Immigration can help reduce UK inflation, says IMF

LONDON

By addressing gaps in the labor market, immigration helps reduce inflation in the UK, according to the deputy chief of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

In an interview with the BBC, Gita Gopinath said that given the high inflation rates in Britain, the presence of foreign workers can be an advantage.

Net migration to the UK surged to 606,000 people in December, far exceeding the previous record of 504,000 six months earlier, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The UK government has lately been striving to reduce these figures, despite international human rights organizations frequently criticizing the country over its anti-migrant policy sentiment.

"In this context, with inflation as high as it is, having workers who can fill the shortages in some of the sectors that we're seeing right now will help with bringing inflation down. So I think there are benefits to having workers come in," said Gopinath, the deputy managing director of the IMF.

Consumer inflation in the UK dropped to 8.7% year-on-year in April, down from 10.1% in March but above the expected 8.2%. The ONS also indicated that food prices have continued their rapid surge, reaching the highest rate in almost 45 years.

The growth rate of grocery prices declined in the year leading up to April, despite approaching 19.1% record level.