People born in Britain are missing out when it comes to new jobs, report reveals

THE increase in employment in Britain is solely due to new jobs being taken up by people born outside the UK, according to a new report.

Research published in this week's Spectator magazine shows employment levels among people born in the UK has dropped by just under 100,000 since the coalition government came to power last year.

The overall increase in employment levels was secured because the number of jobs taken by those born outside the UK went up by 278,000.

In an interview with the magazine, Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith admits that the problem of shifting British-born people of working age off benefits and into work is "getting worse".

"And it's getting worse because we face the problem of having to reform a group that's progressively less able to do the work," he said.

"That's why I believe we're in the last chance saloon."

Mr Duncan Smith also says last week's riots were a "wake-up call".

Yesterday's figures showed half a million new jobs had been created by the private sector in the past year. Employment is up, particularly in Scotland, which accounted for 96 per cent of the UK increase in employment over the April to June period.

The report was based on figures obtained from the Office of National Statistics, which was found that 24 million people employed Britain's labour market were born in the UK, with four million born outside.