With the United Kingdom seemingly heading towards a ‘Hard Brexit’ in June, the British government is assessing what impact this will have on its economy.<\/p>\n
A ‘Hard Brexit’ would see the UK leave not only the European Union (EU), but also the EU\u2019s Single Market (of which non-EU countries are also members) and the EU Customs Union (of which non-EU countries are also members).<\/p>\n
One of the biggest concerns is the outflow of workers .However, figures published in mid-May showed that the unemployment rate in the first three months of the year had fallen to 3.8%, the lowest rate since 1974.<\/p>\n
Analysts however, warned that the jobs figures are backward looking – relating to the three-month period to January, and “only touching on the start of the worsening crisis over Brexit,” The Guardian reported<\/a><\/strong>.<\/p>\n And Ryan Rennison, MD of visa and travel solutions for the UK, Move Up, noted that total earnings climbed 3.5%, including bonuses, in spite of expectations of a depressed labour market in the lead up to the UK\u2019s departure from the EU.<\/p>\n \u201cWhile the latest job market conditions in the UK could mean a slightly longer wait to find the right job, ongoing Brexit negotiations have led to an increase in the number of South Africans working in the UK.<\/p>\n \u201cHigher salaries will only make moving to the UK an even more attractive option for eligible South Africans to consider,” he said.<\/p>\n Recommended jobs list<\/strong><\/p>\n To combat a so-called \u2018Brexodus\u2019 \u2013 the departure of talented professionals or companies leaving the UK due to Brexit – the UK’s Migration Advisory Committee (MAC) has updated its recommended shortage occupation list (SOL<\/abbr>)<\/a><\/strong> – adding new occupations to the list and expanding current jobs to include\u00a0all roles within that occupation.<\/p>\n The new list would include nearly 10% of jobs in the UK labour market, compared with 1% under the current list.<\/p>\n The SOL includes roles where there are not enough resident workers to fill vacancies and includes all posts related to programming and software development, as well as web designers as a new addition.<\/p>\n “Today\u2019s labour market is very different to the one we reviewed when the last SOL<\/abbr> was published in 2013,” said MAC<\/abbr> chair professor Alan Manning.<\/p>\n “Unemployment is lower and employers in various industries are facing difficulties in finding skilled people to fill their vacancies.”<\/p>\n