Increased immigration leads to economic expansion, not job losses, according to an authoritative report published today.

A wide ranging study into the effect of immigration on wages and employment in Europe concludes that new workers are absorbed and jobs created.

Christian Dustmann, one of the report's authors, said the public debate about immigration "often seems to be led by the perception that there is a fixed number of jobs in the recipient economy and that immigration will lead to more competition for these jobs".

But the research shows that "an economy embedded in a competitive international market can always expand production, absorbing new workers by creating new jobs."

The study was financed by the Economic and Social Research Council, the government's social science research funding body.