Three-quarters of workers who have arrived in the UK from Eastern Europe are in low-skilled jobs, a think-tank has claimed.
Migration Watch UK said its research showed there were 870,000 workers from the newest EU member states, including Romania and Bulgaria, and that almost three quarters were in low-skilled work.
Just over half were in the second lowest skills category, which includes administrative and secretarial occupations, sales and customer services jobs and process, plant and machine operatives.
The remainder were in the lowest-skilled “elementary” occupations, the think-tank’s analysis suggested.
The workers are from Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia, which joined the EU in 2004, and Romania and Bulgaria, which joined in 2007.
Lord Green of Deddington, Migration Watch UK chairman, said: “This analysis clearly demonstrates that some means must be found to curb low skilled immigration from the EU if immigration is to be brought under control.
“East European workers have a very good reputation for their work ethic but the fact that they are so overwhelmingly in low skilled work raises real questions about their value to the UK economy.
“Meanwhile, they add considerably to the pressure on public services, especially in the areas where they are concentrated.”
A Home Office spokeswoman said: “Nine out of every ten people in work are UK nationals – we want to make sure British citizens benefit first from the country’s growing economy, but that we also attract the skilled migrants that are needed by our businesses.
“As research has shown, and the Governor of the Bank of England has said, a high level of net migration risks depressing UK wages for the poorest paid.
“The reforms we have already made to benefits, healthcare and housing rules are among the tightest in Europe. The new government will negotiate with the EU to bring in further reforms, so that people will have to be earning here for a number of years before they can claim benefits, including the tax credits