EU jobseekers most likely to search for roles in Britain

The percentage of Europeans seeking work in Britain significantly outstrips the percentage of Britons looking for jobs in mainland Europe, according to new research by jobs site, Indeed.

The research report Europe on the Move analysed millions of searches by job seekers in EU15 countries, including the UK. It found that, among those looking for work in a foreign country, Britain was consistently the first choice, attracting 37.2% of job searches.

The UK receives nearly three times more interest from EU job seekers than either of the next two most popular destinations, France and Germany, which receive 12.1% and 11.7% respectively. Finland attracted the fewest job searches, with just 0.3% of searches recorded.

By contrast, Britons seem reluctant to work in mainland Europe, with just 15% of looking for work overseas choosing to search in the EU. This is less than half the comparable figures for job hunters in the Eurozone’s two biggest economies, Germany (36%) and France (37%) — and considerably less than all other EU15 countries.

Indeed’s data showed that 98.5% of searches by UK users looked for jobs in Britain — the highest level in any EU country. Mariano Mamertino, economist at the job site, said: “Freedom of movement has always been one of the EU’s central tenets but according to this research, Europe is delivering the UK one-way traffic.”

“It’s very clear that the average Briton is considerably less likely to want to work in Europe than the average European wants to work in Britain. In the 19th Century, Britain pursued a foreign policy of splendid isolation and, based on this evidence, the isolationist mindset appears to be as strong as ever today.”

He added: “While UK firms may be in a stronger position than their European counterparts when it comes to attracting international talent, this situation may not last forever. Any policy that restricts the mobility of the EU workforce could negatively affect many UK employers who have historically relied on a steady flow of international talent to fill open positions.”