Net migration to the United Kingdom plunged by nearly half in 2024, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), raising alarms over potential workforce gaps in key sectors such as healthcare and construction.
The ONS reported that 948,000 individuals entered the UK in 2024, while 519,000 left, bringing the net migration figure to 431,000. This marks a significant decline from the previous year’s record high of 860,000 and is the largest annual drop ever recorded. The decrease is primarily due to a sharp fall in the number of non-EU workers and students arriving in the country.
Both the Conservative Party and Labour have hailed the new statistics as a success. The Conservatives claimed the figures validate policies implemented shortly before they were voted out of power. Labour, meanwhile, is aligning the trend with recent efforts to reduce immigration, with Prime Minister Keir Starmer controversially describing Britain as an “island of strangers” in a speech last week.
Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR), a leading think tank, has cautioned that reducing migration must be weighed against the nation’s increasing reliance on foreign workers, particularly within strained public service sectors.
“The government’s tightening of immigration rules risks deepening the UK’s housing crisis at precisely the wrong moment,” warned Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder of ASK Partners, a property lending firm.
“The construction sector is already under intense pressure, from spiralling build costs and the impact of regulatory changes like the Building Safety Act, to planning bottlenecks and a chronic shortage of skilled labour. Limiting access to foreign workers threatens to compound these issues, further stalling progress on desperately needed housing.”
Daniel Austin
Care Sector Braces For Worker Shortage
Concerns are especially acute in the care industry. Labour’s recent visa clampdown is expected to ban care homes from hiring overseas workers, a move many say could leave vulnerable populations without adequate support.
Dr Jane Townson, chief executive of the Homecare Association, echoed these concerns, warning that the government’s strategy will “force more homecare providers to shut their doors”. The latest immigration data shows that only 26,100 people arrived in the UK on a health and care worker visa between April 2024 and April 2025, down from 143,900 the previous year.
The shift in immigration policy is being framed by Labour as part of a long-term strategy to train and empower the domestic workforce.
“No, as you saw in the white paper, we are, for the first time, setting out a strategy to properly bring together a domestic skills strategy with an immigration strategy. Reducing our reliance on overseas labour by training up our domestic workforce and ensuring that our border system is secure. Net migration is still too high and must come down, which is why we set out our plans in the immigration white paper.”
Downing Street spokesperson
Home Secretary Yvette Cooper also welcomed the decrease, calling it “important and welcome after the figures quadrupled to nearly a million” during the previous government’s tenure.
The data released by the ONS paints a clearer picture of what’s driving the dramatic decline. There was a 49% fall in the number of non-EU nationals arriving for work, amounting to 108,000 fewer people. Additionally, the number of family members accompanying international students dropped by 86%, with 105,000 fewer arrivals. A 35% decline was also observed among dependents of incoming workers.
Interestingly, the statistics show that more international students who arrived post-Covid have begun leaving the UK, now that travel has normalized.
Although the numbers largely reflect migration trends before Labour took power, the current government’s recent immigration measures are expected to further influence figures in the coming months, especially as Labour looks to counter the hardline anti-immigration rhetoric of Reform UK and Nigel Farage.
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