Over half of workers within BAME community concerned about post-pandemic work

Around 58% of workers within the BAME community are concerned about post-pandemic work, revealed the Resolution Foundation and the Future Strategy Club on Thursday.

In a report, highlighting the disparity in employment opportunities for the BAME community, the Resolution Foundation found that black young people are nearly three times more likely to be unemployed than White counterparts.

Due to the pandemic, the unemployment rate among people aged 16 and older rose by just over one percentage point in the past year. Youth unemployment rose faster between spring and autumn 2020 than at any point since the financial crisis.

“But the impact of the Covid-19 crisis is also unequally spread within generations, including among today’s young people,” read the report.

Before the onset of Covid-19 (Q2-Q4 2019), one-in-four (25%) economically active Black 16-24-year-olds were unemployed, compared to one-in-ten (10%) of their White counterparts. By Q2-Q4 2020, the unemployment rate rose to 34% (a 9 percentage point increase) among Black young people and to 13% (a 2 point rise) among White young people.

Further to this, new data from Future Strategy Club has unveiled that 58% of the BAME community are now concerned that finding the right kind of work post-pandemic will be harder for them. This is in comparison to only 43% of their white counterparts.

Around 35% of young people (18-24) and 28% of the BAME community worry that they won't be able to make the right connections at work to ensure their employment progresses.

Justin Small, CEO and Founder of Future Strategy Club said: "This report highlights the disproportionate impact that the pandemic has had on the working population. There has already been a significant wave of concern amongst young people on their future employment prospects. Yet this is a concern that is seemingly being felt considerably more amongst some BAME employees.

“It is clear that the pandemic has exacerbated feelings of anxiety amongst young people, but to see that many workers in the BAME community are being unevenly impacted is incredibly disheartening, as is the data itself. Today, more needs to be done to ensure the fight for better rights, equality and diversity continues, in order to ensure equal opportunities for all.”