andthereforenational,economicsuccess.
Thispapercannotanddoesnotaimtoprovideafullpictureofallthewaysinwhich
migrationisaffectingtheUKsruraleconomies.However,webelieveitmakesanimportant
contributionbyreviewingandanalysingmigration-relatedriskstoruraleconomies,aswellas
policiesthatcouldminimisethoserisks.Assuch,itshouldoffernewinsightstohelp
understandandmanagemigrationtoruralareasinordertomaximisebenefitsforall.
WearegratefultothefundersoftheEconomicsofMigrationproject:BusinessforNew
Europe,theCommissionforRuralCommunities,theTradesUnionCongressandtheUK
BorderAgency(HomeOffice).
Theviewsexpressedherearethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyrepresentthoseof
theprojectfunders.
SarahMulley TimFinch
ProjectCoordinator HeadofMigration,EqualitiesandCitizenshipTeam
Foreword:TheEconomicsofMigrationproject
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A8 TheeightCentralandEasternEuropeancountriesthatjoinedtheEuropean
UnioninMay2004(Poland,CzechRepublic,Estonia,Hungary,Latvia,
Lithuania,SlovakiaandSlovenia)
A2 BulgariaandRomania,whichjoinedtheEuropeanUnioninJanuary2007
CRC CommissionforRuralCommunities
DCLG DepartmentforCommunitiesandLocalGovernment
DEFRA DepartmentforEnvironment,FoodandRuralAffairs
EEA EuropeanEconomicArea
GLA GangmastersLicencingAuthority
IDeA ImprovementandDevelopmentAgency
LFS LabourForceSurvey
NINO NationalInsuranceNumber
ONS OfficeforNationalStatistics
SAWS SeasonalAgriculturalWorkersScheme
SBS SectorBasedScheme
TUC TradesUnionCongress
WRS WorkerRegistrationScheme
Glossaryandlistofabbreviations
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MigrationtoandfromtheUKhaschangeddistinctivelyoverthelastdecade,withincreased
immigrationandemigration.Migratorymovementshavealsobecomemorediverse.Migrants
havebeencomingfrommoreplacesthaneverbefore,andarefoundacrossasimilarlydiversevarietyoflocationsandsectorswithintheUK.Importantly,thisincludesmore
migrationtoruralareas,particularlysincetheexpansionoftheEuropeanUnionin2004.
Theexpansionofmigrationtoruralareashashadarangeofimpactsonruraleconomies.
Migrantshavemadesignificanteconomiccontributions:fillingvacanciesandskillsgapsand
promotingjobcreationandproductivity.Migrantshavebeenparticularlyimportantin
supportingsomekeysectorsincludingagriculture,foodprocessingandhospitality.
Futuretrends
ThecurrentglobalrecessionappearstohavethepotentialtoradicallyreshapeboththeUKs
economicstructureandperformance,andpatternsofmigration.Althoughmostofthe
researchforthispaperwascarriedoutbeforetheimpactsofthecurrentrecessionhadbeen
widelyfelt,wehavebeenabletoconsiderthelikelyimpactsofrecessiononmigrationand
ruraleconomiesaspartofourfuturesanalysis,aswellasconsideringlonger-termtrendsand
risks.
Ourworksuggeststhatintheshortterm(thenextonetotwoyearsso,duringthecurrent
recession)suppliesofmigrantlabourtoruralareaslooklikelytofall.However,demandfor
thislabourisalsoexpectedtodropduringtherecessionsoanyshortagesarenotlikelytobe
chronic(thoughtherewillbesectoralandgeographicvariationswithinthispicture).Further,
becausemigrationrespondstoeconomicconditionsitcanhelpbusinessesexpandduring
periodsofgrowth,butitprovidesflexibilityduringadownturn.
Inthemediumterm(nexttwotofiveyears)astheUKandruraleconomiesrecover,demand
formigrantlabourisexpectedtoriseinruralareas,whileatthesamethereisariskthat
migrantlabouravailabilitywillfall.Thisdisjunctionseemslikelyfortworeasons.First,
migrationisnotonlydrivenbyeconomicfactors.Otherfactorsthatareimportantto
migrants,suchastheavailabilityofaffordablehousing,couldmakeruralareaslessattractive.
Second,immigrationpoliciesthatarenotflexibleenoughtorespondtotheneedsofthe
economy,includingruralareas,maypreventmigrantlaboursupplyfrommeetingdemand.If
migrantsaretocontinuetomaketheimportantcontributiontoruraleconomiesthatwe
haveidentified,policiesmustbepursuedtoreducethelikelihoodofthiskindofmismatch.
RecommendationsOurkeyrecommendationsforpolicymeasuresthatcouldhelpruraleconomiesmaximisethe
benefitsofmigrationareasfollows:
Continuetofacilitatethemovementofagriculturalworkers
Migrantworkersarecrucialtosomepartsoftheagriculturalsector.TheUKsnewmanaged
migrationsystemmustincorporatearouteforthosemigrantstocontinuetocometoworkin
theUK.WerecommendthistaketheformofanewversionoftheSeasonalAgricultural
WorkersScheme(SAWS),whichshouldbeincorporatedunderTier3ofthepoints-based
system,andopenedtonon-EUmigrants.
Theagriculturalsectorhassufferedfromlabourshortages,particularlyforseasonalwork,forsomeyears.ThereappearstoberelativelylittlescopeforincreasingthenumbersofUK-(and
evenEU-)bornworkerscomingintothesector.Thepotentialforraisingpayandimproving
conditionstomaketheworkmoreattractiveisalsolimited.Bringinginmigrantworkersfrom
Executivesummary
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outsidetheEUonatemporarybasistoundertakethesetaskshasworkedwellinthepast
andweseenojustificationforabolishingtheschemewithoutreplacingitwithanalternative
entryrouteforlow-skilledlabourforthesector.Itislikelythatcertainpartsofthe
agriculturalsector(inparticularintensivehorticulture)wouldbeveryhardhitwerethis
labournotavailableinthefuture,anduncertaintyaboutthisislimitingthesuccessofthesectorevennow.
Makeamoreconcertedefforttodevelopaffordableandhighqualityhousinginruralareas
Theavailabilityofaffordableruralhousing,bothforlocalpeopleandformigrantworkers,is
criticaltoensuringasustainablesupplyofworkersforruraleconomies.Therelativelyhigh
costofaccommodationwashighlightedasakeyfactorthatmightdrivemigrantworkersout
ofruralareas.Thisisaparticularissueforseasonal,temporaryandlow-paidmigrants.
Government,housingassociations,employersandtheNationalHousingFederationshould
worktogethertodevelopmoreaffordableandbetterqualityhousing(andinparticular
rentedhousing)forpeople,includingmigrantworkers,inruralareas,andimproveprovision
fortransientmigrantworkers.
Reviewtheroleofrecruitmentagencies
Whilemigrantworkersaregenerallyhappytoworkthroughanagencyinordertoenterthe
labourmarket,inthelongertermtheywantdirectemployment,andtheyhighlightthisasa
keypriorityintheirdecisionsaroundwheretoliveandwork.
WerecommendthattheGovernmenttakeacloselookattherolethatrecruitmentagencies
playthroughahigh-level,comprehensivereviewthatexaminesboththecostsandbenefitsthatareassociatedwiththisapproach.Theeffectsonmigrantworkeravailabilityinrural
areas(andassociatedrisks)shouldbeanimportantpartoftheremitofthisreview.
ExtendtheremitoftheGangmastersLicensingAuthority(GLA)tocoverallsectorscharacterisedbyvulnerableemployment
Adifferentsetofrisksariseinrelationtothesmallgroupofagenciesthatareoperating
outsidethelaw.PartlyinresponsetothetragedyoftheChinesecockle-pickersin
MorecambeBay,theGovernmentsetuptheGangmastersLicensingAuthority(GLA)butat
presenttheGLAonlyregulateslabourprovidersinagriculture,forestry,horticulture,shellfishgatheringandfoodprocessingandpackaging.Werecommendthatitsremitbeextendedto
coverallsectorscharacterisedbyvulnerableemploymentasinvestigatedandsetoutby
theTradesUnionCongressCommissiononVulnerableEmployment.
Aswellassafeguardingtherightsofmigrantworkers,andprotectinglegitimateagencies
fromunfaircompetitionbasedonexploitation,thiswouldalsoreducetherisksfacingrural
economiesbyimprovingthesupplyandlong-termsustainabilityofmigrantlabour.Bringing
moresectorsundertheremitoftheGLAalsoreducestheriskthatruraleconomieswillcome
todependonlabourprovidedbyagenciesorgangmasterswhobreakthelaw.
Ensuremigrationissuesareontheagendaathigh-profileruralevents
Thereismuchtobegainedfromfurtherthoughtandexaminationoftheseissues.The
impactsofmigrationonruraleconomiesandtherisksassociatedwithchangingmigrant
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workeravailabilityshouldbeontheagendaathigh-profileeventssuchastheongoingrural
summitsonunlockingthepotentialofruraleconomies.
EmbedmigrationconsiderationsinongoingplanningandpolicymakingprocessesWerecommendthatlocalandregionalgovernmentsensurethatissuesaroundmigration,risk
andruraleconomicperformanceareincorporatedintoLocalAuthorityEconomicAssessments
andIntegratedRegionalStrategies.Inmanycasesthiswillneedtobeprecededbyan
assessmentoftheextenttowhichrisksassociatedwithmigrantworkeravailabilityarean
issuefortheperformanceofparticularrural(andindeedurban)economiesandsectors.
Doingsowouldhelptodevelopthethinkingpresentedhere,generatemorenuanced
analysesatlocalandsectorallevels,andensurethatspecificandappropriateregionaland
localstrategiesandresponsescanbedeveloped.
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MigrationischangingthefaceoftheUK.WhilehistoricallytheUKhasoftenbeenacountry
ofnetemigration,inrecentyearsastrongeconomyandtheexpansionoftheEuropean
Unionhasledtoasubstantialriseinthenumbersofmigrantscomingheretolive,whetherpermanentlyortemporarily(Chappelletal2008).
Anincreaseinthenumbersofmigrantsarrivingisnottheonlychangethatistakingplace,
however.Migrantsarearrivingfromawiderrangeofcountries,andsettlinginagreater
diversityofplacesacrosstheUKthantheywerebefore(Kyambi2005)inparticular,the
numberssettlingandworkinginruralareashaveincreasedsubstantiallyinrecentyears.
