The Guardian

68% of Muslims live in areas with highest unemployment rates

Aamna Mohdin Carmen Aguilar García

More than two-thirds of Muslim people in England and Wales reside in local authority areas with the highest rates of unemployment, analysis shows. About 2.6 million Muslims live in areas where more than one in 20 people aged 16 to 64 are unemployed, according to census data, prompting calls from campaigners for the government’s levelling up agenda to also focus on young British Muslims.

The Guardian analysis comes as figures from the Office for National Statistics show people who identified as Muslim in England and Wales had the highest rate of unemployment among religious groups in 2021, at 6.7%. About 68% of Muslim people in England and Wales lived in areas with the highest unemployment compared with 26% of Christians and 25% of respondents who said they did not follow a religion.

The analysis showed that a third of the population in Birmingham and Newham, east London, identified as Muslim. These – with Wolverhampton – are the local authorities with the highest working-age unemployment rates, at 7%. The Muslim community’s rate of unemployment was about twice that of the Jewish and Christian communities, which stood at 3.1% and 3.8% in 2021 respectively.

This difference is more marked in younger age groups, with the unemployment rate for Muslims aged 20 to 24 at 13% in 2021, compared with 9% of the overall population.

The ONS suggested the younger age profile of this group may be a contributing factor to explain why Muslims in England and Wales had the lowest rates of employment. Those who identified as Muslims are generally a younger cohort than other religions and more likely to be studying. The percentage of students among those who said they were Muslim was almost twice that of the overall population.

The ONS noted that reasons for being “economically inactive” varied significantly between different religious groups. Working-age Muslims who were economically inactive were the most likely to be studying: 13.8% compared with 7.3% of the overall population. This cohort was also most likely to be looking after family and home, with 16.1% of economically inactive Muslims giving this reason, compared with 5.8% for the overall population.

Last year a study confirmed the existence of a “Muslim penalty” in the employment market but rejected previous suggestions that it was due to cultural and religious practices. The study, published in the peer-reviewed Ethnic and Racial Studies journal, found discrimination towards Muslims and those perceived to be Muslim to be a significant barrier to their accessing work.

The Labour MP Afzal Khan, who is the vice-chair of the all-party parliamentary group on British Muslims, said: “It’s vital that the Department for Work and Pensions study this data carefully to make sure that programmes to reduce unemployment like Restart are working for all communities. Right now, I am far from convinced that is the case.”

A spokesperson for the Muslim Council of Britain said: “The intergenerational cycles of poverty impacting British Muslim communities can result in young people being forced to leave education in pursuit of work so they can help support their families. Those that are able to break into the job market, pursuing chosen careers, can face Islamophobic prejudice and discrimination.

“Given a level playing field, the dynamism and sheer potential of young British Muslims will prove itself to be strategic national asset.”

National

en-gb

2023-03-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

2023-03-25T07:00:00.0000000Z

https://guardian.pressreader.com/article/281831467982939

Guardian/Observer