Many minorities 'live in poverty'

The BBC is carrying a report from the Joseph Rowntree Foundation that found Some 40% of people from ethnic minority backgrounds are living in poverty. Almost half of all children from minority ethnic groups are in poverty.

For all ages, family types and family work statuses, people from minority ethnic groups are, on average, much more likely to be in income poverty than white British people.

The rate varies substantially between ethnic groups: Bangladeshis (65%), Pakistanis (55%) and black Africans (45%) have the highest rates; black Caribbeans (30%), Indians (25%), white Other (25%) and white British (20%) have the lowest rates.

The differences are particularly great for families where at least one adult is in paid work: in these families, around 60% of Bangladeshis, 40% of Pakistanis and 30% of black Africans are in income poverty. This is much higher than the 10-15% for white British, white Other, Indians and black Caribbeans.

Up to half of Bangladeshi workers, a third of Pakistanis and a quarter of black Africans were paid less than £6.50 per hour in 2006 compared with a fifth of the other ethnic groups.

15% of non-retired white British men aged 25 and over are not in paid work , by contrast, the equivalent proportions for Bangladeshis, Pakistanis, black Africans and black Caribbeans are 30-40%.Around 30% of non-retired white British women aged 25 and over are not in paid work but the vast majority – 80% – of Bangladeshi and Pakistani women are not in paid work.

Poverty was not confined to first generation immigrants, it concluded, with British born individuals from minority backgrounds less likely to be in work than their white equivalents.

A household is defined as in 'income poverty' if its income is less than 60% of the contemporary Great Britain median household income. In 2004/05, this was worth:
£100 per week for a single adult with no dependent children;
£183 per week for a couple with no dependent children;
£186 for a lone parent with two dependent children; and
£268 per week for a couple with two dependent children.
These sums are measured after deducting income tax, council tax and housing costs (including rents, mortgage interest, buildings insurance and water charges). The money left over is therefore what the household has available to spend on everything else it needs, from food and heating to travel and entertainment.