POOR job prospects have made the North-East the least popular destination in the country for Eastern European migrants, a report says.

Researchers estimate that only about 5,000 migrants from the eight Eastern European countries that joined the EU in May 2004 live in the North-East.

The figures were produced by the Institute of Public Policy Research (IPPR) think tank, which looked at migration to the UK from Poland, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia and Slovenia.

The IPPR found that almost 16,000 migrants from the eight countries registered on the Worker Registration Scheme in the North-East and North Yorkshire between May 2004 and December last year.

However, researchers say half of all migrants who arrived in Britain since 2004 have returned home.

Naomi Pollard, a research fellow with the IPPR, said: "The North-East has attracted relatively few people.

"Our research has found that people go where jobs are available, so an area with higher unemployment will be less attractive to migrants."

A national list of migrant numbers per council area features four NorthEast authorities at the bottom.

Redcar and Cleveland, Chester-leStreet, South Tyneside and Wansbeck, in Northumberland, all have only a handful of migrants living in their boundaries.

The research has received a cautious welcome from Nadeem Ahmad, manager of the North-East Strategic Migration Partnership. He said the partnership's challenge was to establish where the migrants lived and ensure they had better access to the services they are entitled to.

According to the IPPR, the national employment rate among residents of the new EU member states in Britain is 84 per cent - the highest of all immigrant groups and nine per cent higher than the UK-born average.

The report said that few of the migrants claim benefits.

Of those registering for national insurance numbers since 2004, only 2.4 per cent did so to claim benefits.

The report said immigrants from the new EU countries work on average 46 hours a week, four hours more than UK-born workers.

The IPPR said factors such as the weak pound and the economic development of Eastern Europe meant fewer people from the new EU states are now coming to the UK.