Brexit: What are the pros and cons of leaving the EU

The arguments for and against membership of the European Union

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(Image credit: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP/Getty Images))

Jobs

10,000 jobs in the City of London expected to disappear on first day of Brexit in 2019.

Pro-EU campaigners suggest three million jobs could be lost if Britain goes it alone. However, while "figures from the early 2000s suggest around three million jobs are linked to trade with the European Union," says Full Fact, "they don't say they are dependent on the UK being an EU member."

If trade and investment falls after Brexit, then some of these jobs would be lost – but if they rose, new jobs would be created.

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A drop in immigration would mean more jobs for the people who remained, but labour shortages could also hold back the economy, reducing its potential for growth. There are also skills shortages in the UK workforce that would hurt some sectors.

Writing for the London School of Economics, Professor Adrian Favell said limiting freedom of movement would deter the "brightest and the best" of the continent from coming to Britain and reduce the pool of candidates employers can choose from.

Free movement of people across the EU also opened up job opportunities for British workers seeking to work elsewhere in Europe.

Click through to read the pros and cons of Brexit on Britain's place in the world.