A record number of people immigrated to Denmark in the first three months of this year, according to Statistics Denmark figures reported by newspaper Berlingske.

Some 21,986 people moved to the country in the first quarter, while 11,506 left Denmark.

Businesses in Denmark have sought to attract foreign labour in recent times to fill vacancies.

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The high figure for immigration was described as “super positive” by SMVdanmark, an interest organisation for small and medium sized companies.

“It makes it possible for businesses to take advantage of momentum in the economy, it pushes inflation down and it boosts public finances in times with hard demographic headwinds,” SMVdamark senior economist Thomas Gress told Berlingske.

Gress also said that Danish businesses are good at recruiting international labour and have had good experiences with it.

Successful relocations to Denmark for work purposes can offer an additional boost if immigrants report successful experiences back to their home countries, he added.

Over half of migrations to Denmark come from Western countries, according to Berlingske.

Countries defined as “Western”, along with the Balkans region and Ukraine, which are not included in that category, represent two thirds of the total number of immigrants for the quarter.