Ethnic minority workforce in England is 47% more likely to be on a zero-hours contract

Millennials from black, Asian and minority ethnic (BAME) backgrounds are at greater risk of being in unstable employment than their white peers, a study has shown.

They are 47% more likely to be on zero-hours contracts and have a 10% greater chance of having a second job. BAME millennials are also 5% more likely to be doing shift work and are 4% less likely to have a permanent contract than white workers. Millennials in unstable employment also suffered poorer mental health, it found.

The Race Inequality in the Workforce report by Carnegie UK Trust, the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies and Operation Black Vote will be launched in parliament on Monday. Its authors are calling on the government, mental health services and employers to take action to tackle racial inequalities in access to good work.

The report recommended more government efforts to improve access to good work, and called for employers to carry out internal audits of race disparity. An urgent priority is developing guidance for mental health services on how to improve access for ethnic minority groups, it said.

It drew on research from more than 7,700 people in England, born in 1989-90 and who are being followed by a study called Next Steps. Researchers compared the employment status of 25-year-olds from different ethnic backgrounds and also examined the mental health of people in different types of employment.

Findings showed black African 25-year-olds had lower odds of being in a permanent role – and are more likely to be doing shift work – than white workers of the same age; but mixed-race, Indian and black Caribbean millennials had similar chances of being in these types of jobs.

Research also showed millennials from BAME backgrounds were 58% more likely to be unemployed than white peers.

Experiences differed for each ethnic group. Twenty-five-year-olds from Pakistani, black African and mixed race backgrounds were more likely to be unemployed than those who were white; however, Indian, Bangladeshi and black Caribbean adults were no more likely to be out of work.

The overwhelming majority of millennials were in permanent employment at the age of 25. Indian and white workers (89%) were the most likely to be in a stable role, followed by mixed-race (87%), black Caribbean (86%), Bangladeshi (85%), Pakistani (84%), black African (81%) and other ethnicities (80%).

Simon Woolley of Operation Black Vote said: “This report must be a serious wake-up call for the government, industry and our mental health practitioners. The race penalty in the work space is further exacerbated by mental health issues. It’s a double hit if you’re from a BAME community.”

Douglas White from Carnegie UK Trust said: “This report highlights that young people from BAME communities are particularly likely to enter into precarious forms of work. We need policy and practice to recognise and respond to this to ensure that good work is available to all.”

Dr Morag Henderson of the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies said: “We need to better understand what’s driving the particular challenges different ethnic minorities are facing in the job market.”