Ruraleconomiesareanimportantpartofthenationaleconomyalready,andunlockingtheir
potentialfurtherbyensuringthattheycanmaximisethebenefitsofmigrationwouldbe
positiveforpeopleinbothurbanandruralcommunities.
ResearchaimsThispaperexaminestheimplicationsofincreasingmigrationtoruralareas,lookingin
particularattheeconomicsofthisphenomenon.Weexploretherolesmigrantsareplaying,
theeconomicimpactsofmigrationonexistingpopulationsandbusinesses,andwhatfuture
migratorytrendsmightbe.Inparticular,weconsiderwhetherrecentmigrationtoruralBritain
hasledtoanyrisksforruraleconomies;andifso,howtheseriskscanbemanaged.
Thepaperaddressesthefollowingfourresearchquestions:
WhatisthescaleandnatureofmigrationtoruralareasoftheUK?
Whateconomicimpactsismigrationcurrentlyhavingonruraleconomies?
Howismigrationtoruralareaslikelytochangeinthefutureandwhatbenefitsandrisksmightthisbring?
Whatmeasuresareneededtorespondtolikelyfuturetrends,toensurethebestpossibleoutcomes?
Whatdefinesruraleconomies,andwhydotheymeritspecificanalysis?
Since2004,ruralareasinEnglandandWaleshavebeenofficiallydefinedaccordingtoa
classificationbasedonpopulationdensity(CommissionforRuralCommunities2007b).
Sparsepopulationisadefiningfeatureofruralareas,andalsohassignificantimplicationsfor
ruraleconomies.Itisalsoimportanttonotethatruraleconomiesarehighlyvariedwe
shouldthinkofruraleconomiesnottheruraleconomy.
Ruraleconomiesareoftenbasedondifferentsectorsandindustriesthanurbaneconomies.
Butalthoughruraleconomieshavesomeparticularfeatures,manyofthechallengesthey
facearesharedwithBritainsurbaneconomies.
Ruraleconomiesalsofaceparticularchallengesthatspringdirectlyfromtheirrural
characteristics,andtheyhavespecificneedsthatrequireconsiderationbypolicymakers.
Sparsepopulationcanmeanthatemployersfacealessflexiblelabourforce,particularlyif
travelcostsarehighthiscanmeanthatvacanciesarehardtofill,andmayinhibit
enterpriseandinnovation.Problemswithaccesstopublicservicesincludingeducationand
traininghaveimplicationsfortheskillsandqualificationsoftheruralworkforce,andcanlead
toskillsgaps.Andfirmsmaysufferdirectlyfromlimitedaccesstoinfrastructure,whichmay
influencetheirchoiceofproductionmodels.
Itisimportanttoconsiderruraleconomiesaspartofanystudyoftheeconomicsof
migrationintheUK.Inrecentyearsmigrationhasincreasedmorerapidlyinruralareasthan
1.Introduction
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inurbanareasthischangeisworthyofstudy,andhasbroughtwithitparticularbenefits
andchallengesinruralareas.Also,theparticularcharacteristicsandchallengesofrural
economiesmeanthattheimpactsofmigrationaredifferentfromurbanareas.
Methodology
Thispaperusesamixedmethodologyofquantitativeandqualitativetools,including:
Literaturereview
Analysisofnationalpopulationandeconomicdatasets
SurveyofPolishmigrantslivinginruralareas
Twofocusgroupinterviewswithruralmigrants
Keyinformantinterviewswithemployers,industryspokespersonsandpolicymakers.
Datasets
TomapthescaleandnatureofruralmigrationweuseddatafromtheCensus,theLabour
ForceSurvey(LFS),theWorkersRegistrationScheme(WRS)datasetandtheNational
InsuranceNumber(NINO)dataset.Theserepresentthebestquantitativedatacurrently
availableonruralmigrants,butthereareanumberofinherentproblemswiththisdata,an
issueweexaminelaterinthisreport.Importantly,theLFSdoesnotincludesomegroupsof
people,includingthoselivinginbusinessaddressessuchasfarmsandhotelsandnon-private
communalaccommodation.
Survey
WecommissionedtheCentreforResearchonNationalism,EthnicityandMulticulturalism,
basedattheUniversityofSurreyandRoehamptonUniversity,toundertakeasurveyof500
Polishmigrants,ofwhom300werelivinginruralareas.Thesurveycollecteddataabout:
Householdcompositionandotherdemographicdata
Educationalandemploymentprofiles
ReasonsformigrationtotheUKandintentionsforreturnandremigration
ContactwithpublicservicesintheUK.
ThesurveywasconductedinPolish.Afteraninitialpilot,300face-to-faceinterviewswere
conductedatfivedifferentrurallocationsinEngland(anadditional200interviewswere
conductedinurbanlocationstoactasacomparison),startinginMay2008.Interviewees
wererecruitedinlocationsfrequentedbyPolishmigrantworkers:workplaces,Polish
groceries,barsandRomanCatholicchurches.Theselectionofintervieweeswaspurposiveanddesignedtoreflectthe60:40maletofemalegenderbalanceofPolishmigrantintheUK
thatisindicatedinWRSdata(Pollardetal2008).
Focusgroupsandkeyinformants
TwofocusgroupinterviewswerecarriedoutinOctobertoNovember2008withmigrants
workingintheagricultureandfoodprocessingsectorandthehospitalitysector(bothof
whichareimportanttoruraleconomies).Theintervieweescomprisedabalanceofmenand
womenanddifferentcountriesoforigin,includingPortugal,Poland,Latvia,Lithuania,Brazil
andIraq.TheagriculturefocusgroupwasconductedinEnglish,andtwointerpreters(Polish
andPortuguesespeaking)wereusedforthehospitalitysectorfocusgroup.
Althoughmostoftheresearchforthispaperwascarriedoutbeforetheimpactsofthe
currentrecessionhadbeenwidelyfelt,wehavebeenabletoconsiderthelikelyimpactsof
recessiononmigrationandruraleconomiesaspartofourfuturesanalysis(seeSection5).
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ThefocusoftheresearchisontheUKasawhole,asmostofthedataisavailableataUK-
widelevel.However,someofthepolicyrecommendationsarespecifictoEngland,asa
numberofkeyactorsinthisarea(suchastheCommissionforRuralCommunities[CRC])
havemandatesthatcoverEnglandonly.Wedidnotcomeacrossanysignificantreasonsfor
thinkingtrendsinScotland,WalesandNorthernIrelandweresubstantiallydifferenttothoseaffectingEngland.However,thereareobviouslygeographicaldifferencesbetweendifferent
areas,whichwetrytoaddressbyprovidingsectorallyandgeographicallyspecificanalysis
whererelevant.
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ChangingmigrationtoandfromtheUK
MigrationintheUKishighlycomplex,withalongandvariedhistory.WhiletheUKhas
recentlyexperiencedhighlevelsofnetimmigration,untilthe1980stheUKwasoftenacountryofnetemigration,andinbothperiodssubstantialnumbersofpeoplehavemovedin
bothdirectionsacrossourborders.TheseoverallmigrationtrendsareshowninFigure1.
Inthelastdecadeorso,migrationhasincreasedinscalesignificantlyrightacrosstheworld
(InternationalOrganisationforMigration2008).Thishasresultedinanincreaseinboth
immigrationtoandemigrationfromBritain,withtherecentriseinimmigrationtakingplace
againstthebackdropof(untilrecently)astrongUKeconomy.TheexpansionoftheEU,with
12newmemberstatessince2004,hasalsoplayedapart.Withsomerestrictions,theUK
openeditsbordersandlabourmarketstocitizensofthesecountries.
Aswellasincreasingthenumbersofmigrants,thisglobalmarketforlabour,andtheUKs
placeattheheartofit,hasledtoanincreasingdiversityofmigrantsbothintermsofthe
countriestheycomefromandthelocationstheymoveto(Kyambi2005).Migrationnow
affectsthewholeoftheUKinawaythatithasnotbefore.
Changingmigrationpatternsinruralareas
ThesechangingtrendsinUK-widemigrationhavehadimportantimplicationsforruralareas.
Inparticular,thenumbersofmigrantslivingandworkinginruralareashavebeenrising,in
somecasesquitedramatically.ThisisnottosaythatruralBritainhadnotexperienced
migrationbeforethelastdecadeinternationalmigrantshavealwayshadapresenceinthe
Britishcountryside,withsomelongsettledforeign-borncommunitiesinruralareasbutin
manycasestheyhavenotbeenveryvisible.Duringthelast10years,however,theUKhas
seensubstantiallyincreasedinternationalmigrationtoruralareas.
Table1showstheforeign-bornpopulationsofruralandurbanlocalauthorities.Whileruralareasstillhavealowerforeign-bornpopulationsharethanotherpartsoftheUK,itisnot
muchlower.WhilethemosturbanisedareasoftheUK(majorurban)havesignificantly
2.Patternsofmigrationtoruralareas
-500
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Inflow Outflow Balance
Thousa
nds
Figure1.Total
migrationtoand
fromtheUK,
19752007
Source:International
PassengerSurvey,
OfficeforNational
StatisticsThous
ands
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highernumbersofforeign-bornresidents,thedifferencebetweentheothertwourban
categoriesandtheruralcategoriesisnotsubstantial.
Table1alsoshowstheproportionsofmigrantsfromnewEUmemberstatesineachtypeofarea,providingsomeideaofhowthetrendhasbeenchangingsince2004,whenthecitizens
ofthesecountriesgainedfreeaccesstoUKlabourmarkets.Whatisstrikingishowsimilar
theproportionsofnewEUmigrantsareacrosseachtypeofarea.Largeurbanareasactually
havethelowestproportionsofnewEUmigrants,withgreaterproportionsineachkindof
ruralarea.Table1demonstratesthatnewEUmigrantsarejustasmuchafeatureofrurallife
andruraleconomiesastheyareofurbanones.
Figure2showsgraphicallythat,althoughmanymigrantsareconcentratedinurbanareas,
manyrurallocalauthoritiesalsohaveasignificantpercentageofforeign-bornresidents.
