More work, less money: Hungarian workers’ situation in the UK

Researchers at Oxford University conducted a study on the situation of young EU migrant workers in the UK, hvg.hu reports.

Eastern Europeans, including Hungarians, work more for much less money and do jobs British people cannot or do not want to do. They are often more qualified, but rely less on welfare than UK citizens. Yet the argument does not change: are they not just taking jobs away from British people?

The study focuses on people aged 24-30, since 60% of the immigrants fall into this category. Further classification puts Hungarians in the group called Central-Eastern Europe, comprising of the Eastern section of the EU.

Firstly, the study found that employment rate among Eastern Europeans working in the UK is 83%, while among British people it is only 74%. Only 12% of the foreigners are inactive – unable or unwilling to find work – while this is the case among 18% of British citizens.

26% of Eastern European immigrants work in the manufacturing industry; for British people this number is only 9%. This data shows that foreigners can compensate the weaknesses of the British economy and that they are not stealing jobs from British citizens. Another area in need of workers is the construction industry, which employs only 7.6% of the British.