The number of immigrants coming to Britain to work has fallen by 100,000 under the Coalition , new figures have revealed . Between 2010 and 2014 just over 600,000 foreigners came to work in the UK , down from 725,000 between 2005 and 2009 under Labour . The revelation , from the respected Oxford-based Migration Observatory , comes despite a recent surge in migration which has blown apart David Cameron 's election pledge to slash the number of immigrants coming to Britain . Between 2010 and 2014 just over 600,000 foreigners came to work in the UK , down from 725,000 between 2005 and 2009 under Labour . Mr Cameron pledged to reduce net migration – the difference between people moving to Britain and those leaving each year – to less than 100,000 a year by 2015 . But Britain 's booming economy has seen a sharp increase in the number of migrants from the EU coming to work in Britain – with net migration surging to almost 300,000 according to the latest official figures . However , the Migration Observatory has revealed that taken across the five-year parliament there has been a 16 per cent fall in the number of foreign workers moving to the UK . Madeleine Sumption , director of the independent observatory , said the migrant workforce was 'considerably smaller ' now than five years ago . The data , revealed in the FT this morning , also shows that since the coalition took office there has been a rise of 40 per cent in workers from recession-hit nations in the 'old EU ' , such as Italy , Spain and Portugal . However , at the same time there has been a 35 per cent fall in migrants from the eight eastern European countries that joined the EU in 2004 . There has also been a drop of more than a quarter in those arriving from beyond Europe . The observatory 's data show that migrants ' wages have risen on average by 17 per cent under the coalition , compared with the previous five years — a significantly higher wage boost than British workers have enjoyed . David Cameron pledged to reduce net migration – the difference between people moving to Britain and those leaving each year – to less than 100,000 a year by 2015 . London meanwhile has taken a much larger chunk of immigrants - in professions such as financial services , and away from lower-skilled roles elsewhere in the country . David Hanson , Labour 's shadow immigration minister , said that while highly skilled foreign workers made positive contributions to the UK economy , there needed to be better training so that British workers could take on skilled roles . 'Labour has a strong plan to build the skills of the next generation . ' But Ukip 's Steven Woolfe said : 'There are now close to 2m EU workers in the UK , and their numbers have more than doubled since [ the accession of eight eastern European countries in ] 2004 . '
Between 2010 and 2014 608,000 foreigners came to work in the Britain . This is compared to 725,000 migrants who came to work under Labour . Figures published by the respected Oxford-based Migration Observatory .