New figures show that the number of Romanians and Bulgarians working in Britain has dropped since restrictions on immigration were lifted, a signal that fears of a huge wave of migrants from the two countries were unfounded.
Migration from Romania and Bulgaria became a highly politicised topic in Britain in late 2013, ahead of labour-market changes for migrant workers from those two countries across the European Union on January 1.
Some politicians and tabloids predicted that the change would lead to an influx of poor and unemployed migrants.
Government data today showed that the number of Romanians and Bulgarians working in Britain from January to March fell to 140,000 from 144,000 in the previous quarter.
However, the figures were up 26 per cent when compared with the same period in 2013.
