A survey conducted by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development and KPMG revealed that one in five firms continued to hire migrant workers, despite the rising number of Britons rendered jobless.

In spite of Gordon Brown's promise to deliver British jobs for British workers, as many as 24% of employer’s preferred hiring migrant labour. This is a blow to the Prime Minister’s commitment to give home-grown workers the skills they need to compete in the workplace.

Employers are turning their attention overseas because they are unable to find the skills needed in the UK.

Gerwyn Davies said, “Despite rising unemployment, employers are still struggling to recruit the people they need and we are turning abroad to plug the gap”.

Damian Green, Shadow Immigration Spokesman said that the need for an annual limit on work permits had become urgent.

Whitehall statistics show that during recession, the foreign-born workers rose by 22,000 while British-born employees plunged by 625,000.