Ethnicity, migration and employment disadvantage under New Labour: reviewing the evidence from the United Kingdom

Despite economic growth and extensive labour market interventions, the employment disadvantage faced by ethnic minorities and migrants in the UK changed little under the previous Labour Government. Ethnic minorities and migrants in the UK are still significantly less likely to be in employment and are more likely to be unemployed than the majority white population. The key explanatory factors are often inter-connected and include: geographical deprivation; deindustrialisation; education; limited social capital; large families; inaccessible childcare; ill-health; ethnic penalties and discrimination; and restrictive asylum policies. That such employment disadvantage still exists in the UK suggests that the previous Labour Government's policies were insufficiently effective. This demands a new approach that increases the opportunities available to ethnic minorities and migrants to enable them to achieve labour market success. With this in mind, the UK's new Coalition Government should consider interventions that aim to level up employment opportunities for these groups by recognising that some labour market disadvantages are common across all ethnic groups, while others are more relevant for particular ethnic groups. The article focuses on Pakistanis, Bangladeshis and Black Caribbeans, as well as asylum seekers and refugees, because they are some of the most disadvantaged ethnic and migrant groups in the UK. In doing so, it is important to recognise that the majority white population, the ethnic minority and migrant populations cannot be treated as separate homogeneous entities because the reality is much more nuanced.