Table1.Foreign-bornpopulationsbyrural/urbanlocalauthorityclassification
DEFRARural/urbanlocal Foreign-bornpopulationas%of NewEUmemberstatemigrantsas%
authorityclassification totalpopulation,2006 oftotalpopulation,2007
Majorurban 18.2 1.1
Largeurban 6.9 0.6
Otherurban 8.1 1.0
Significantrural 5.9 0.8
Rural50 4.3 0.7
Rural80 4.2 0.9
Thecategoriesarelistedinorder,fromthemostdenselypopulated(majorurban)totheleast(rural80)
Sources:ipprcalculations,ONSmid-yearpopulationestimatesbylocalauthority2006andPollardetal (2008)
Percentageof
foreign-bornby
localauthority,2006
Figure2:Place
ofresidenceof
Englands
foreign-born
population,by
localauthority
Source:ONSmid-
yearpopulation
estimatesandippr
calculations
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Figure3showsthesettlementpatternsofmigrantsfromtheEUsnewmemberstatesby
localauthoritydistrict.ThisshowstheconcentrationsofnewEUmigrantsacrosstheUK,
notablyinsomeruralareas,andhighlightsthedifferentgeographicalspreadofthisgroupof
(mostlyrecent)migrants.Areaswhereintensivehorticultureandfoodprocessingarelocated
theEastofScotland,HerefordshireandtheFenshavehighpopulationsofmigrantsfrom
theEUsnewmemberstates.Thisgivesasenseoftheimpactsthatthesemigrantsmaybe
havingonparticularsectorsatopicwereturntoinSection4.
Countriesoforigin
AswellasbeingincreasinglyspreadacrosstheUK,theUKsforeign-bornpopulationisalso
increasinglydiverseintermsoftheirnationalorigin(Sriskandarajahetal2007).Table2
presentsdataonthesizeandgrowthofthe10largestforeign-borngroupsresidentinthe
UKin2007.
Table3showsthesameinformationforthe10largestmigrantgroupsintheUKsruralareas.
Figure3.
Population
estimatesof
migrantsfrom
theEUsnewmembersstates,
bylocal
authority
district,2007
Source:Pollardetal
2008
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Wecanseefromthesetablesthatverysimilarcountriesarerepresentedamongmigrantsin
theUKasawholeandthoselivinginruralareas.TheincreaseinPolishmigrantslivingin
ruralareas,however,hasbeenmuchmoresubstantialthaninurbanareas,andasaresultPolesnowconstitutealargerproportionofmigrantsinruralareasthanacrosstheUKasa
whole.
Inordertogiveafullersenseofruralmigrantsregionsoforiginbeyondthetop10
countries,whichrepresentonlyabouthalfofallmigrantsresidinginruralBritain,Table4
showstheregionsoforiginofallmigrantsinruralareas.Thisshowsthatbysomesubstantial
marginthelargestgroupofmigrantsinruralareascomesfromthethe15countriesthat
weremembersoftheEUbeforethe2004expansion(theEU15),butthefastestgrowing
groupismigrantsfromthenewEUmemberstates.
Routesofentryofruralmigrants
Table2.The10largestgroupsofforeign-bornresidentsintheUK,bycountryofbirth,2007
Rank* Country %oftheUKstotal %growthincountry-of-birth
foreign-bornpopulation groupin10years**
1 India 9.8% 46%
2 Ireland 6.8% -23%
3 Poland 6.3% 575%
4 Pakistan 6.1% 77%
5 Germany 4.2% 7%
6 SouthAfrica 3.1% 119%
7 Bangladesh 3.1% 26%
8 UnitedStates 3.0% 39%
9 ChinaandHongKong 2.7% 123%
10 Jamaica 2.7% 25%
Source:LabourForceSurveyandipprcalculations
*Usingdatafromallquarters,2007.**BetweenQ41997andQ42007
Table3.The10largestgroupsofforeign-bornresidentsinUKruralareas,bycountryofbirth,2007
Rank* Country %ofruralareastotal %growthincountry-of-birth
foreign-bornpopulation groupin10years**
1 Ireland 8.5% -14.8%
2 India 8.3% 48.5%
3 Poland 8.1% 983.1%
4 Pakistan 5.4% 39.6%
5 SouthAfrica 4.9% 48.1%
6 Germany 3.8% 16.3%
7 UnitedStates 3.5% 83.0%
8 Australia 3.0% 24.1%
9 Zimbabwe 2.8% 278.1%
10 Philippines 2.8% 508.1%
Source:LabourForceSurveyandipprcalculations
*Usingdatafromallquarters,2007;**BetweenQ41997andQ42007
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Itisimportanttoalsoanalysethetermsofentryofmigrantsthegroundsunderwhichthey
arepermittedtoentertheUKandthereforetheroutetheytake.Residencystatuscanaffect
apersonsaspirationsandentitlements(forexample,asylumseekersarenotentitledto
work),andthereforetheirimpactsonthelocaleconomy.Migrantsresidencystatusalso
affectstheirabilitytoaccessbenefits,housingandotherpublicservices.
TherearesevenmainroutesofentryintotheUK,whichareoutlinedbelowwithestimatesof
theextenttowhichmigrantsinruralareasfallundereachgroup.Notethatwecannottell
definitivelyhowmanyofeachtypeliveinruralareasbecausethemaindatasourcesthat
collectdataontermsofentrydonotcollectplaceofresidence,andviceversaforthosethat
collectdataonplaceofresidence.
1.AsEUandEEAmigrants
CitizensofthemajorityofcountriesintheEuropeanEconomicArea(EEA)1 andSwitzerland
arepermittedtoliveandworkintheUKfreely.TheexceptionarethosefromtheEUsnew
memberstates,mostofwhomfacesomerestriction:nationalsfrommostofthecountries
thatjoinedtheEUinMay20042 havetoenrolontheWorkersRegistrationScheme(WRS),
unlesstheyareregisteredasself-employed.NationalsofRomaniaandBulgaria,bothof
whichjoinedtheEUinJanuary2007,havemorerestrictedrights3.Migrantswhoentervia
theirstatusasbeingfromtheEEAorSwitzerlandarethelargestmigrantgroupintheUK,
andarealsothelargestmigrantgroupinruralareas.
2.Viathepoints-basedsystem
Table4:TheUKsruralmigrantsbyregionofbirth,2007
Rank* Worldregion %ofruralareastotal %growthinregionofbirthgroup
foreign-bornpopulation in10years**
1 EU15 27% -3%
2 Indiansub-continent 16% 57%
3 Sub-SaharanAfrica 15% 66%
4 OtherAsia 12% 109%
5 NewEUmemberstates 10% 370%
6 America 8% 20%
7 OtherEurope 5% 129%
=8 AustraliaandthePacific 4% 23%
=8 MiddleEast 4% 130%
Source:LabourForceSurveyandipprcalculations
*Usingdatafromallquarters,2007;**betweenQ41997andQ42007
1.TheEEAconsistsoftheEUstates,Iceland,LiechtensteinandNorway
2.TheCzechRepublic,Estonia,Hungary,Latvia,Lithuania,Poland,SlovakiaandSlovenia
3.RomaniansandBulgarianscanworklegallyintheUKiftheyareself-employedorareontheSeasonal
AgriculturalWorkersSchemeortheSector-BasedScheme,whichhavebeenexclusivelyreservedfor
RomanianandBulgariannationalssinceJanuary2008.TheycanalsoworkintheUKiftheyhaveawork
permitorareastudent(theselattertworoutesareopentonationalsofothercountriesoutsidetheEUaswellandarediscussedingreaterdetaillaterinthissection).AllBulgarianandRomaniannationalswho
haveworkedlegallyintheUKfor12months,however,gainEuropeanEconomicArea(EEA)Worker
StatusandhavefullaccesstotheUKlabourmarket.
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EntrytotheUKviathepoints-basedsystemisforlabour-relatedmigrationfromoutsidethe
EU.Thissystemisbasedaroundfivetiers:
TierOneforhighly-skilledmigrants.Thisgroupcancomeastheywish,withoutrequiringapriorjoboffer.Theyareseenashavingimportantskills(andsometimes
financialresources)thatwillboostproductivityandtheUKeconomy.
TierTwoforskilledworkerswithajoboffer.ThisgroupareexpectedtofillgapsintheUKlabourmarket.
TierThreelow-skilledtemporaryworkers.TheGovernmenthasannouncedthatitdoesnotintendtoopenupthistierinthenearfuture,onthegroundsthatthereare
nounskilledgapsthatcannotbefilledwithUKandEEAnationals.
TierFourstudents.
TierFiveyouthmobilityandotherschemeswheretheaimofworkingintheUKisnotprimarilyeconomic(forexample,workingholiday-makers).
Thenumberofentrantsviathepoints-basedsystemissubstantial.In2007,some82,300peoplewithworkpermitsandotherworkvisaholders(theprecursorstothepoints-based
system)cametotheUKfromoutsidetheEU,withmajorcountriesoforiginincludingthe
US,Canada,SouthAfrica,IndiaandPakistan(HomeOffice2008c).Mostwererelatively
highlyskilled,giventhattheGovernmenthaskeptTier3(whichmanagestemporary
migrationintolowerskilledjobs)closed.
Skilledmigrantswhohavecometoruralareasviathepoints-basedsystemhavejobsina
widevarietyofareasincludingtheNHS,thesocialcaresectorandspecialistsectorssuchas
engineeringinCumbria(Rutterforthcoming).Newmigrantsareparticularlybeingsoughtin
anumberofrolesimportanttoruraleconomies,includingveterinaries,engineers,chefsand
sheepshearers(HomeOffice2008d).
3.Asylumseekersandrefugees
ThisgroupincludesthosemovingtotheUKinsearchofrefugefrompersecution.23,430
asylumapplicationswerelodgedintheUKin2007.Ofthoseasylumseekerswhoreceived
aninitialdecisionontheirasylumapplicationsin2007,16percentweregrantedrefugee
status,withanother11percentgrantedhumanitarianprotectionordiscretionaryleaveto
remainintheUK,meaningthatsome73percentwererefused(HomeOffice2008b).While
someofthoserefusedasylumleavetheUKorareremoved,manyremainandmakeupa
significantcomponentoftheUKsirregularmigrantpopulation.Since2002,themain
countriesoforiginofasylum-seekershaveincludedtheDemocraticRepublicofCongo,
Eritrea,Somalia,Zimbabwe,TurkeyandAfghanistan.
Priorto1997mostasylumseekerswerehousedinLondon.Sincethen,however,increasing
proportionshavebeendispersedtoaccommodationelsewhereintheUK.Onthewholethis
hasnotbeenmovementtoruralareas,asthefocushasbeenonclusterareas,wherebynew
arrivalsaresenttoplacesthatalreadyhaveasignificantpopulationofasylum-seekers.
