Ethnic unemployment

The GMB general union has called for government intervention following the release of a report showing disproportionately high levels of unemployment for people from a black ethnic background.

Research by the House of Commons Library looking at unemployment by ethnic background found that the unemployment rate was 8% for all people in the UK in January to March 2012 and remained the same for people of white ethnic background. However, it was higher for other ethnicities featured, and was considerably higher for people of black ethnic background, at 18%.

GMB national equality officer Kamaljeet Jandu said: “The figures show that black and ethnic minority workers are more likely to experience unemployment than white workers in every age group and by gender.

The figures were not only tragic for individuals, but “shameful to the coalition government that has no plan to deal with the structural racial discrimination in the labour market”, he added.