By . Steve Doughty . PUBLISHED: . 18:34 EST, 2 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 03:23 EST, 3 January 2014 . Alarm about immigration is soaring among the middle classes, a study revealed yesterday. As Britain prepares for a new influx from Bulgaria and Romania, the number seeing immigration as the most serious issue facing the country has risen by half in a year. It signals a new shift in public opinion. While the lower-paid and those in low-skilled jobs have long seen competition from migrants as a threat to their jobs and earnings, higher earners have been assumed to benefit. Passengers check-in for a Wizzair flight from Henri Coanda airport, Bucharest, Romania to arrive at Luton airport . They have found it cheaper to hire plumbers, nannies and other household workers following the arrival of a million Eastern Europeans since 2004 – and have not suffered competition for their professional or highly skilled jobs. But the study by Ipsos MORI found that fears about the impact of high immigration on hospitals, schools, transport, housing and utilities have begun to undermine middle-class complacency over the issue. The analysis, based on a series of polls since 2010, shows that among those classed by the advertising industry as A, B and C1 – those in professional and managerial jobs – the proportion who think immigration is the country's most serious problem rose from around 20 per cent in 2012 to 30 per cent in 2013. It found that those on less than £30,000 are most worried about the threat to their jobs and incomes posed by migrants. Among the lowest paid, nearly 45 per cent said this was their main concern. But the study found that higher earners are now worried about the threat to public services. Among those who believe immigration is a problem in Britain, 36 per cent of those on £30,000 to £50,000, 42 per cent of people on £50,000 to £75,000 and 44 per cent of those on over £75,000 are most concerned about the impact on services and potential drain on the benefits system. The analysis said that in the early 2000s, when Labour's open-door immigration policy was beginning to take effect, a gap quickly opened between the manual classes and the highest social class. Passengers put their luggage in a bus departing for Western Europe at the central bus station in Sofia, Bulgaria . 'However, this gap was somewhat closed later in the 2000s, and by 2013 there was much less difference between the classes,' the Perception and Reality report said. 'Concern about immigrants as a drain on public service resources rises significantly with income, while job-related concern declines as income rises. 'Concern about housing is at a similar level for those with incomes below £30,000 a year, and significantly lower for those with incomes above that.' There is growing acceptance among economists that large-scale migration since 1997 has squeezed the incomes of the lowest-paid. Official poverty figures also indicate that the rise in the number in work who live on incomes below the state poverty line has been occurring not from the beginning of the recession in 2007 but since 2004 – the year that Eastern European migrants began to arrive in large numbers. The Ipsos MORI study also confirmed that longer-established migrants increasingly share the concern about high immigration levels. It said that 70 per cent of migrants who arrived before 1970 now want a cut in immigration, similar to the overall national figure. Among more recent immigrants, the figure is 28 per cent. The study was based on surveys from the Office for National Statistics, the Home Office, the independent British Social Attitudes survey and other polls, including a number carried out by Ipsos MORI.
Study by Ipsos MORI found fears about high immigration .
Concerns about impact on hospitals, schools, transport and housing .
Middle-class complacency over issue is being undermined .
By . Steve Doughty . PUBLISHED: . 18:34 EST, 2 January 2014 . | . UPDATED: . 03:23 EST, 3 January 2014 . Alarm about immigration is soaring among the middle classes, a study revealed yesterday. As Britain prepares for a new influx from Bulgaria and Romania, the number seeing immigration as the most serious issue facing the country has risen by half in a year. It signals a new shift in public opinion. While the lower-paid and those in low-skilled jobs have long seen competition from migrants as a threat to their jobs and earnings, higher earners have been assumed to benefit. Passengers check-in for a Wizzair flight from Henri Coanda airport, Bucharest, Romania to arrive at Luton airport . They have found it cheaper to hire plumbers, nannies and other household workers following the arrival of a million Eastern Europeans since 2004 – and have not suffered competition for their professional or highly skilled jobs. But the study by Ipsos MORI found that fears about the impact of high immigration on hospitals, schools, transport, housing and utilities have begun to undermine middle-class complacency over the issue. The analysis, based on a series of polls since 2010, shows that among those classed by the advertising industry as A, B and C1 – those in professional and managerial jobs – the proportion who think immigration is the country's most serious problem rose from around 20 per cent in 2012 to 30 per cent in 2013. It found that those on less than £30,000 are most worried about the threat to their jobs and incomes posed by migrants. Among the lowest paid, nearly 45 per cent said this was their main concern. But the study found that higher earners are now worried about the threat to public services. Among those who believe immigration is a problem in Britain, 36 per cent of those on £30,000 to £50,000, 42 per cent of people on £50,000 to £75,000 and 44 per cent of those on over £75,000 are most concerned about the impact on services and potential drain on the benefits system. The analysis said that in the early 2000s, when Labour's open-door immigration policy was beginning to take effect, a gap quickly opened between the manual classes and the highest social class. Passengers put their luggage in a bus departing for Western Europe at the central bus station in Sofia, Bulgaria . 'However, this gap was somewhat closed later in the 2000s, and by 2013 there was much less difference between the classes,' the Perception and Reality report said. 'Concern about immigrants as a drain on public service resources rises significantly with income, while job-related concern declines as income rises. 'Concern about housing is at a similar level for those with incomes below £30,000 a year, and significantly lower for those with incomes above that.' There is growing acceptance among economists that large-scale migration since 1997 has squeezed the incomes of the lowest-paid. Official poverty figures also indicate that the rise in the number in work who live on incomes below the state poverty line has been occurring not from the beginning of the recession in 2007 but since 2004 – the year that Eastern European migrants began to arrive in large numbers. The Ipsos MORI study also confirmed that longer-established migrants increasingly share the concern about high immigration levels. It said that 70 per cent of migrants who arrived before 1970 now want a cut in immigration, similar to the overall national figure. Among more recent immigrants, the figure is 28 per cent. The study was based on surveys from the Office for National Statistics, the Home Office, the independent British Social Attitudes survey and other polls, including a number carried out by Ipsos MORI.
study by Ipsos MORI found that fears about the impact of high immigration on hospitals, schools, undermine middle-class complacency over the concerned about the impact on services and