Every minority group in the United Kingdom was increasing labor-force participation prepandemic

October 27, 2020Bangladeshis 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.

Labor-force participation by ethnic group, 2004–18 yearly and net change, %
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.