British migrants are now younger professionals rather than retirees

A recent government report has revealed that the vast majority of Brits leaving the country are younger workers seeking career opportunities rather than retirees seeking relief from British winters.

Official figures taken from the Home Office ‘Emigration from the UK’ Survey calculate that about 350,000 UK residents left the country during 2011, with most not intending to return for at least a year. Almost three quarters of migrants left to better their careers, with most from the managerial or professional sectors.

According to the report, Australia was the favourite destination, still popular after 20 years, with other key destinations such as Germany, Canada and the US attracting a good number of skilled migrants. At present, around 4.7 million UK-born citizens live overseas, the eighth highest world figure percentage-wise.

In the period between 2008 and 2010, 89 per cent of those moving overseas were of working age, although most research on the causes of emigration has focused on retirees. In 2006, a record spike of 22,000 retired citizens left the country, mostly for warmer European climes or Australia and New Zealand.

By 2011, numbers of emigrating retirees had slowed to around 8,000, with the balance composed of younger professionals. Researchers noted that as unemployment rose emigration figures slowed, and as employment opportunities increased, the number of migrants increased.

The seeming anomaly is explained by the fact that the unemployed have fewer resources to put into migration and may find it difficult to sell their properties to fund the move. The opposing trends may mean that as the UK and Europe begins to experience economic recovery, even more Britons may be tempted to seek employment overseas.