THE number of foreign-born people living in Hull has tripled in the past decade, according to a new report.
The study, published by The Migration Observatory at Oxford University, found almost 19,000 immigrants have come to the city since 2001.
A team led by senior researcher Dr Carlos Vargas-Silva compiled their report based on census data.
They put the increase down to a rise in foreign students, labourers and the families of former immigrants joining them.
Dr Vargas-Silva said: "People move to Hull because they can find work.
"Contrary to previous flows, which were often to London, they're moving to where they can find jobs.
"The figures were a bit unexpected."
Of the new arrivals, 22 per cent have come from Poland – a total of 4,811 people.
Whereas migrants generally chose their destination on the advice of friends and family, Dr Vargas-Silva said there is now a more corporate system in place.
He said: "A lot of them now are using companies who send them to these places, so it's not as word-of- mouth as before.
"In the past, with previous migrant flows, it was basically friends telling them where to go – they knew people and were directed to places.
"It's happening everywhere – in fact, Yorkshire and the Humber is kind of in the middle of the rankings."
The new arrivals are driven by an abundance of low-paid jobs.
They bring both economic benefits and drawbacks.
The academic said: "In the case of labour migrants, the positive aspect is there are positions that are open and a labour force that's needed and they occupy those positions.
"In the case of the Polish migrants, they often have qualifications but do low-paid jobs.
"The negative aspect is these workers can displace British workers, particularly in low-paid jobs."
Dr Vargas-Silva said it was impossible to predict if the trend would continue.
The figures were for 2001 to 2011.
