lack New Dealers less likely to get jobs

Ethnic minority participants in the government's New Deal programme for the young unemployed are less likely to get jobs when they leave than their white counterparts. This is despite the fact that they are better qualified when they join the scheme.

Figures published by the Employment Service in Labour Market Trends show that 43.6% of white participants move into unsubsidised employment when leaving the scheme, compared to 35.4% of ethnic minority leavers. And there is a similar 8% difference between white and ethnic minority leavers going into subsidised employment. Yet the ethnic minority entrants to the New Deal have better qualifications initially, with 34% holding NVQ level 2 or above qualifications, compared to 25% of white entrants.

The report suggests that part of the difference in outcome for the two groups could be accounted for by the fact that the majority of ethnic minority New Deal participants live in inner city areas where job

outcomes are worse for everyone, regardless of race. It also notes that a greater proportion of ethnic minorities left to go to unknown destinations, and where these were followed up there was no significant difference in their chances of getting a job.But it says that, while these factors may account for some of the inequality in outcomes, "if higher levels of qualifications are an indicator of better employability one might expect that ethnic minority participants should actually do better than whites".