Employers rely on this many workers from elsewhere in the EU
UK employers rely on a workforce made up of over one million EU workers, a study out today has found.
According to the research by Adecco and the Social Market Foundation, there are 1.6m employees in the UK who hail from somewhere else in the European Economic Area (EEA) or Switzerland, which equates to around six per cent of the country's total workforce.
London employers are particularly dependent on employees from elsewhere in the EEA, with such workers accounting for 13 per cent of all employees. Likewise, the manufacturing and hospitality sectors have a workforce made up of 10 per cent and 14 per cent of employees from elsewhere in the EEA.
Read more: Brexit concerns increasingly weighing on the minds of business owners
"This research raises serious questions about the potential impact of Brexit," said Adam Hawkins, managing director and board member at Adecco Group UK and Ireland. "With 1.6m EU workers currently working in the UK, making up six per cent of all UK employees, thousands of businesses could be left in limbo for years following a vote to leave.
"Uncertainty is bad for business, particularly those looking to hire and invest in the future. The recruitment industry has seen a significant slowdown in the number of businesses looking to hire permanent staff as we draw nearer to the referendum."
Recruiter Hays revealed in a trading statement last month that employers in the UK and Ireland seemed to be exercising a greater deal of caution in recruiting staff, with analysts at Barclays pinning the slowdown in part on rising uncertainty over a potential Brexit.
Likewise, Michael Page reported that some of its key markets, including the UK, had failed to deliver as well as expected during the first quarter of the year, although pegged this on the earlier-than-usual timing of the Easter holidays.