How does migration shape the UK economy and society?

The UK’s population geography has changed dramatically over the last 50 years due to national and international migration and a rising birth rate.

National Migration

National migration can take different forms, such as retirement migration and rural-to-urban migration. These can challenge the regions that receive or lose migration.

Retirement migration is when elderly people retire to a different part of the UK due to a perceived view that the area is more attractive and crime is lower. An area of the UK that attracts many older people is the South-West, Cornwall, Devon and Dorset. As a result, this area has an increased pressure on services such as healthcare, transport and housing availability. Higher house prices force a number of young people out of the area as they cannot afford to live there, which in turn leads to fewer young adults and, eventually, fewer children. This could lead to school closures or a shortage of workers in some jobs. However, an influx of elderly people can create jobs in specialist services such as shops, social care, and activities.

Rural-to-urban migration is the movement of people from the rural countryside to more urban areas such as cities. The reason for this migration is largely due to lack of job opportunities for young adults. For example, in central and north Wales, there are limited opportunities for young people. The main industries are farming and fishing, which are hard to find jobs in, so many leave to find better opportunities in the cities. This results in a large elderly population in these rural areas which can put pressures on local services.

International Migration

During the 1950s, the UK had a shortage of workers. It encouraged immigration from former UK colonies such as India, Pakistan and the Caribbean to work in steel, textiles and transport industries. This led to over 1 million young adults arriving in the UK, mostly men. By the 1970s, job shortages had been filled, and the numbers arriving had begun to decline. Most migrants who arrived in the UK went to large cities, such as Birmingham, Lonon and Bradford, where jobs were available. This is why these areas today have large, diverse, multicultural communities, such as Pakistani and Indian communities.

Since 2004, due to the growing membership of the European Union and significant economic growth, the UK has seen an increase in migrants from Eastern Europe. Many Polish, Latvian, and Estonian young adults, 80% aged 18-34, came to the UK looking for work. Most ended up in the cities, working in the service or farming industries, picking fruit and vegetables, and working in packing and processing factories in rural locations such as Lincolnshire.

International migration can have both positive and negative effects. Some positives include an increase in multiculturalism. Migrants bring their local cuisine and religious practices, which different cultures can enjoy. Migrants also bring lots of skilled (e.g., nurses and doctors) and cheap and/or unskilled labour (e.g., construction or service jobs), which benefits the economy of the towns and cities where they settle.

However, increasing migration can pressure cities as the population density increases. As the number of children increases, there can be shortages of school places or longer hospital waiting times. Increased migration can be a burden in areas where resources are already stretched.

Rising Birth Rate

The UK is considered to have a high birth rate. This is due to several factors, such as;

• Women chose to have children earlier due to limited employment prospects after the 2008 recession.
• Older women, particularly those born in the 1970s, who delayed having children to focus on their careers, are now starting to have children.
• Women who have immigrated to the UK often have higher fertility rates than UK-born women. This is often due to religious reasons around contraception.