The majority of people in Scotland believe employers should be able to recruit from abroad to fill vacancies, suggesting a “pragmatic” approach to migration.

The Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes to Immigration Survey found support for migration has “cooled”, with 42% of those questioned supporting a reduction in the number of immigrants coming to Scotland, up from 28% in last year’s survey.

However, the research found widespread acceptance of the need for employers to recruit from abroad and strong agreement that immigration helps to fill jobs for which it is hard to find workers nationally and locally.

Just over 60% said that employers should be able to recruit from abroad to fill vacancies, and agreement rose to 79% in relation to sectors with critical shortages such as health and social care.

A further 78% of respondents said that sectors requiring temporary and seasonal workers such as farming should be able to recruit from overseas.

There was also strong support for maintaining or increasing numbers on all of the largest visa routes for migrant workers – those for skilled workers, health and social care workers and temporary and seasonal workers.

Sarah Kyambi, director at Migration Policy Scotland, said: “The socio-economic and demographic challenges facing Scotland are immense, and migration will play an important role in meeting these.

“Our research suggests that the Scottish public wish to see a pragmatic response to these real-world challenges at a time when our politics and policymaking is implementing an ever-more restrictive regime.

“This risks squandering the opportunity for more rational, evidence-driven consideration of migration policy in favour of inflaming division.”

The research found that those in urban regions were more likely than those in rural regions to favour reductions in seasonal or temporary work (19%, compared with 13%).

Half of those questioned said migration has had a positive impact on Scotland, while 26% said it has had a negative effect and the remainder were undecided or said they did not know.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister and Home Secretary have been clear that current levels of migration are far too high.

“Health and social care workers make a vital contribution to society, but immigration is not the long-term answer to our social care needs.

“Our approach is fair – reducing immigration and ensuring businesses invest in and recruit from the domestic workforce, whilst prioritising the overseas workers and students who will contribute significantly to our economy.”

The Migration Policy Scotland Attitudes Survey was carried out by Diffley Partnership using the Scotpulse online panel to gather 2,305 responses between 1 and 5 February.

The Scottish Government has been asked for comment.

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