Ethnic Penalties and Workless Households Effects on Youth Employment

We examine whether parental employment provides a source of resilience for tackling youth non-employment in times of crisis. We assess whether non-employment of young white British and ethnic minority men and women in the UK is linked with the employment status of their parents, using the United Kingdom Housing Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). We compare how ethnic and gender differences diminish or exacerbate the effect of parental employment status on youth employment probabilities. In particular we focus on how young ethnic minority groups (and genders within these groups) raised in workless households compare to the employment status of white British. Finally we examine how ethnic and gender differences vary among those raised in male-breadwinner households, single parent or dual earner households.

The paper starts with an overview of the theoretical background concerned with the growth of work-poor and work rich households, its links with youth unemployment, and how these vary between different ethnic groups. Next, we give an overview of how origin households affect individuals’ employment outcomes for various age groups, and try to elucidate the role of households as ‘protectors’ or sources of resilience for youth in times of crisis. Finally, we delineate differences and similarities across groups in terms of the role of origin households, and conclude by examining the extent to which parental background provides a source of resilience for disadvantaged young people in the UK.