British workers make up only one-fifth of new payroll entries over the past decade

Research from the Centre for Social Justice indicates that from 2014 to the end of 2025 only 734,000 British citizens were newly registered on HMRC’s PAYE system, representing roughly 20% of all new payroll jobs. During the same period, 2.5 million non-EU nationals and 408,000 EU nationals entered the system, highlighting a shift toward migrant labour in low-skill roles. The report notes a steady decline in British-held positions across nine of the twelve UK regions, with non-EU migrants filling most of the gaps.

In Scotland, British PAYE numbers fell by 53,000 while non-EU entries rose by 153,000; in London, British registrations dropped by 26,500 against a surge of 407,000 non-EU workers. By December 2025, 25.6 million Britons were recorded on PAYE, out of a total workforce of 32 million. The CSJ warns that reliance on migration has masked slower per-capita GDP growth and left many UK workers dependent on welfare.