British nationals held one-fifth of payroll job growth

A Centre for Social Justice analysis of HMRC payroll data says British nationals accounted for about one-fifth of the increase in UK payroll employment between 2014 and the end of 2025, while non-EU nationals accounted for most of the growth. The analysis estimates that payroll employment rose by about 3.7 million over the period. It attributes 734,000 additional jobs to British nationals, 408,000 to EU nationals and about 2.5 million to non-EU nationals. The figures are drawn from the think tank’s State of Dependency report and describe changes in payroll jobs, not the share of all workers who are British. The report says the pattern intensified between 2020 and 2025. During those years, payroll jobs held by non-EU nationals increased by 2.1 million, while jobs held by British nationals fell by 186,000. The number of British nationals in payroll employment declined in nine of the UK’s 12 regions and nations, according to the analysis. Health and social care, hospitality, administration and retail accounted for about two-thirds of the rise in non-EU payroll employment, the report says.