‘Huge gap’ in living standards for ethnic groups

There are still “huge gaps” in living standards between different ethnicities living in Britain, research suggests.

A typical Bangladeshi household earns £8,900 less than that of a white British household, while a Pakistani household earns £8,700 less, according to the Resolution Foundation.

The think tank said a typical black African family also earned £5,600 less than that of a white household.

But it said incomes for these ethnic groups were now beginning to grow.

According to the Resolution Foundation’s research, Bangladeshi households income grew 38% between 2001-03 and 2014-16, almost three times as fast as the 13% growth seen by white households over the same period.

Pakistani households saw their income grow by 28%, it found.

Male Pakistani and Bangladeshi workers saw median pay increase by 28% since 2001, compared to just 1% for men of other ethnicities, said the report.

The think tank said the large gap in living standards between white households and those of ethnic groups in Britain was partly down to differences in female employment within the families.

In white households 72% of women were employed, but in Pakistani and Bangladeshi households the rate was almost half this at 37% and 35% respectively.

Nonetheless, the report found that the rate of female employment within these ethnic groups had increased significantly since 2001.

It found male employment for Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Black men had also “increased substantially” over the same period.

Resolution Foundation senior economic analyst Adam Corlett said these “impressive employment gains” had helped their overall incomes grow at a faster rate than that of white households.

But he said the gap in living standards between ethnic groups and white British households remained “significant and persistent”.

“Differences in living standards between ethnicities in Britain too often go ignored,” he added.