However,ipprhasencounteredrefugeeswhohadsuccessfullysettledinruralareas,for
example,KosovarsinruralCumbria(RutterandLatorreforthcoming).
4.Familyreunion
Some42,200spouses,fianc(e)sandcivilpartnerswereadmittedtotheUKin2007(HomeOffice2008c),tolivewithfamilymembers.ThetopcountriesoforiginincludePakistan,
India,Bangladesh,USandThailand.Thesemigrantssettlewiththeirfamiliesindifferent
partsoftheUK.However,thereislikelytobeatendencytowardsurbansettlement,given
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thatmanymarriagesaretomembersoftheUKsexistingethnicminoritygroups,whohave
tendedtosettlepredominantlyinurbanareas.
5.Overseasstudents
HomeOfficestatisticssuggestthatin2007some358,000overseasstudentsenteredtheUK
fromoutsidetheEU(HomeOffice2008c)tostudyinuniversities,privateEnglishlanguage
collegesandfurthereducationcolleges.Theyarepotentiallyimportanttoruraleconomies
becauseoverseasstudentsadmittedforcoursesthatlastmorethansixmonthsgenerally
havetherighttoworkforupto20hoursperweekduringtermtime,andfulltimeduring
vacations;theirdependentsmayalsowork.In2007themaincountriesoforiginofoverseas
studentswereChina,Russia,JapanandtheUnitedStates.
Overseasstudentnumbershaveincreasedslowlyoverthelast10years,ashavethenumbers
ofoverseasstudentswhohavesettledintheenvironsofruraluniversitycampuses.Although
theproportionofoverseasstudentsvariesfromuniversitytouniversity,thereappeartobe
sufficientnumbersofforeignstudentsinruralareastobeaffectingthecompositionofthose
areas.Forexample,theoverseas-bornpopulationoflocalauthoritieswithuniversity
campusesandclassifiedassignificantruralbyDEFRAwas7.3percentin2006,andfor
thosewithoutcampusesitwas5percent.
6.Irregularmigrants
Relativelylittleisknownaboutirregularmigrants,butwedoknowthatthisgroupcomprises
mostlyvisaandasylumover-stayers,aswellassmallernumbersofclandestineentrants
peoplewhocrosstheUKborderillegally(InstituteforPublicPolicyResearch2006).
ResearchcommissionedbytheHomeOfficeestimatedtheirregularmigrantpopulationas
being310,000530,000personsin2001(Pinkertonetal2004),andrecentworkfromtheLondonSchoolofEconomicssuggeststhattheremightnowbearound725,000(Gordonet
al2009).Inotherresearchipprencounteredanumberofirregularmigrantswhowere
workinginruralareas,mostlyasagriculturalworkersbutsometimesinfoodprocessingor
othermanufacturingindustries(RutterandLatorreforthcoming).However,theirregular
migrantswemetwerenotlivinginruralareas.Theybasedthemselvesinatownorcity,but
weretransportedtoruralareasforwork,oftenbylabourproviders4.
7.ReturningBritishnationals
ThelastgroupofmigrantscomingtotheUKisreturningBritishnationals(Sriskandarajah
andDrew2006),someofwhommovetoruralareas.Forexample,asubstantialproportionofGerman-bornpeopleinbothruralandurbanareasarelikelytobechildrenofBritish
militarypersonnel,whothoughborninGermanyhavebeenBritishcitizensfrombirth.
4.Thisisnottosaythattherearenotirregularmigrantslivinginruralareas,simplythatwedidnot
comeacrosstheminthecourseofourqualitativeresearch.Itmaybethatthiswassimplychance,orthat
theseworkersareparticularlymarginalisedandunlikelytobepickedupinresearch.
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Reasonsformigrationtoruralareas
Employmentopportunitiesandgreaterearningspotentialwerethekeypullfactorsthathad
broughtalmostallofthoseweinterviewedtotheUK.
Icametogetabetterlifeandworkconditions.InPortugalweworkveryhard
butdontearnthesamemoney.(Hospitalitysectorworker)
Migrationhasoftenbeenseenasanurbanissue,butsomemigrantsweinterviewedhad
moveddirectlytoruralareasonarrivalintheUKorafterafewdays.Lessoften,ruralareas
wereplacesofonwardmigrationafteraperiodofresidenceelsewhereintheUK.Some
migrantsfromPolandforexampleweremakingspecificdecisionstoliveinthecountryside.
Figure4showsthatsome19percentmovedtothecountrysidetobenearfriendsand
familyand6percentbecausetheyspecificallywantedtoliveinaruralarea.
Therewerealsopullfactorsthatwerespecifictoparticularplaces.Akeensailorfrom
PortugalmadethedecisiontomovetotheIsleofWighttocontinuehishobby.Formigrants
livingintheEastofEngland,theproximityofStanstedandLutonwasamajorattractionas
cheapflightsfromtheseairportsenabledthemtomakefrequentvisitshome.
Lifeinruralareas
Almostallmigrantsweinterviewedweregenerallyhappywithwheretheywereliving,with
thoseinruralareashighlightinganumberofaspectsofrurallifeasbeingattractive,suchas
thenaturalbeauty,andpeaceandquiet.Moregenerally,ourinterviewswithPoleswholived
acrosstheUKandwhohadnowreturnedtoPolandrevealedthattheysawtheirexperiences
intheUKasbeingbetteroratleastasgoodastheyexpected.Just18percentsaidthey
felttheirexperiencesintheUKhadbeenworsethanexpected,with70percentof
respondentssayingthattheirexperienceshadbeenbetterorasgoodasexpected.
Ourintervieweeshadverydiverseexperiencesoftheirinitialhousing.ThosewhohadfamilyorfriendsintheUKtendedtostaywiththem,untiltheycouldsecuremorepermanent
accommodation,eitherthroughemploymentorviawordofmouth.Veryfewmigrants
3.Migrantsexperiencesoflifeandworkinruralareas
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
Recruited by employment agency
to work in rural area
Wanted to join friends and family Found work in rural area Wanted to l ive in country side
Figure4:Reasonsgivenby300
Polishmigrants
formigrationtoa
ruralarea,2008
Source:ipprpolling
data
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receivedanyadviceabouttheirhousingentitlementsorabouthowtosearchfor
accommodation.Thereisaraftofhousinglegislationdesignedtoprotecttenantsbut
reducedstaffinglevels,budgetcutsandskillsshortagesamongenvironmentalhealthofficers
andstaffresponsibleforregulationoftheprivaterentalsectorimpactontheabilityto
enforceminimumstandardsinrelationtorentalaccommodation(CookandRoney2008).
Ourresearchhighlightedmanyinstancesofpoorhousingconditions.Someofthe
accommodationmigrantsliveinisnotproperlycoveredbyhousinglegislationandmigrants
arenotalwaysawareoftheirrightsinthisarea.Transientworkers(thosewhoremaininthe
UKforlessthanayear)andmigrantsworkinginseasonaljobsareparticularlyvulnerable
groups.Short-termhousingprovisionisoftenlimited,orofpoorquality.Transientmigrants
oftenalsoknowlittleabouttheirrights,andmayhavepoorEnglish,leavingthemexposed
toagreaterchanceofpoortreatment,includinginrelationtohousing.
Housingconditionsarepoorparticularlyamongmigrantslivinginaccommodationtiedto
employmentmanytransientorseasonalworkersliveinsuchaccommodation.The
legislativeprotectionoftenantswholiveinformsofaccommodationotherthanahouseiscomplex.Thereissomelegislationtoprotecttenantsinmobilehomeparksbutmanytenants
havelittleprotectionfromeviction,ortheenforcementofminimumstandardsofdecency.
Thoselivingonunprotectedsites,comprisingprivatelandorsitesregisteredforholiday
homeuse,havemuchlessprotection,andifapersonlivesinaccommodationthatisnot
classifiedasadwellingtheyalsohaveverylittleprotection.
Nooneweinterviewedwhowasemployedinagriculture,manufacturingorinthehospitality
sectorownedtheirhomes.Unlesstheyhadfamilies,thesemigrantswerehousedintied
accommodationorintheprivaterentalsector.
ThatfarmandhospitalitysectorworkersweresimplytoopoortobuyhousingintheUKmay
makeitmorelikelythattheywillreturnhome,asmanydidownpropertyintheirhome
countries.Weseethelimitedavailabilityofaffordablehousingasakeyfactorthatlimits
workeravailability(includingmigrantworkers)inruralareas.
Experiencesofworkinruralareas
SomemigrantworkersfoundworkbeforecomingtotheUK,throughanoverseasagencyor
throughexistingcontacts.Othersfoundworkafterarrival.
Manyworkersintheagriculture,foodprocessingandhospitalitysectorsfoundtheirfirstjob
throughanagencyalabourproviderwhoinsomecasesalsoprovidedhousing.Allthose
weinterviewedwhohadbeenemployedbyagenciesexpressedstrongopinionsaboutthe
waytheyworked.Dissatisfactionwithworkconditionstookmanyforms,butwasparticularlyassociatedwiththeseagencies.
Someunskilledmigrantswereworkingwithahighproportionofothermigrants.Thislimited
theirinteractionwithlocalBritish-bornpeopleandmeanttheywerenotintegratedinto
broadersociety.Thatsaid,migrantssocialinteractionswithhostcommunitieswerevery
varied:somemigrantsformedfriendshipsoutsidetheircommunitiesandothersdidnot.
Therewasalsoastrongperceptionthatinruralareasitwasgettinghardertofindwork
(althoughnotagriculturalwork).Agencyworkerswerefindingthismostdifficult.
Therearetoomanypeoplelookingforworknow.Wegettwodaysaweek,
one,twodaysaweek,anotherone,twodaysaweek,anotherone.Forpeople
topaytherenttheyneedsomething[more],itisnogoodjusttwodaysa
week.(Brazilianmigrant,foodprocessingsector)
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Beingunabletofinddirectpermanentemploymentisanimportantreasongivenbymigrant
workersformovingonfromanareaorjob.Whileemploymentagenciesareanaccepted
usefulpartoftheeconomyruralandurbantheyalsopresentsomeimportantproblems.
Migrantworkersthemselvesfindtheprecariousnatureofemploymentofferedunattractive,
andwhiletheyarehappytoworkthroughagenciesforashortperiodonenteringtheUKmostprioritisemovingoutofagencyworkandintodirect,permanentemployment.
