Emigration on the rise

New statistics have suggested that more people are making an international money transfer in a bid to find employment overseas.

According to the Times, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) are likely to show a surge in people emigrating from the UK over the past year, many making money transfers abroad where they have been able to find work.

The ONS has not published its figures for 2008 yet, but the newspaper reports that there has been a steady increase in the number of people making international payments and heading abroad since 1998, when 230,000 people emigrated.

That figure had risen to 340,000 in 2007, with a further rise likely to be fuelled by the recession hitting Britain over the past year.

The Times points out that it is now far easier to emigrate from the UK and still remain in touch with friends and family back home, thanks to the huge leaps in technology over the past decade.

The recession in the UK has had a major impact on job opportunities in the country and unemployment has passed the two million mark.

Some experts have predicted unemployment will hit three million before the end of the year, which could see even more Britons emigrating in search of work.

By Paul Jarvis