London: Net migration to Britain has fallen to a three-year low as a growing number of European Union nationals left the country following last year’s Brexit referendum, according to official figures released Thursday.

The figures from the Office for National Statistics provide evidence that the uncertainty and economic jitters caused by Britain’s vote to quit the EU are having an impact on immigration.

The statistics office said net migration — the difference between arrivals and departures — was 246,000 in the year to March 31, a fall of 81,000 on a year earlier. More than half the change was due to a decline of 51,000 in net migration from the EU.

A total of 122,000 EU citizens left Britain in the year to March, up 31,000 from the year before and the highest outflow in nearly a decade.

There was a particularly sharp rise in departures from citizens of the “EU 8” — eastern European nations that joined the bloc in 2004. Hundreds of thousands of Poles, Lithuanians and other eastern Europeans moved to Britain to work after 2004.

EU citizens have the right to live and work in any member state, and more than 3 million nationals of other EU countries live in Britain.

When Britain formally leaves the EU in March 2019, it will have the power to set restrictions on the movement of people from the EU, leaving many uncertain about their future rights.

Nicola White, head of international migration figures at the statistics office, said the figures “indicate that the EU referendum result may be influencing people’s decision to migrate into and out of the UK, particularly EU and EU8 citizens.”

“It is too early to tell if this is an indication of a long-term trend,” she said.

A slowdown in the British economy could be making the country less attractive to migrants. The statistics agency confirmed Thursday that the economy grew by a modest 0.3 per cent in the second quarter of 2017 from the previous three months, slower than any other Group of Seven economy.

The outflow was most pronounced among citizens of the eight central and eastern European nations that joined the bloc in 2004, including Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. The number of people coming to Britain declined.

The data will be welcomed by Prime Minister Theresa May, who has promised to cut annual net migration to the “tens of thousands,” but business leaders say the loss of foreign workers risks harming the economy.

Sectors such as hospitality and construction, which rely heavily on EU workers, are already warning of growing skills shortages. Universities have also expressed fears over losing key staff.

“No one should celebrate these numbers,” said Seamus Nevin, head of employment and skills policy at the Institute of Directors, adding that record-low unemployment meant Britain would face a labour shortage without EU residents. “Signs that it is becoming a less attractive place to live and work are a concern.”

The rights of EU citizens in the UK post-Brexit, and those of Britons living in other EU countries, have yet to be resolved more than a year after the vote to leave the bloc. The slump in the value of the pound since the referendum may also have made the UK less attractive for migrant workers.

The number of EU citizens leaving Britain soared by 37 per cent in the year through March to 122,000, the highest figure since 2008. Emigration among so-called EU-8 citizens jumped to 46,000, while 16,000 Bulgarians and Romanians departed — double the number a year earlier.

At the same time, fewer people came to Britain, with immigration from both EU and non-EU countries declining by about 8 per cent. The fall was partly due to a sharp drop in the number of people arriving for study, down 16 per cent on the year. That’s a worrying development for universities and colleges that rely on the fees paid by international students to boost their income.

Home Secretary Amber Rudd asked the government’s Migration Advisory Committee Thursday to review the economic and social impact of foreign students. May’s Conservative Party is divided over whether students should be included in migration data, with some arguing they should be exempt from curbs because of the economic benefits they bring.

Of the 588,000 long-term migrants who came to the UK in the year through March, 139,000 were students. The number leaving Britain rose 4 per cent.

May took the Brexit result as a vote to regain control over immigration. In response, she stuck by the pledge first made by her predecessor David Cameron in 2010 to limit net migration to less than 100,000.

The uphill task she faces was underscored by the latest figures, which showed that net migration from countries outside the EU still accounts for more than 70 per cent of the total, even though Britain has control over their numbers.