Statement of ServiceNorth East Equality & Diversity Partnership
Closing the job gap for minorities will take 30 years
It will take 30 years to close the employment gap between people from ethnic minorities and the rest of the population, a public spending watchdog has predicted.
The 14% employment gap costs the economy £8.6bn a year and in 2007 was only 1.3% lower than in 1987, according to a report from the National Audit Office (NAO).
It has called on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to target more help at unemployed people from ethnic minorities.
The department has discontinued tailored schemes in favour of focusing on deprived communities in general.
The NAO also said it wanted to see Jobcentre Plus managers make more use of outreach work provided by local voluntary groups.
Other measures outlined in its report included making New Deal programmes more flexible to meet the needs of people from ethnic minorities.
It said all city strategies should be required to include targets for ethnic minority employment in order to get funding, an idea rejected by the DWP on the grounds that it detracted from local decision-making.
The report said almost 60% of people from ethnic minorities were employed compared with around 74% of the overall population.
About a third of the working age ethnic minority population were unemployed and not looking for work compared with 21% overall. Lack of experience, skills, qualifications or childcare provision, living in deprived areas, cultural issues and discrimination were all cited as major barriers.
Sir John Bourne, the comptroller and auditor general, said: Some progress has been made in tackling unemployment rates within ethnic minority groups, but while there has been a steady improvement, the overall reduction in the employment gap has been modest.
The DWP's strategy is being refocused on those living in deprived areas. While this provides opportunities to help those most disadvantaged, it carries the risk that some ethnic minorities may not receive the help they need to get a job.
Unless the department does more to reach out to the ethnic minority communities, prospects for increasing their employment rate remain bleak.'
Increasing employment rates for ethnic minorities, www.nao.org.uk
by Chloe Stothart
news@newstartmag.co.uk
February 6, 2008
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