Businesses are worried about where they’re going to find workers after Brexit

Another report, this time by the Migration Advisory Service, is saying that UK businesses are worried about losing EU workers, if immigration laws are changed after Brexit.

What it means: The number of EU workers in the UK was a big part of the Brexit campaign. The government's commissioned the review to help advise a new immigration What's this?  policy post-Brexit. According to the report, UK employers see EU workers as "more reliable" and eager than people from the UK.

According to the report, some of the reasons UK employers might employ EU workers are: the UK born workforce doesn't have the necessary skills; migrants often have a higher motivation to work so are more productive and reliable; migrants are prepared to do jobs that the UK-born workforce are not interested in; and low unemployment means a low supply of UK-born workers.

They're also cheaper: while EU migrants from the original EU countries – places like Belgium, France and the Netherlands – are paid 12% more than comparable UK workers, those from newer member states are paid 27% less. But this report seems to show pretty strongly that employers don't just hire EU workers so they can pay them less.

The survey is only a small part of the huge project of assessing how migration affects the UK. The final report will consider a lot more, including the impact on wages and unemployment, on public finances, and how communities get along with each other.