Migrants Little Influence on Wage Levels

Theresa May suppressed up to nine studies that found immigration does not hit wages, claims Vince Cable. 'It showed that immigration had very little impact on wages or employment. But this was suppressed by the Home Office'

The Liberal Democrat leader said: “When I was Business Secretary, there were up to nine studies that we looked at that took in all the academic evidence. It showed that immigration had very little impact on wages or employment. But this was suppressed by the Home Office under Theresa May, because the results were inconvenient.” Cable added: “I remember it vividly. Overwhelmingly it has been the case that overseas workers have been complimentary rather than competitive to British workers." 

Last year, May told the Conservative party conference: “I know a lot of people don't like to admit this. For someone who finds themselves out of work or on lower wages because of low-skilled immigration, life simply doesn't seem fair.” 

But the claim was rejected by experts including at the Institute for Fiscal Studies, which argued immigrants also create jobs, expanding the opportunities for British workers.

A Bank of England analysis of higher migration found there was some evidence of lower pay, but of less than two per cent over eight years. This was widely seen as a tiny impact in comparison with the other reasons behind wage stagnation in the decade since the economic crash.