Agenciesareunpopularnotonlyfortheformsofworktheyoffer(workatshortnotice,with
fewassociatedrightsandnoguaranteeofrepeatedemployment),butalsoforthelarge
differentialbetweentheamounttheagencyispaidtoprovidethemandthewagethey
themselvesreceive,whichmanymigrantworkersperceivetobeveryunfair.
Idliketoworkdirectlyforacompany.Theagencychargesaretoohigh.
(Portuguesehotelworker,Peterborough)
Someagenciesalsositontheveryedgeoflegalbehaviour,forexampledockingwagesfor
servicesprovidedbytheagency,suchasaccommodation,whichmightnotbewanted
and/orissub-standard.Asonestakeholderemphasised:
Ifourclientscangetintoworkasanemployeetheyremuchbetteroff.The
mainissueistodowithagenciesandgangmastersIknowrecruitment
agenciesarentbreakingthelaw,buttheyreusingittoexploitmigrants
situations.Stakeholder,migrantassociation
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Hereweexaminethekeyimpactsofmigrantworkersonruraleconomies.Theimpactsare
manyandvaried;welookatwages,employment,skillsshortages,jobcreation,productivity
andspecificsectoralimpacts.Someoftheseissuesareprominentnationalissuesforexample,theeffectsofmigrationonwagesandemployment,andmanyruralcommunities
arenow,forthefirsttime,feelingthattheseissuesarerelevanttothem.Wealsofocuson
theintersectionbetweenmigrationandthekeychallengesfacingruraleconomies
identifiedbytheCommissionforRuralCommunitiesaswages,lowskillsandthelossof
youngpeopletourbanareas(CommissionforRuralCommunities2008a).
Sectorsemployingmigrantsinruralareas
Anumberofsectorsinruraleconomiesemploymigrantworkerstoasignificantextent.
Figure5belowshowstheproportionofworkerswhowerebornoutsidetheUKovertimein
eachindustrysectorinruralareasexcludingagriculture,whichispoorlysampledinthe
LabourForceSurvey. 5
Numbersofforeign-bornworkershavebeenrisingandtheyarefoundacrossruralindustries,
Infact,foreign-bornworkershaveplayedanimportantroleinmanyruralindustriesforsome
timetheymadeupmorethan4percentofallindustrysectorsworkforcesinruralareas
since2000,withtheexceptionofconstruction.6
Theproportionofforeign-bornworkersrosesignificantlyin2004,particularlyin
manufacturing,hospitalityandtransportandcommunicationsallsectorswheremigrants
nowaccountforatleast7percentofthetotalworkforce.Thisislikelytobearesultinlarge
partofimmigrationfromthenewEUmemberstates.
4.Migrantsimpactsonruraleconomies
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Foreignbornas%o
flabourforceinsector
Manufacturing Construction Distribution, hotels and restaurants
Transport & communication Banking, finance & insurance Public admin, education and health
Other
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
9%
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Foreignbornas%o
flabourforceinsector
Manufacturing Construction Distribution, hotels and restaurants
Transport & communication Banking, finance & insurance Public admin, education and health
Other
Figure5.The
percentageof
workerswhoare
foreignbornin
eachindustry
sectorinrural
areas,20002007
Source:LabourForce
Surveyandippr
calculations
5.ThepoorcoverageofagriculturewithintheLabourForceSurveymeansthatitisarelativelyunder-studiedsector,whichisonereasonthatweincludedspecificsectoralanalysisofagricultureinthispaper
(seebelow).
6.ForeignworkersinconstructionareheavilyconcentratedinLondon(seeChappelletal 2008).
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Migrationandwages
Perhapsthemostfrequentlyvoicedfearinrelationtomigrationandtheeconomyruraland
urbanisthatmigrantsaretakingBritonsjobsandpushingdownwages.However,despite
thefrequencywithwhichtheseconcernsareexpressedinthemedia,thebestavailable
evidencesuggeststhat,atanationallevel,migrationdoesneitherofthesethings.
Turningfirsttothequestionofwages,thebestandmostrecentresearchonmigrations
wageimpactsintheUKsuggeststhatmigrationhasclosetonoimpactonwages,evenafter
therapidincreaseofimmigrationsince2004(Dustmannetal2005,ReedandLatorre
2009).7
Thisnationalpictureisimportanttodiscussbecauseitisnotwidelyknowntobethecase,
eitherbythepublicorbypolicymakers,andprovidesimportantcontext.However,itdoes
notdefinitivelyanswerthequestionastowhethermigrationhasnegativewageimpactsin
ruralareas,orforparticulargroups.Wagesareaveryimportantissueforruralareasthe
CommissionforRuralCommunities(2008a)identifieslowwagesasapushfactor
encouragingyoungBritishworkerstoleaveruralareas.Butitisnotpossibletoundertake
conclusiveeconometricanalysisexaminingtheimpactofmigrationonruralareasalone
becauseofthelackofdata.
Wecan,however,lookatsomeindicativedata.Figure6belowplotstheaveragerealwages
(thatis,adjustedforinflation)beingearnedbyBritish-bornresidentsinruralareas8.Itshows
ageneraltrendofrisingwagesovertimesince2001.Figure5alsoshowstheproportionof
foreign-bornpeopleofworkingageinthepopulation,whichagain,risesfairlysteadilyover
time.Itdoesnotappearthattherisingproportionofmigrantswithinruralworkforcesis
drivingdownwages.
Itdoes,however,remainpossiblethatmigrationhashadwageimpactsinsomeruralareasorsectorsmoredataandresearchintolocallabourmarketimpactsisneeded.
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
Averagegrosshourlypay(2007=100)
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
Foreignbornofworkingageas%o
fpopulationofworkingage
UK born average hourly pay % foreign born of working age
Figure6.UK-
bornaverage
grosshourlypay
vs.percentageof
foreignbornin
theworkforcein
ruralareas,
20012007
Source:LabourForce
Surveyandippr
calculations
7.Atleastintheshorttomediumterm.Wedealwiththelongerrunsituationinfollowingsub-sections.
8.Notethatthismaynotbeanentirelyaccuratereflectionofruralwagesbecausesomeruralresidents
willworkinurbanareas.Thisdatais,however,thebestavailable.
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Migrationandunemployment
ThebestandmostrecentresearchonmigrationsemploymentimpactsintheUKsaysthat
migrationhasnotresultedinincreasedunemployment(Gilpinetal2006,ReedandLatorre
2009).Thismaysoundcounterintuitivehowcouldnewpeoplearriveintoanareaandnot
takejobsfromtheexistingworkforce?Oneexplanationisthat,intheshortrun,migrantsfillgapsinthelabourforcethatcannotbefilledfromtheUK-bornpopulation(thisissupported
bythefactthatmigrantstendtoworkinsectorswithhighvacancyrates).Anotheristhat
migrantsalsoincreasedemandintheeconomyandthuscausetheeconomytoexpand,
creatingnewjobs.
Sohowmightruraleconomiesvaryfromthisnationalpicture,ifatall?Thereisevidencethat
vacanciesinruraleconomiescanbeevenhardertofillthaninurbanareas(Commissionfor
RuralCommunities2008b),andthatthisisthecasebothforhighly-skilledandlow-skilled
workers.Thissuggeststhatmigrantworkersmaybemorelikelytotakeuphard-to-fill
vacancies,andthereforeevenlesslikelytocreateunemploymentinruralareasthaninthe
widereconomy.Thisviewwassupportedbyourstakeholderinterviews:
Inlotsofruralareasthereisnolocalworkforcetodrawon...InruralWales
they[businesses]couldntfunctionwithoutmigrantworkers;similarlyinthe
South-West.Stakeholder,hospitality
Figure7supportsthisconclusionitshowstheproportionofmigrantsofworkingagein
ruralpopulationsovertime,setagainstunemployment.Itshowsthatunemploymentinrural
areashasremainedsteadyovertheperiodconcerned(whichdoesnotcoverthecurrent
recession),whiletheproportionofworkingagepeoplebornoutsidetheUKhasrisen
steadily.Inotherwords,migrationdoesnotappeartohaveledtoariseinunemploymentin
ruralareas.Instead,wheretheyareemployedtheyseemtobefillingvacancies(andmigrants
aremorelikelytobeemployedthantheaverageBritish-bornperson)(Cooleyetal2005).Theymayalsobemakingacontributionsuchthattheyareexpandingtheruraleconomyand
thusthetotalnumberofjobswillincrease(discussedfurtherlaterinthissection).
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007
UKbornemployedas%o
fpopulat
ionofwokringage
0
0.01
0.02
0.03
0.04
0.05
0.06
0.07
0.08
Foreignbornofworkingageas%o
fpopulationofworkingage
UK born employment rate % foreign born of working age
Figure7.UK-
bornemployment
ratevs.
percentageof
foreign-bornin
theworkforcein
ruralareas,
20012007
Source:LabourForce
Surveyandippr
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Thisemploymentpictureislikelytochangesignificantlyduringthecurrentrecession,with
unemploymentexpectedtoriseacrosstheUK,includinginruralareas.Thenumberofhard-
to-fillvacanciesinruralareasislikelytodeclineduringtherecession,butsotooisthesupply
ofmigrants(seebelow).Infact,ruraleconomies,whichtendtohavelessflexiblelabour
markets,mayfindthattherecessionhaslessimpactontheirvacancyratesthaninurbanareas,andtheymayseedemandformigrantworkersremaininghigherthanelsewhereinthe
UK.
Migrationandskillshortages
Thesparsenessofpopulationsinruralareascanexacerbatetheshortagesofskillsthatmight
befeltanywayinsomesectors.Ruralemployersareconcernedaboutthegreaterdifficulties
theyfaceinrecruitingthantheirurbancounterparts,particularlyofskilledmanagersand
professionals(CommissionforRuralCommunities2008a).Inthemediumtolongtermthere
needtobemeasurestoensurethereiseducationandtrainingforpeopleinruralareasbut
migrationalsohasaroletoplay,particularlyintheshorttomediumterm.
Therearesignificantdifferencesinthelevelofqualificationsbetweenforeign-bornandUK-
bornworkersinruralareas.9 Figure8showsthatmorethan50percentofUK-bornpeoplein
ruralareasleftfull-timeeducationatage16orbefore,whereasthiswasthecaseforless
than30percentofforeign-bornworkers.
