Young, black and unemployed: the tragedy of the 44% | Diane Abbott | Comment is free | The Guardian
►http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/05/young-black-unemployed-tragedy
It is a paradox of the history of British migration that, while the first generation of postwar black immigrants came to this country to work, unemployment among their children and grandchildren is stubbornly high. Figures I’ve just received from the Labour Force Survey reveal that unemployment among young black people (aged 16-24) is a shocking 44% – over twice the rate of their white counterparts, of whom 20% are jobless.
Black and Asian migrants after the war helped rebuild the economy: working in factories; doing the night shifts; working on the railways and driving the buses. And a generation of West Indian women made a contribution to the health service that has never been properly celebrated. So whatever else the problem is, black Britons don’t come from households that didn’t value work.