The most recent data released by the Office for National Statistics show that the jobless rate amongst young black men is now more than doubled and is currently grater than 50%. Figures are not much better for women as both sexes of black people between the ages of 16 and 24 are at 47.4% which is up from 28.8%.
What is even more alarming is that the rate of joblessness among black people within this age group rose disproportionately as compared to white people within the same age group which are only unemployed at 20.8%. This is up from 15% since the start of the recession in 2008.
In an article released by the Guardian, the jobless rate among black males is at 55.9% which has also risen at an alarming rate within this time period from 28.8%. These figures are said to be unpublished but the Guardian published them via an unnamed source.
The ONS said that any of this data should be analysed with caution since the sample group was extremely small and figures may not be indicative of what is actually transpiring in the UK. In actuality, there hasn’t been a complete breakdown of data by ethnicity since February of 2011 and this is said to be a result of the way in which statisticians are recording their findings.
While there is a great amount of concern in regards to the jobless rate amongst young people, the Department for Work and Pensions has stated that they have instituted several measures that are designed to provide skills and experience for all young people in order to match the jobless with vacancies.
A spokesperson for DWP’s ethnic minority advisory group said that he believes government could be doing more to reverse current trends in order to facilitate fairness among races, ethnicities and age groups.