ShortagesofskilledlocalworkerscausedbyhighlyeducatedUK-bornworkersmovingfrom
thecountrysidetomoreurbanareasappeartoafflictallsectorsinruraleconomies(Figure
9).Insomesectorssuchashospitalityandmanufacturingmorethan60percentoftheUK-
bornworkforcelefteducationatage16orunder.Financialservicesandpublic
administration,educationandhealthboastthehighestproportionofhighly-educatedUK-
bornworkersinruralareas.
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
Rural foreign born Rural UK born
Populationbyagewhenleftfulltimeeducationas%o
ftotal
16 or under
17-21
Over 21
Still in education
Figure8.Ageat
whichleftfull-
timeeducation,
foreign-bornand
UK-bornrural
residents,2007Source:LabourForce
Surveyandippr
calculations
9.Thevariableusedinthisanalysistoestimateworkerslevelofqualificationsisagewhenleftfull-timeeducation,sinceforeignqualificationsareunder-representedintheLabourForceSurvey.Althoughthis
estimateprovidesonlyapartialpictureofworkersskills,itisagoodapproximationtocomparethelevel
ofqualificationsbetweenforeign-bornandUK-bornworkers.
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Incontrast,foreign-bornworkersacrossallsectorsinruralareasaremuchmorelikelytobe
highlyeducated(Figure10).Theshareofworkerswholefteducationaged16orunderis
significantlylowerthanfortheUK-bornpopulation,representinglessthan30percentin
mostsectors.
MigrantscomingtoworkintheUKareoftenunderemployed,performingjobsthatrequire
skillsbelowtheirlevelofqualifications(Dustmannetal2007).Inparticular,asubstantial
proportionofthosethathavebeenintheUKforonlyashortperiodoftimearelikelytobe
doinglow-skilledwork.Overtime,however,migrantstendtomoveintojobsthatbettersuit
theireducationalbackgroundandskills.Therefore,thisinjectionofhighly-skilledworkers
62%
43%39%
61% 63%
33%
41% 46%
31%30%
5%
16% 15%9% 7%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Distribution, hotels and
restaurants
Public admin, education
and health
Banking, finance and
insurance
Manufacturing Other
Foreignbornbyagegroupas%o
fforeignbornin
industrysector
16 or under 17-21 Over 21
Figure9.Ageof
UK-bornworkers
inruralareas
whenleftfull-
timeeducation,byindustry
sector,2007
Source:LabourForce
Surveyandippr
calculations
30%
19% 17%
28%
37%
51%
47% 53%
46%
44%
19%
34%30%
26%19%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
50%
60%
70%
80%
90%
100%
Distribution, hotels and
restaurants
Public admin, education
and health
Banking, finance and
insurance
Manufacturing Other
Foreignbornby
agegroupas%o
fforeignborninindustrysector
16 or under 17-21 Over 21
Figure10.Ageof
foreign-born
workersinrural
areaswhenleft
full-time
education,by
industrysector,
2007
Source:LabourForce
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intoruraleconomieshasstrongerlikelihoodofmeetingsomeskillsshortagesifworkers
remaininthemediumtolongterm.
Migrationandjobcreation
Aswellasbeingworkers,migrantsareconsumersthosewholiveinruralareascanincreasedemandinruraleconomies,whichcanincreasethemarketforlocalfirms.Whenbusinesses
succeedandexpandtheyfurtherincreasedemandwithintheeconomy.Thismeansthateven
businessesandindustriesthatdonotemploymigrantsthemselvescanbenefitfrom
migration,leadingtojobcreationthroughoutruraleconomiesinthelongerterm.
Anumberofstakeholdersinourresearchstronglyemphasisedthispointaboutjobcreation:
Migrantsarecriticalnotjusttothoseindustriesthatemploythem,butalsoto
inter-linkedindustries.Stakeholder,ruralbusiness
Thisisnottheonlywayinwhichmigrantsappeartosupportruralbusinessesandjob
creation.Anumberofstudieshavestressedthatmigrantscanbemoreentrepreneurialthan
non-migrants(Nathan2008)andentrepreneurialismisavitalfactorincreatingthrivingbusinesses,economiesandjobopportunities.Onemeasureofentrepreneurialismisself-
employment.Figure11showstheproportionsofself-employedforeign-bornandUK-born
Onaverage,peoplelivinginruralareasaremorelikelytobeself-employedthanthosein
urbanareas.ComparingthosebornabroadwiththosebornintheUKsuggeststhatthe
foreign-bornaremorelikelytobeself-employedinsomesectorsinruralareassuchas
distribution,hotelsandrestaurantsandbanking,financeandinsurance,whereastheUK-
bornaremorelikelytobeself-employedinotherssuchasmanufacturing.Migrantsinrural
areasaremorelikelytobeself-employedthantheaveragepersonintheUK,thoughnot
moresothantheaveragepersoninruralareas.
0%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Rural UK Born Rural Foreign Born Urban UK Born Urban Foreign Born
Self-employedas%o
fworkforceinsector
Construction Other
Banking, finance and insurance Distribution, hotels and restaurants
Manufacturing Public admin, education and health
Figure11.Self-
employed,
foreign-bornand
UK-born,in
urbanandrural
areas,2007
Source:LabourForce
Surveyandippr
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Table5showsthepercentagesofmigrantswhoareself-employed,breakingdownthedata
bytheirlengthofstay.Thedatashowsthatmigrantsaremuchmorelikelytobeself-
employediftheyarrivedintheUKrecently.
Thereareanumberofexplanationsforthis.Someoftheself-employmentmaybeafunction
ofvisarestrictionsRomaniansandBulgarians,forexample,arenotusuallypermittedaccess
totheUKlabourmarketasworkers,thoughtheyareabletoworkasself-employedpeople.Theseself-employedpeoplemaynotbeanymoreentrepreneurialthantheaverageworker.
Insomesectorssuchasconstructionandthemediaself-employmenthasbecomeanormal
wayofworkingandagain,inthesecasesself-employmentisprobablynotsignificantly
linkedtoentrepreneurialism(Chappelletal2008).
However,someofthereasonsforwhichnewmigrantsaremorelikelytobeself-employed
thanotherworkersmaysuggesthigherlevelsofentrepreneurialism.Forexample,some
migrantscomefromcultureswhereself-employmentandbusinesscreationarecommon,
bringingtheseculturalattitudesandwaysofworkingwiththem,whichmaycreatenewjobs
intheUK.Somemigrantsmaybeforcedintoself-employmentiftheyareexcludedfrom
employment,butmaynonethelesssubsequentlydrivejobcreationinthelocalarea.
Migrationandproductivity
WehavealreadyseenthatmigrantstoruralareasareoftenmoreskilledthanUK-born
workersinruralareas.Wewouldexpectthistoincreasetheproductivityofruraleconomies.
Similarly,migrantentrepreneursmayincreaseproductivity.Butmigrationmayalsohave
widerproductivityeffectsviachangesintechnologyorbusinesspractices.
Theavailabilityof(cheap)migrantlabourmightstopfirmsfrominnovatingtechnologically
andinvestingincapitalinordertodelivertheirproducts.Economictheorysuggeststhatto
produceagivengood,firmshaveachoiceusinglabourorcapital(crudely,peopleor
machines)asinputs.Ifthereareshortagesoflabour,businesseswillneedtoconsiderother
methodsofproduction,meaningthattheyeitherinvestincapital,iftherighttechnologiesalreadyexist,orinresearchandinvestmenttodeveloptherequiredtechnology.Ithasbeen
suggestedthatbyprovidingsuppliesoflabour,migrationmightpreventtechnological
innovation.Thiscouldleadtoalowskillequilibriumwherelow-skilled,low-paidjobspersist
intheeconomyforlongerthantheymightotherwisehavedone.Thereissomeevidence
thatthismayoccurintheUK,includinginruralareas(Nathan2008).
However,otherresearchsuggeststhateconomictheoryprobablyoverstatestheextentto
whichtechnologycanreplacepeople(Rowthorne1999).Moreover,intheshorttermat
least,manybusinessesdonotfaceastraighttrade-offbetweenlabourandtechnology.In
caseswherethescopetoincreaseproductivitythroughmorecapital-intensivemethodsis
limited,orwherenewtechnologiesneedtobedeveloped,orwhereUKbusinessesfacecompetitionfromoverseas,thenthechoicemaynotbebetweenlabourandnewtechnology:
itmaybebetweenlabourandbankruptcyeitherforsomefirmsortheentiresectororsub-
Table5.Self-employedforeign-born,bylengthofstayintheUK,2007Lengthofstay %migrantsintheUKforthatperiodwhoareself-employed
Lessthan5years 19%
510years 12%
Morethan10years 3%
Source:LabourForceSurveyandipprcalculations
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sectoroftheeconomy.Thismaybethecaseforsomeruralsectors,particularlyagriculture,
anindustrywhereinplacesthepotentialformechanisationhasbeenexhausted,andstrong
competitionfromothercountriesputsdownwardpressureonprices.
Secondly,migrantsareoftenthoughttobeparticularlyproductiveworkers.Thisisforsimilar
reasonsasfortheirentrepreneurialismeitherbecausetheyarecomingfromaculture
wherethereisastrongfocusonhardworkandproductivity;orbecausetheactofmigrating,
beingwillingtocrossbordersandenternewculturesinsearchofopportunity,shows
inherentdriveandambitioninitself.Thereissomestrongevidenceforthehighproductivity
ofmigrantworkersintheUK(Denchetal2006,Eaglesham2007,Chappelletal2008).The
productivityofmigrantworkersalsocamethroughclearlyinourdiscussionswithemployers
andbusinessgroups:
Theclassicmarkerofamigrantworkeristhattheywanttoimprove
themselvesinsomeway.Stakeholder,hospitality
Migrantsareefficient,hardworkersandresponsible.Stakeholder,agriculture
Themigrantworkeronmystaffisnowthebestpaidmemberofthe
workforce,becausehesinvaluable.Itsadifferentworkethic.Stakeholder,
agriculture
Sectoralimpactsofmigrationinruralareas
Havinganalysedtherelationshipbetweenmigrationandunemployment,wages,jobcreation
andproductivity,wenowturntoexaminethreekeyruraleconomicsectorsascasestudies
agriculture,foodprocessingandhospitality.Thisenablesustobuildamoredetailedpicture
ofhowmigrationinteractswithasector,bringingtolifetherolethatmigrantsplay.
