A new analysis by the Institute for Employment Studies prepared for the European Parliament offer a snapshot of the number, status and characteristics of EU27 nationals living in the UK, and UK nationals living in Europe. The report, Brexit implications for employment and social affairs: facts and figures, found that UK expenditure on welfare benefit is more than forty times lower than expenditure for UK nationals. Overall, the researchers concluded that EU migrants are net contributors to the UK economy in terms of taxes and welfare benefits. This research found that the total number of EU-27 nationals living in the UK grew from 1,345,000 in 1990 to 2,988,072 in 2015. The EU-27 population in the UK is made up of a large number of young people, particularly those aged between 25 and 34. Meanwhile, the number of UK citizens living in the EU grew from 661,505 in 1990 to 1,216,041 in 2015. In comparison with the UK domestic workforce, the employment rate of EU-27 nationals in the UK is higher and the unemployment rate lower. EU-27 nationals in the UK are more likely to be employed in low-skilled work and UK citizens working within the EU-27 tend to be employed in high-skilled occupations. The UK expenditure on welfare benefits for EU-27 nationals is more than 40 times lower than the expenditure for UK nationals, with very little variation over time.

Most employers buy into the idea that the more engaged their employees the likely they are to leave, but a new survey suggests that whether or not staff feel engaged or are happy with their salary, they won’t stay on board once they’re ready for a new work challenge. This is according to research by Korn Ferry which claims that the No. 1 reason professionals would hunt for a new job in 2017 is to seek a more challenging position, while the quest for greater compensation comes in almost dead last as a reason to leave. In the survey of nearly 2,000 professionals, nearly three-quarters (73 percent) said that if they plan on being in the job market this year, it’s because they’re looking for a challenge. Trailing far behind, 9 percent said they are looking because they either don’t like their company or their efforts aren’t being recognized, 5 percent say their compensation is too low, and 4 percent say they don’t like their boss.

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Two new reports published today reveal a dearth of people management skills among both current and future leaders. Over half of the HR professionals polled for the latest CIPD HR Outlook survey believe too many leaders lack the people management behaviours and skills needed to get the best from their workforce. One of the reasons behind this is suggested in the results of a survey from Robert Half which claims that half (50 percent) of management candidates lack leadership skills, with nearly one in five (18 percent) candidates falling short on planning skills, and 14 percent lacking communication skills. In the CIPD poll, people management was voted the top leadership skill needed by organisations over the next three years. However, out of those who chose performance management, more than half (53 percent) said leaders’ current skills in this area were ineffective. Similarly, 44 percent of HR professionals felt senior leaders’ skills were ineffective.

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