Ethnic minorities in the Labour Market
Population
- More than one in 10 working age people in Great Britain are of an ethnic minority background.
Age
- 22% of the working age ethnic minority population are under 25 years old, compared with 18% per cent for whites.
- Almost a third of the working age population from Bangladeshi backgrounds are under 25 years old.
Geography
- Over two thirds of all working age ethnic minorities are concentrated in London, West Midlands Metropolitan, East Midlands, West Yorkshire and Greater Manchester, with 44% concentrated in London alone.
Employment
- Only 61% of ethnic minorities are employed, compared with 76% of white people .
- Bangladeshi women have the lowest employment rate of all groups, with just 26% being employed.
- About a quarter of ethnic minorities are employed in the distribution or hotel and restaurants industry sectors compared with under a fifth of white people.
Unemployment
- 12% of ethnic minority people are unemployed (ILO unemployment), compared with only 5% of whites.
- Indian unemployment is the lowest of all ethnic minority groups at 7%.
- Pakistani women are the group most likely to be unemployed, with an unemployment rate of 25%.
Economic Inactivity
- The economically inactive group includes those who are working age retired, those studying, looking after the family or home and those people who are long term sick or disabled.
- 31% of people from an ethnic minority background are economically inactive, compared with only 20% of people from a white background.
- Two thirds of all Bangladeshi women are economically inactive, compared with only a quarter of white women.
- 66% of Chinese people who are outside of the labour force are students.
- Over half of the Bangladeshis who are outside of the labour force are taking care of the family or home.
Source: Labour Force Survey, fourth quarter 2006.
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