Andy Haldane's comments come after the prime minister said legal migration was too high.
Mr Haldane, who sits on the chancellor's council of economic advisers, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was important to draw a distinction between "near term and medium term".
A Home Office spokesperson said: "The public rightly expects us to control immigration, which is why our points-based system delivers for the whole of the UK by prioritising the skills and talent the UK needs, whilst encouraging investment in the domestic workforce."Mr Haldane also said the UK was still some way short of having a fully fledged industrial strategy.
It comes after one of the world's biggest carmakers warned it may have to close UK factories if the government did not renegotiate the Brexit deal.
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