Thesesectorshavebeenchosenfortwomainreasons.First,eachhasseentheproportionof
migrantsintheirworkforcerisesignificantly,andthusmigrationplaysanimportantroleintheeconomicprospectsofthesesectors.BetweenMay2004andSeptember2006more
than75percentofnewEUmigrantsarrivinginruralareasregisteredtoworkinthese
sectors33percentinmanufacturing(whichincludesfoodprocessing),25percentin
agricultureandfishing,and20percentindistribution,hotelsandretail.Thisisparticularly
strikingasbetweenthemthesectorsonlyaccountfor36percentofruraloutput
(CommissionforRuralCommunities2007a).10
Second,eachofthesesectorsisimportanttoruraleconomies,althoughtheyaccountfor
onlyaroundathirdofruraloutput.Hospitalityisamajoremployerinruralareaswhichhas
grownstronglyandsteadilyinrecentyears,andhasbeenidentifiedasasectorwithstrong
futuregrowthpotential(People1st2006c).Agricultureandmanufacturing,conversely,areindustriesthathavehistoricallymadelargecontributionstotheUKeconomy,particularlyin
ruralareas,butwhichhavebeenstrugglingtomaintaintheirpositioninrecentyears.This
declineisofconcerntothewiderruralandnationaleconomy.Theadvantagesofretaining
strongbusinessesandindustriesintheUKnearthebaseoftheproductionchainhave
increasinglybeenemphasisedoverthepastyearassomeserviceindustries,suchasfinance,
havestruggled.Someoftherecentgainsmadebythesesectorshavearguablybeen
facilitatedbytheavailabilityofmigrantlabour.
10.Thedatareferstothesectorsthatmigrantssaytheywillbeworkinginwhentheyregister.AftersometimeintheUKtheymaymovetoothersectors;evidencesuggestsmanymigrantsdothis.
Thereforethesestatisticsonlyaccuratelyrepresentthesectoralallocationofmigrantswhentheyinitially
entertheUK.
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ThesesectorsalsocontributetoUKfoodsecurity,anissuethatisrisingupthepolicyagenda
(forexamplewiththerecentestablishmentoftheCouncilofFoodPolicyAdvisers,whichwill
lookatUKfoodsecurity)(DepartmentforEnvironmentFoodandRuralAffairs2008).In
addition,agriculturehasaspecialroleinitsstewardshipoftheland.Further,foodprocessing
hasbeenidentifiedasapotentialgrowthsectorforruralareas,buckingthegeneralmanufacturingtrend.Forexample,ithasbeenidentifiedasaprioritygrowthsectorbythe
NorthWestDevelopmentAgency(2007).Nonetheless,itisimportantnottooverstatethe
importanceofagriculturein2004itonlyemployedapproximately6percentoftherural
workforce(DepartmentforEnvironment,FoodandRuralAffairs2004).
Casestudy1:Agriculture
Alldatainthissection,unlessspecified,comefromDEFRAsAnnualAgriculturalStatisticsfor
EnglandandWales,2008,whicharedrawnfromtheannualJuneAgriculturalCensus.
Sectoroverview
Employmentinagriculturehasbeenfallingforsometime.Agriculture(includinghorticulture)employed480,000peopleintheUKin2007,a31percentdecreaseon1984.Thefallin
agriculturalemploymentoverthepast70yearshasbeenfairlyconstantyear-on-year.From
theSecondWorldWaruntil1970,mostsectorsofagricultureenjoyedaboom,but
employmentstilldeclinedasproductivityincreasedsignificantly.Since1970,however,
agriculturehasexperiencedfallingcommodityprices,verytightprofitmargins,andasa
consequencefallingfarmincomes.Theincreasedpowerofthesupermarketsand
agribusinessastheprimepurchasersofagriculturalproducehasproducedmostofthis
squeezeonprofits(forexample,Tesconowcontrols27percentofthefoodretailmarketin
theUK[Lawrence2008]),aswellassupermarketswillingnesstosourceproductsfrom
overseas.
Inordertomaintaintheirviability,farmershaverespondedinthreemainways,through:
Intensificationusingtechnicalandnon-technicalinnovationtoincreaseyields,speedupagriculturalproduction,orreducerisk.MostfocusedinEastAnglia,theEast
MidlandsandtheFens.
Diversificationandvalorisationwithinagriculturalproductiongrowingnewcropssuchastriticale(acrossbetweenwheatandrye),byconvertingtoorganicproduction
orspecialistanimalbreeds.Thesenewinitiativesareoftenlabourintensive,creating
potentialdemandsformigrantlabour.
Farmincomediversificationoutsideagriculturalproduction,includingmovementinto
farmholidaysandtherentaloffarmbuildingsasoffices.
Thehistoricaluseofmigrantlabourinagriculture
Thereisalonghistoryofusingforeignmigrantsasagriculturalworkers,datingbackmany
centuries(Winder2004).ProtestantrefugeesfromFranceandtheSpanishNetherlands
drainedandfirstcultivatedtheFens.DuringtheFirstWorldWar,Belgianrefugeessettledin
PeterboroughanditsenvironsinCambridgeshire,manyofthemfindingagriculturalwork.
AftertheSecondWorldWar,Polishex-servicemenwhosettledintheUKwerebilletedto
workasagriculturallabourersatatimeofacutelabourshortage.
Agriculturehasreliedonseasonallabourformanycenturies.Differentcropsrequiredifferent
amountsoflabourinputatdifferenttimesoftheyear,asdodifferenttypesofanimalproduction.Horticulturalproduction,includingpacking,isaparticularlylabourintensive
sector,characterisedbypeaksandtroughsinlabourdemand.Strawberryproductionunder
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glass,forexample,requiresthreetimesasmuchlabourinAugustandSeptemberasitdoes
inFebruary.
Scottetal(2008)distinguishbetweentheprimaryagriculturallabourmarket,comprising
permanentemployees,andthesecondaryagriculturallabourmarketwhichcomprises
seasonalworkers.Thisseasonallabourhas,andcontinuestobe,providedbyfamilymembers
andothersinruralcommunities(thelongschoolholidayswerescheduledtocoincidewith
theharvest).Gypsiesandothertravellershavealsobeenasourceofseasonallabourand
thereisalonghistoryofusingtheurbanworkingclassasseasonallabourinsomepartsof
theUK.Forexample,hoppickinginKentwasundertakenbyLondonersuntilwellafterthe
SecondWorldWar.Untilthelate1990s,unemployedUK-bornworkersalsosometimes
workedonfarmsduringtimesofpeaklabourdemand.Forexample,workersmovedfrom
NottinghamandHulltoworkonholdingsintheFens,stayingincaravansforpartofthe
weekthentravellinghome.However,todaythisseasonallabourneedisincreasinglymetby
theemploymentofmigrantworkers.
Migrantsinagriculturetoday
Since1997,thesizeoftheUK-bornagriculturallabourforcehasdecreasedatthesametime
asincreasedagrarianintensificationandincomediversification,whichhasinsomecases
increasedthedemandforlabour.Peoplewillingtoundertakeunskilledlabourinruralareas
aresimplynotavailableinthequantitythatisrequiredbyagriculture.Moreover,agricultural
wagesarelowincomparisonwithotherunskilledwork,despitetheworkbeinghardand
therebeingfewercareerprospectsthaninotherjobs.
Inparticular,therehasbeenanincreaseddemandforsecondary,seasonalagriculturallabour
(Scottetal2008).Asaresult,employershavelookedtointernationalmigrantstofillthe
gaps,andmigrantworkersnowplayasignificantroleintheprimaryagriculturallabour
marketandtheseasonallabourmarket.
LabourForceSurveyestimates(whichcaptureonlythoseemployedintheprimary
agriculturallabourmarket,andexcludethoselivinginaccommodationtiedtoemployment)
suggestthattherewere25,200foreign-bornworkersemployedintheagriculturaland
fisherysectorinthefirstquarterof2007,comparedwith11,500inQ21998.Itisvery
difficulttoestimatethenumbersofseasonalmigrantworkersinthesector,butweknow
howmanyhavecometotheUKthroughtheSeasonalAgriculturalWorkersScheme:7,310
workersenteredtheUKin2007throughSAWS,downfrom20,700whentheschemewasat
itspeakin2003.Manymoreworkersareemployedseasonallyinthesector,buttheyarenot
capturedinthesedatasets.
LearningmoreaboutthemigrantsinvolvedisnoteasyasthesmallsamplesizeoftheLabour
ForceSurveypreventsadetailedanalysis.However,other,qualitativeresearchprovidessome
insights.Migrantsareoccasionallyemployedinthedairysectorbutaremorelikelytowork
withpigsandpoultry(teamsworktogethertoemptyandcleansheds)andtheothercrops
sector(softfruits,vegetables,flowersandbulbs)wheretheircontributionisessential
duringtheharvestingseason.
ResearchsuggeststhatmostmigrantagriculturalworkersintheUKcomefromwithinthe
EU,mostlyfromthenewmemberstates,particularlyPolandandRomania,withmany
RomaniansadmittedthroughSAWS.Thisispartlyareflectionofimmigrationrules.SAWS,
forexample,hasbeenreservedsolelyforBulgarianandRomaniannationalssinceJanuary2008(whereasin2007therewasaquotaof40percentofplacesfornon-EUnationals).
One2007studyfoundthat58percentofhorticulturalworkerswerenationalsoftheA8
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accessioncountries,19percentwereRomaniansandBulgariansadmittedthroughSAWS,19
percentwerenationalsofothercountriesadmittedthroughSAWSand2percentwere
nationalsofothercountriesarrivingbyotherroutes(NationalFarmersUnion2008).Inother
sub-sectorsandpartsoftheUK,however,therearesignificantgroupsofmigrantsfrom
countriesoutsidetheEU.
BringingthisinformationtogetherwithresearchonwhymigrantscometoworkinBritish
agriculture,wecangroupmigrantagriculturalworkersintoanumberofcategories:
A8andA2migrantsforwhomagriculturalworkisafirstjobonarrivalintheUKbeforemovingtobetterpaidwork:ipprpollingdataandotherresearchsuggeststhat
abouthalfofA8workersleaveagriculturalworkwithinthreemonthsofarrivalinthe
UK.Thosewholeavearealmostalwaysbettereducatedthantheaverageandcite
poorpayandlowstatusoftheworkasthemainreasonsformovingon.
