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Claim that 60% of UK migrants are low-skilled economic drains is false?

checkthis · automated fact-check · How we check · Reel by @johnandersonac

The claim that three-fifths of migrants to the UK are low-skilled net drains misrepresents official data and ignores research showing net positive fiscal contributions. Rafe Heydel-Mankoo claims that 60% of migrants entering the UK are low-skilled net economic drains costing hundreds of thousands of pounds each. Official reports from the Migration Advisory Committee show that 60% refers to the ratio of non-EEA workers among low-skilled migrant jobs, not all migrants. Furthermore, UCL research found that recent immigrants made a positive net contribution of over £20 billion to UK public finances.

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The Reel we checked

@johnandersonac

Mass Immigration Is Making Us Poorer | Rafe Heydel-Mankoo #immigration #migrant #economy #unitedkingdom

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The trick: Exaggerates

It inflates the facts beyond what the evidence shows (known as exaggeration).

“Three-fifths of the migrants who've come to this country have been low-skilled, low-wage earners who are a net drain on the British economy”

The speaker exaggerates data on low-skilled migrant demographics, misapplying a 60% non-EEA proportion within low-skilled work to all migrants entering the UK.

How this trick works and how to answer it →

What we checked

Three-fifths of the migrants who have come to the UK have been low-skilled, low-wage earners who are a net drain on the British economy.“Those jobs held by migrants are split 60:40 non-EEA: EEA. A million migrants in low-skilled jobs have come to the UK in the last decade.”Migrants in low-skilled work: Summary Report — Migration Advisory Committee, July 2014
By the time the average migrant gets to retirement age, each one will have cost £165,000, and if they live to the age of 80, they will have cost £464,000 each.No reliable source found for this yet.

What the Reel doesn't tell you

Short version

❌ FALSE 👉 The claim that three-fifths of migrants to the UK are low-skilled net drains misrepresents official data and ignores research showing net positive fiscal contributions. 👉 Rafe Heydel-Mankoo claims that 60% of migrants entering the UK are low-skilled net economic drains costing hundreds of thousands of pounds each. 🎭 Trick: Exaggerates 📰 Sources: Service, Electronic Immigration Network 🔎 Full check: send this Reel to @checkthis.chat

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