Kazi F Hossain

Disproportionate Ethnic Unemployment in London: Old Barriers, New Guises Kazi F Hossain

This book explores the relationship between ethnicityand unemployment, and examines why ethnic minoritiesin the UK have significantly higher unemploymentrates than whites. The study begins with a critiqueof spatial explanations for disproportionate ethnicunemployment; suggesting theories such as spatialmismatch are dated in the context of a 21st centuryLondon labour market. The study then examines morepertinent factors; arguing poor education,discrimination and, to a lesser extent, culturalspecificity, serve as the critical barriers to ethniclabour market participation. These barriers wereexamined, ethnicity by ethnicity, through thetriangulation of statistical and spatial analysis,coupled with interviews from experts in governmentand education, as well as the unemployed themselves. Ultimately, the study reveals the manifestation ofold barriers in new guises; and concludes with aseries of policy recommendations aimed at curbinggrowing ethnic unemployment.