Migrants Now Flooding Out Of Europe In Search Of Jobs

By Emma Reynolds

Last updated at 3:07 PM on 22nd December 2011

Tens of thousands of Portuguese, Greek and Irish people are abandoning their homelands as job prospects look increasingly dire.

Migrants used to see the EU as a top destination for work and a better lifestyle, but now a stream of Europeans are leaving the continent, figures show.

In the past year, 2,500 Greeks have left for Australia alone and at least 10,000 Portuguese people have moved to Angola, according to the Guardian.

Ireland's official statistics office predicted that 50,000 people will have deserted their home country by the end of the year, with many heading to Australia and the U.S.

The trend could become even worse, with Britain potentially losing its pull for workers who have vital skills to contribute.


With migration trends reversing, unusual routes have apparently become popular, including Lisbon to Luanda, Dublin to Perth and Barcelona to Buenos Aires.

Ailing: Greece's recently appointed prime minister Lucas Papademos has a real problem on his hands as skilled workers leave the country


Portugal's foreign ministry reportedly said 97,616 of its people are now registered at the consulates in Benguele and Luanda - almost double the number who were there in 2005.

The Portuguese are also heading in their droves to former colonies such as Brazil and Mozambique, with Brazil seeing a 50 per cent rise in foreign residents in just a year.

Goncalo Pires, a graphic designer who moved from Lisbon to Rio de Janeiro, told the Guardian: 'It's a pretty depressing environment there [in Portugal].

'In Brazil, by contrast, there are lots of opportunities to find work, to find clients and projects.'

Joy Drosis, who left her homeland of Greece for Australia, said she felt she would have been doomed if she had stayed.

In Ireland, where 14.5 per cent of the population are jobless, emigration has climbed steadily since 2008, with 40,200 Irish passport-holders said to have left in the 12 months to April this year, up from 27,700 the previous year.


There are reports of similar trends in Spain and Italy, and fears young European sports stars are leaving their birth countries for places such as Australia.

Experts believe the exodus from Ireland will only increase, given the £1.4bn tax rises and austerity measures just announced.


Greece lost 9.4 per cent of its doctors in just one year, with most immigrants arriving from poorer countries and often lacking the skills to replace them in the economy.


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