Black and Asian workers are almost twice as likely to be unemployed than white workers, and this situation could worsen as a result of public sector cuts, the TUC says.
To coincide with yesterday’s opening of the TUC Black Workers Conference, the union has released its analysis of the Labour Market Survey, which shows an increase in the unemployment rate for black and Asian workers from 10.2 per cent to 13 per cent.
The figures are for the period October to December 2007 and the same period in 2010. This shows an unemployment rate that is almost twice the level of white workers, which stands at 7.1 per cent.
Further analysis reveals an even bleaker picture for young people from black and minority ethnic backgrounds. Among 18-24 year olds, the unemployment rate for this group has soared from 20.1 per cent in 2007 to 30.5 per cent in 2010.
By contrast, the rate for young white workers stands at 16.4 per cent.
Speaking at the Black Workers Conference at Congress House, TUC general secretary Bob Barber said: “Black workers are bearing the brunt of Britain's jobs crisis. It's a truly desperate situation, with the unemployment rate for workers from ethnic minority backgrounds almost twice the level for white workers.”
The figures show that more young black men are out of work than women – 63,000 compared with 53,000 at the end of 2010. However, since 2007 the rate of increase in unemployment for young black men was 24 per cent, compared with a shocking increase of 64 per cent among young black women.
Around 640,000 black and Asian people are currently employed in the public sector, and the TUC estimates that 127,000 of them will lose their jobs based on public sector cuts of around 20 per cent.
Brendan Barber added: “Whether it's the mass cull of public sector jobs, huge cuts to welfare, changes to housing benefit, the scrapping of education maintenance allowances, the trebling of student tuition fees, or the hike in VAT, the evidence is clear – black people will pay a very heavy price for this government's policies. Inequality will rise, poverty will increase, and social mobility – to the extent it exists any more – will be further undermined.”
