Those English people looking for work have known this for a long time. There is an issue with appalling pay which leaves the English people unable to support the system...mortgages, council tax etc. and so these minimum wage jobs have been filled with foreigners. The English cannot take them and have any kind of decent life. The only thing the poor pay affords is a room in a house with 25 others and a bit of food and heat. This is what employment at the bottom end of the job market means these days.

judy, Liverpool, england

I just cannot believe the incompetence of this government whether its the the incorrect releasing of foreign prisoners or the counting of foreign workers. If anybody made mistakes like these at their work they would be sacked and today I hear Brown saying that he will no longer accept failure when talking about education. What hypocricy.
These headless chickens deserve the fate that will surely be theirs

egor1, lagos, algarve

I graduated in 2005, and have been applying for positions since then and not just graduate positions but anything that I think might give me a chance of getting somewhere, I do have experience and worked in admin before I did my degree, the last time I was offered a position anywhere was 1997, just seems a bit strange to me that this was the time when immigrants started to come.

amanda, manchester, uk

Cue a hundred comments decrying the decline of britain and *in Al Murray's brilliantly satirical Pub Landlord's voice* the decline of the great BRITISH empire.

Close your borders. Make it more difficult for people like myself (foreign born, raised educated and probably retired) to work and live in the UK. This year I will contribute more than 20,000 pounds to the UK tax coffers. A large proportion of that will have been earned in other EU countries, however I live (provisionally) in the UK.

The attitude to foreigners in Britain sickens me and once I can convince my (english) girlfriend to leave, I intend never to darken the shores of the UK again. One less immigrant to dilute your culture.
I know a lot of other people who are of the same mindset. The attitude towards immigrants has already convinced me to strike the USA off the list of places I want to live. The UK is next.

Frank, Reading,

I teach many 18-25 unemployed Basic Skills and the Govt's one size fits all' policy doesn't work. Many school leavers are still living with their parents and have no incentive to work. They get benefit and a handout from the parents. This is the same benefit as those flat dwellers, paying council tax, electric etc. I have come to the conclusion that the majority of unemployed young people, especially those at home, are quite capable of working and there needs to be a far tougher regime for the long term young unemployed. I would suggest three months benefit, six months at a training agency, then one more month.Then nothing until after a job of say 13 weeks, when they can claim again.

Dave Brian, London,

You remember the saying, "What goes around comes around"? The United Kingdom once boasted that it "ruled the waves" with its tentacles stretched across the globe as it snatched land and wealth from the aboriginals of Australia, Africa, Asia, and the Americas. It was this capitalist exploitation of the brown people that put the terrorizing "Great" in Britain. Now that people are seeking to better their economic situations by trying to get a piece of a British pie that was baked by international ingredients, folk are getting upset and crying foul? Get over it!

(BTW, although I write from Alabama, I am a born and bred British citizen.)

Keith Augustus Burton, Harvest, Alabama

What was WW2 fought for ? was it not to defend these shores from invasion ?
Here we have a Labour goverment who have opened our doors to the world and have given away our children's future and heritage in just ten years.
Overseas workers were never ever needed on such a scale, it was always about cheap labour and undercutting wages while the fat cats got fatter and the indigenous working classes got poorer.
4,000 brits a week are leaving these shores, ten years ago it was 300, it's an exodus on a massive scale and it's an absolute disgrace.

A.Masterson, kent, UK

Blair's greatest legacy will not be seen for decades but it will creep up on the UK like the black death. The current population of the UK is 60.5 million. In just around 40 years it will be 75 million and i'm not sure that anyone can envisage the impact that this will have on a small country. But that is not the end of it, oh no! What will be the population in 2100? 120 million? or more. The UK is heading for a disaster of huge proportions and it will have been engineered by a handful of people with a political ideal and no vision for the future. The legacy of Blair to too frightening to contemplate and cannot be reversed.
The complete loss of control of immigration into the UK by this government is something which I believe will eventually end in civil war. The tragedy is that Gordon Philby, Tony Burgess and the rest of the gang will be long gone and beyond the noose.

Nigel Graham-Miller, Valencia, Spain

Suzie from Manchester's comment sums it up really: "A crummy retail job." The reason these jobs are filled is because the "foreigners" will take such jobs whilst realising that they are simply a stepping stone to earn money while they look for other things. The Eastern European girls that work in the sandwich shop near me have all got degrees but they realise that they have to start somewhere & earn money in the meantime.
At 18 years old you're not going to have any experience unless you roll your sleeves up, do something about it & take any crummy job! My first job at 17 was basically making the tea in an insurance brokers as an "assistant" & learning the job from the ground up. The idea also being that I would earn just enough to pay my keep to my mum & dad as they would not tolerate me being on the dole while living at home! I'm no longer in insurance but it's always much easier to look for any sort of job if you can show you can knuckle down to a rubbish one in the first place!!

David, London,

Am I wrong in thinking that we have a very low unemployment rate in this country - the reason we are getting people in from other countries is to fill these jobs that we can't do or don't want to do?

Under these conditions it can't be suprising that economic migrants will be taking these jobs?

Jesse, London,

We can't trust this bunch of incompetents on any issue let alone this one The Brown Bunch's days must be numbered.

Albert Fisher, kettering,

Jacqui Smith utters one thing and then the DWP are forced to issue a clarification. Proof positive this incompetent government are so deluded and out of touch with reality - OR more likely - lying to the British public.

Stuff the economy - let's have a government willing to tackle what is becoming a dangerous crisis!

Phillip Anderton, Poole, England

what ever happened to 'Great Britain', The only people who think it's great are the immigrants.It's about time something was done about this as they may certain restrictions on legal immigrants but what about the rest.Isn't it obvious that all new migrants will enter under self employment taking the work that we as british nationals rely upon to feed and cloth our own, the country has become a an open for all exile and it needs to be stamped out as the records are not showing how many british are leaving these shores. Who side is the government on? and what are you going to do about it? It is time to change the policies on immigration. If they want to come, then you come on visa's!

Rob, Enfield,

But Suzie....didnt you know that this government cares about the people of Britain ? That multiculturism works !....that it is needed ! ..............All to make Tony, European President.

I hope your Son gets the training and chances the Son of a long standing taxpaying family deserves. Or he will no doubt join the exodus. What chance does he have in buying a home ? What chance of looking forward to a career ? What chance of fairness regarding discrimination ?

Sadly hes classed by this government as nothing Suzie, he's British. This Government doesnt even care about its own troops. Im sure Red Tony was a Russian plant from his old communist days. hes done more destruction to this country than any invader since 1066.

Dave, Lincoln,

What a total joke, it is clear that the people who run our country have no idea what's going on, so how can they plan any sort of policies that will ensure this country has enough houses, jobs, services...etc. On the point of overseas workers needed to fill jobs, yes I do agree with respect to certain skilled positions, but I would also like to see a complete review of the benefit system - as without a doubt there is a percentage of people who could work but choose not too because a life on benefit is either all they know or is too easy for them.

Dave, Newton Abbot, Devon

Details of jobs taken by immigrants on the basis of ''Those whose skills cannot be found in the existing labour market' should be listed. I am quite sure that some of the many unemployed school leavers could be trained for these positions were there suitable training programmes. My 18-year old son has been looking for a job for five months and even to work in a crummy retail shop - "experience" is required. How can he gain experience when nobody will hire him because all the positions are filled by foreigners?
This government's record is appalling.

suzie, Manchester,