Bangladeshis and Pakistanis had the highest gains through 2018, but still had the lowest participation rates. They’re also concentrated in occupations that have been hard hit by COVID-19-related furloughs and layoffs.
Most ethnic-minority groups have been closing the gap on labor-force participation.
Ethnic group | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2011 | 2012 | 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | Net change 2004–18 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
White | 77.46 | 77.6 | 77.8 | 77.7 | 78 | 77.8 | 77.2 | 77.6 | 78 | 78.4 | 78.6 | 79.0 | 79.2 | 79.8 | 79.8 | +2.4 |
Indian | 72.9 | 73.8 | 74.5 | 74.2 | 74.1 | 74.5 | 75.9 | 76.4 | 76.6 | 75.7 | 75.7 | 76.3 | 76.9 | 78.1 | 79.3 | +6.4 |
Black | 69 | 70.4 | 71.8 | 72.6 | 71.6 | 71.4 | 71.6 | 72.2 | 73.9 | 73.5 | 72.8 | 73.8 | 74.6 | 73.5 | 73.3 | +4.5 |
Mixed ethnicity1 | 70.8 | 70.4 | 72.6 | 71.8 | 69 | 69.7 | 72.1 | 71.4 | 70.6 | 73.5 | 72.3 | 72.3 | 71.8 | 72.6 | 72.1 | +1.2 |
Other Asian2 | 64.4 | 64.4 | 65.8 | 66.8 | 69 | 68.1 | 64.4 | 65.1 | 65.8 | 64.4 | 67.0 | 68 | 66.1 | 68 | 67.8 | +3.5 |
Other ethnicity3 | 62.2 | 64.2 | 63.8 | 64.4 | 65.4 | 63.7 | 64.4 | 65 | 65.4 | 64.9 | 63.7 | 64.9 | 65.8 | 66.8 | 65.6 | +3.5 |
Bangladeshi and Pakistani | 51.1 | 50.8 | 52.4 | 52.4 | 54.2 | 56 | 55.5 | 57 | 58.2 | 59.4 | 60.2 | 60.3 | 61 | 61.9 | 62.5 | +11.3 |
Notes
1"Mixed ethnicity" refers to individuals who report having two or more ethnic backgrounds; the largest subgroup is Black/white, accounting for about half the total group.
2"Other Asian" refers to individuals of Asian descent who are not Bangladeshi, Chinese, Indian, or Pakistani.
3"Other ethnicity" refers to individuals not included in any of the other groups; around 40 percent are of Middle Eastern descent.
Source: Annual Population Survey, 2020, Office for National Statistics, ons.gov.uk
McKinsey & Company
To read the article, see “Problems amid progress: Improving lives and livelihoods for ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom,” October 15, 2020.