A8migrantswhoremainforaperiodoftimeintheUK,savemoney,thenreturntotheircountryoforigin:Seasonalagriculturalworkisoftenanattractiveoptionfor
thosewhomigratetotheUKforjustashortperiodoftime(perhapsonmorethanoneoccasion).
A8workerswhoremaininagriculture:Thisgroupisrelativelysmall.Theygenerallyappeartobelesswell-educated,speaklessfluentEnglish,bedependenton
compatriotsfortranslationandhavefewercareeroptionsintheUKortheircountries
oforiginthanworkersintheothercategorieshere.Insomecasestheyareprogressing
tomoreresponsibleworkwithinthesector.
SAWSmigrants:Before2008,whenSAWSwasopentoawiderrangeofnationalgroups,SAWSattractedstudentsfromcountriessuchasUkraine.Today,SAWSworkers
appeartobeolderandlesseducated.HighproportionsareRoma,astheseasonal
natureoftheworkisoftencompatiblewiththelifestylesofsomeRomawhowantto
spendtimewithfamilyinRomania.
Pre-2004EUmigrants:vastmajorityfromPortugal:PooremploymentprospectsinPortugalamongthisgroup,manyofwhomhavefewqualifications,havebrought
themtotheUK(deAbreuandLambert2003).
EUandoverseasstudentswiththerighttoworkintheUK:Asmallgroup,thoughnumbersmaybegrowing.
Irregularmigrants:Althoughitisdifficulttoestimatenumbersofirregularmigrants,in2000theycomprisedasignificantpartofthehorticulturallabourforceinpartsofthe
UK.TheircountriesoforiginincludedChina,Brazil,Iraq,Afghanistan,India,Pakistan
andBangladesh(RogalyandTaylor2004).Employerssanctionsandtheworkofthe
GangmastersLicensingAuthorityappeartohavedecreasedthenumbersofirregular
migrantsemployedonfarms,buttheyarestillpresent.
Long-settledforeign-bornpopulationsfromSouthAsiawholiveinurbanareas:Thisgrouptendstobebussedoutofcitiesbygangmasterstoworkinhorticultureand
fieldvegetableproductionandpacking.Forexample,therearesignificantpopulations
ofBritishPakistanisworkinginthehorticulturesectorinHerefordshireand
Worcestershire(LanzandGullen2006).Thisgroupoftenpossessesfewqualifications.
Limitedjobprospectsinurbanareas,plusagrowingnumberofSouthAsian
gangmasters,haveledtoanincreaseinseasonalworkersfromthisgroup.
FuturetrendsAgriculturewillplayanimportantroleinthefutureofruraleconomies,evenifitremainsa
relativelysmallemployer.Increasedemphasisonfoodsecurityandlandstewardshipwill
reinforcethiseconomicrole.Itseemslikelythatagriculturewillcontinuetoexperiencelabour
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shortages,particularlyforlow-skilledandseasonalwork.Althoughtechnologicalinnovation,
capitalinvestmentandchangedworkingpracticesmayreducethedemandforlabourto
someextentinthefuture,manylow-skilledandseasonaljobswillremain.Somewillbefilled
byUK-bornworkers,particularlyduringthecurrentrecession,buttheirlocationandnature
arelikelytorenderthemhardtofillinthemediumtolongterm.Migrantworkerswillthereforehaveanimportantandongoingroleinthesector.
Casestudy2:Foodprocessing
Sectoroverview
Foodprocessingisadiversesector,includingsmall-scaleartisanbusinesses,medium-sized
enterprisesaswellaslargetransnationalcompaniesthatmakemanyproducts.TheFoodand
DrinkFederation(2007)suggeststhat411,000peoplewereemployedinthefood
processingsectorin2007.Thisisalmostcertainlyanunderestimate,undercountingthose
employedinartisanbusinessesandfoodprocessingoperationswithintheretailsector.Itis
likelythatabout15percentofthetotalUKworkforceisdirectlyemployedinfood
processing.Additionally,manythousandsofjobsinagricultureandretailingdependonthe
foodprocessingsector,whichpurchases75percentoftheUKsagriculturaloutput.
Thetotalturnoverinthefoodprocessingsectorwasestimatedtobe74millionin2007.
ThesectoristhelargestcomponentoftheUKsmanufacturingindustryandcontributes
14.2percentofthemanufacturingsectorsGrossValueAdded(FoodandDrinkFederation
2007).InsomepartsoftheUKNorthernIreland,EasternScotland,theEastMidlandsand
theFens,includingmanyruralareasthefoodprocessingsectorisparticularlyimportantto
localeconomies.
Althoughmostfoodprocessingbusinessesaremediumsized,employing100to250people,
therehasalsobeenagrowthinthenumberofverylargeenterprises(FoodandDrink
Federation2007).Andtherehasbeenaconsolidationofbusinessesaslargetransnational
corporationshaveboughtupfactoriesandbrands.
Migrantsinruralfoodprocessing
Althoughthetotalturnoverofthefoodprocessingsectorhasgrownoverthelast10years,
thesizeofitsworkforcehasdecreased,asaconsequenceofgreaterautomation.Atthe
sametime,analysisoftheLabourForceSurveyshowsthattherehasbeenasteadygrowthin
thenumbersofmigrantworkersemployedinthefoodprocessingsector,particularlysince
2004andthearrivalofmigrantsfromtheEUsnewmemberstates.Thefoodprocessing
sectorischaracterisedbytightprofitmarginsforproducersandlowwagesforemployees.In
economicboomtimes,thefoodprocessingsectorhasnotbeenseenasanattractivecareer
optionbyUK-bornworkers,althoughthismaychangeduringrecession.
Despiteagriculturalintensification,thefoodprocessingsectorhasseasonalpeaksindemand
forlabour.Thesepeaksarecausedbyagriculturalproductionpatternsaswellasseasonal
consumptionpatterns.Newinnovationssuchasjust-in-timeproductionwherefoodisnot
producedtostock,rathertomeettheexactamountdemandedbyacustomer,requireavery
flexibleworkforce.Ifdemandishighinoneareaofthebusiness,additionaltemporary
workersmayberequired.Temporarywork,sometimesonzero-hourscontracts(underwhich
theemployerdoesnotguaranteetoprovideworkandpaysonlyforworkactuallydone),has
provedunattractivetomanyBritishworkers,somuchofthislabourhasbeenprovidedby
migrants.Manyofthetemporaryworkersforjust-in-timeprocessesgettheworkthrough
labourproviders,oftengangmasters,someofwhomarethemselvesmigrants(Geddes2008).
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Migrantsarenotemployedinequalnumbersacrossthesector.Theyaremostlikelytobe
employedinfoodpacking,forexampletheinitialprocessingandpackingofsalad
vegetables,aswellastheproductionlineprocessingoffoods(seeTable6belowandGeddes
2008).Theserolesaremorelikelythanotherstobelocatedinruralareas.
Scottetal(2008)distinguishbetweentheprimaryagriculturallabourmarketofpermanent
employees,andthesecondarylabourmarketofseasonalandtemporaryworkers.Thissame
divisionoccursinfoodprocessing.Qualitativeresearchsuggeststhatmigrantworkersare
morelikelytobeemployedinthesecondarylabourforce,withmanyoftheseseasonaland
temporaryworkersprovidedbygangmasters(Geddes2008,Rutterforthcoming).Again,this
secondarylabourforceismorelikelytobearuralone.
Futuretrends
Intheshortterm,theproportionofmigrantworkersemployedinthefoodprocessingsector
maydecrease.(Thereisalreadyevidenceofthishappeningindatagatheredfromthe
WorkersRegistrationSchemeformigrantsfromthenewmemberstatesoftheEU.)During
therecession,unemployedUK-bornworkerswillfillvacanciesinlargernumbers
employmentinthefoodprocessingsectorisperceivedasmoreattractivethaninagriculture.
Demandforprocessedfoodislikelytoholdupbetterthanforotherproductsduring
recession,asitisoftencheaperthanfreshfood,andwhilesomefirmsmaybeaffectedby
therecession,itisunlikelythattherewillbelarge-scalejoblosses.Additionally,thecreditcrunchmayhaltgreaterautomationinfoodprocessing,asthatiscapitalintensive.
Casestudy3:Hospitality
Sectoroverview
TheUKshospitalityindustrybroadlyfallsintothreemaincategoriesofbusiness:restaurants,
bars/clubsandpubs,andhotels/motels(People1st2006c).TheUKshospitalitysectorisa
significantemployer,currentlyemployingapproximately2millionpeople,around7percent
ofthetotallabourforcein2005(LowPayCommission2006).Itisalsogrowingfast.In2007
distribution,hotelsandrestaurants(ofwhichhospitalityisapart)grewby5.1percent,
secondfastestafterpublicadministration,educationandhealth.Lookingahead,the
sectorsexpansionseemslikelytosloworreverseduringtherecession,butinthemediumto
longtermweexpectthesectortobeofgrowingimportancetoruraleconomies.
Table6:Migrantworkersinfoodprocessing,20062007(meanquarterlypercentage)
UK-born EU15plus EUaccession Bulgariaand Non-EEA
Norway,Iceland, states Romania
Switzerland, of2004
Liechtenstein
Butchers,meatcutters 91.4 1.8 2.2 0.6 4.0
Bakers,flour, 84.2 4.0 2.2 0.3 9.3
confectioners
Fishmongers,poultrydressers 82.8 0 5.1 3.0 9.1
Food,drinkandtobaccoprocess 72.4 2.3 10.0 2.1 13.2
operatives
Packers,bottlers, 60.3 3.0 16.6 4.0 16.1
cannersandfillers
Source:LabourForceSurveyascitedinGeddes(2008)
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Keycharacteristicsofthesectorsworkforceinclude:
Youth:Athirdoftheworkersinthesectorareundertheageof25,withagreaterproportionofstudentsthanothersectors.
Afemaleworkforce:Around60percentofthesectorsworkforceisfemale.
Parttime:Agreaterproportionofparttimeworkersthanothersectors.
Dominatedbysmalltomediumsizedfirms:threequartersofbusinessesemployfewerthan10workers.
Lowpay:17.2percentofthesectorsworkforceareworkinginminimum-wagepayingjobs,whichisthethirdhighestproportionafterhairdressing(22.2percent)and
security(19.3percent)(LowPayCommission2008).Thereisalsoconcernthatsome
hospitalityworkersarenotbeingpaidtheminimumwageenoughtotri
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