BLACK IMMIGRANTS are nine times more likely than white Irish nationals to be unemployed, a new survey has found.
The study of the experience of immigrants in the Irish labour market, published yesterday by the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) and the Equality Authority, also found that immigrants are less likely to find professional or managerial jobs than their Irish peers and twice as likely to report discrimination in the workplace.
The report found a much higher risk of unemployment for all migrants from non-English-speaking countries compared to Irish nationals. The gap was particularly notable among black respondents, who were nine times more likely than their white Irish peers to be without a job when age, sex and education were taken into account. Asian and other groups from non-English-speaking countries were twice as likely as white Irish people to be unemployed.
Language skills emerged as an important factor in occupational attainment. While those migrants who came from non-English-speaking countries were generally more likely to be unemployed, there was no difference between newcomers from English-speaking countries and the native Irish population.
Non-Irish nationals were three times more likely to report that they had experienced discrimination when looking for work than their Irish counterparts, with black respondents seven times more likely to report feeling such discrimination.
In the workplace, foreigners were twice as likely to report experiencing discrimination as Irish nationals.
The report was based on data from the Central Statistics Office's Quarterly National Household Survey conducted in 2004, with a representative sample of 24,600 adults.
Philip O'Connell, head of social research at the ESRI and the report's co-author, said the overall picture showed that immigrants fared worse than their Irish peers in the labour market.
"These labour market disparities may be due to a range of factors, including familiarity with local employment markets and networks, and transferability of qualifications and skills," he said.
Equality Authority chief executive Niall Crowley said the authority's case file figures showing high levels of reported discrimination among migrants were confirmed by the research.
"That's alarming because we know that low levels of people who experience discrimination actually take action on foot of it," he said.
He also suggested the report gave a "very strong message" that those who came through the asylum system needed extra support to integrate into the labour market.
Minister for Integration Conor Lenihan said the report's findings did not come as a surprise and that the evidence of labour market disadvantage was consistent with international research on immigrants. With language a notable barrier to progress, he urged immigrants who wished to improve their knowledge of English to avail of language training provided through the VECs. Some 12,000 places were available this year for such students.
However, Mr Lenihan was concerned about the findings on discrimination in the workplace and urged employers and unions to be mindful of their responsibilities in this area.
A spokesman said he would ask the National Employment Rights Authority to pay more attention to the matter.