THE AFRICAN COURIER. Reporting Africa and its Diaspora! The African Courier is an international magazine published in Germany to report on Africa and the Diaspora African experience. The first issue of the bimonthly magazine appeared on the newsstands on 15 February 1998. The African Courier is a communication forum for European-African political, economic and cultural exchanges, and a voice for Africa in Europe.
Hundreds of thousands of people have left Britain due to the effects of the pandemic on the economy, a new study carried out by the London’s Economic Statistics Centre of Excellence has revealed. The study said that there is an “unprecedented exodus” of workers born outside Britain.
According to the authors, “It seems that much of the burden of job losses during the pandemic has fallen on non-UK workers and has manifested itself in return migration, rather than unemployment.”
In a data provided by Public Health England, there have been at least 3,316,000 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United Kingdom. As of Saturday morning, 87,295 people had died resulting to a new lockdown rules across UK. According to United Nations data, the population of United Kingdom was 66.65 million in 2019.
Companies across Britain have seen their revenues decimated by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic leading to job cuts, a report done by BBC back in December 2020 said.
The trend was particularly notable in London, where one in five residents was born abroad.
The capital’s population has fallen by 700,000, the study said, adding that nationwide, the figure could be more than 1.3 million.
If these numbers are accurate, this is the largest decline in Britain’s population since World War II, according to the study.
No evidence suggests that similar numbers of British people who live abroad are returning to Britain.
However, this could be a temporary trend, the researchers said, noting that workers from abroad might return after the pandemic.
The British economy depends on workers from abroad and it is not only threatened by migration due to the pandemic. Many industries fear the loss of skilled workers due to Britain’s departure from the European Union and stricter migration laws.
A further trend in 2021 is also causing concern, described as a “baby bust” by consultancy PwC, which said many couples were postponing having children due to the uncertainty caused by the pandemic. This could lead to the lowest birth rate since 1900, PwC said in early January.
Abeeb Alawiye
