Socioeconomic circumstances

This chapter uses data produced by the Evidence for National Equality Survey (EVENS) to focus on two inter-related domains of ethnic inequalities in socioeconomic circumstances: general socioeconomic status and socioeconomic status under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic. It describes ethnic inequalities in a range of socioeconomic measures: education, occupation, tenure and financial situation before the COVID-19 outbreak. It then focuses on how people’s financial situations have changed during the course of the pandemic, whether people have been receiving income-related benefits, whether they have experienced income change and to what extent they worry about their finances. The findings demonstrate that even though many ethnic groups show an advantage in terms of educational level, they still experience much more hardship compared to the White British population. Moreover, existing financial difficulties experienced by ethnic minorities have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic – almost all ethnic groups report more financial struggle compared to the pre-pandemic rates. Altogether, the findings point to persistent ethnic inequalities in experiencing hardship.

Key findings

Persisting ethnic inequalities in socioeconomic circumstances have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Despite increasing educational and occupational levels, ethnic minority people continue to face financial difficulties and disadvantages with regards to housing.
Financial difficulties have been exacerbated by the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, with many ethnic minority groups reporting almost double the rates of financial difficulties in the midst of the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period, especially for people from Chinese, Any other Black, Mixed White and Black Caribbean and Any other White backgrounds.
Further, the detrimental financial impact of the pandemic has been greater for ethnic minority people than for the White British group.
Compared to White British people, particularly high rates of worries about financial circumstances are seen for people from Arab, Bangladeshi, Pakistani, Any other Asian and Any other ethnic groups.
People from Roma and Gypsy/Traveller ethnic groups experience the highest levels of socioeconomic deprivation; they are more likely to have no educational qualifications, less likely to be in the highest occupational positions, and have high rates of financial difficulties and benefit receipt.
People from Arab and Any other ethnic groups show exceptionally high rates of disadvantage in terms of housing, financial difficulties (both pre-pandemic and in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic), receipt of benefits and worries about finances.

Introduction

This chapter focuses on ethnic inequalities in socioeconomic outcomes for people in the UK. We illustrate longstanding inequalities, especially in relation to education, occupation and tenure, and compare these with the socioeconomic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Evidence for Equality National Survey (EVENS) data map all of these domains in great detail; this is reflected in the inclusion of questions on socioeconomic status as well as financial situation, both before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, income change, receipt of benefits and worries about finances. Investigating the potential unequal socioeconomic impact before and during the pandemic is crucial as ethnic minority groups in the UK have been shown to experience disadvantages in many of these spheres (Kapadia, Nazroo and Clark, 2015; Byrne et al, 2020). Moreover, these disadvantages seem to have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 crisis (Benzeval et al, 2020; Hu, 2020; Allen et al, 2021). The EVENS data provide the opportunity to undertake a detailed investigation into the experiences of ethnic minority people’s socioeconomic circumstances and how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected them.

Ethnic inequalities in socioeconomic status have been shown to be widespread in domains such as education, housing, job opportunities and income, with many ethnic minority groups faring worse than the White British population (Kapadia, Nazroo and Clark, 2015; Byrne et al, 2020; Allen et al, 2021; Zwysen, Di Stasio and Heath, 2021). Focusing on people who attained either degree-level qualifications or who have no qualifications, Lymperopoulou and Parameshwaran (2015) used three UK censuses (1991, 2001 and 2011) to explore whether there is an educational gap between ethnic minority people and the White British group. The results show that in the past 20‒30 years, educational attainment has been increasing for ethnic minority groups, with Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi groups showing the highest increases in the proportion of degree-educated people (Lymperopoulou and Parameshwaran, 2015). But stark inequalities remain for some groups ‒ for example, the highest rates of having no qualifications were seen for Gypsy/Traveller people (60% compared to 24% of the White British group in 2011) (Lymperopoulou and Parameshwaran, 2015). Despite high levels of degree education for some ethnic minority groups, there is evidence for a lower chance of admission to elite Russell Group universities for ethnic minority people (Boliver, 2016).

Even though many ethnic minority people have high levels of degree-level education compared to the White British population in the UK, they are much more likely to be in occupations that pay lower than the living wage (for example, sales, hospitality, personal care and retail) or to be overqualified for their jobs (Brynin and Longhi, 2015). Brynin and Longhi (2015) explore the link between occupation and poverty for ethnic minority groups in the UK using the Labour Force Survey (LFS) and the UK Household Longitudinal Survey (UKHLS). They report that ethnic minority people are more likely to be employed in the education and health sectors, within which they experience unequal wages. For example, in the nursing and midwifery professions, 23.1% come from an ethnic minority group, and these ethnic minority nurses and midwives earn £1.20 less per hour compared to their White British counterparts (Brynin and Longhi, 2015). There is also evidence to show that Pakistani and Bangladeshi people in particular are concentrated in low-paying occupations, where they also experience lower wages compared to White employees (Brynin and Longhi, 2015).

Further, there are also marked inequalities for ethnic minority groups in the housing market. Data from the English Housing Survey (2015/16 and 2016/17) and the Census (2001 and 2011) show that ethnic minority people, and especially people from Any other White, Chinese and Any other ethnic groups were most likely to privately rent, which indicates a higher level of housing precarity (Shankley and Finney, 2020). Social renting (from local authorities) was highest for Black African, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, and Black African people.

Due to economic adversity and inequality experienced across ethnic groups during the COVID-19 pandemic, persistent disadvantages may have been exacerbated for some ethnic minority groups (Gardiner and Slaughter, 2020; Witteveen, 2020). For example, Benzeval et al (2020) report that overall 45% of people have experienced an income loss of at least 10% and that the extent of the income loss is accentuated for people belonging to an ethnic minority group. Similarly, a report by the Financial Conduct Authority (2021) stated that due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost 40% of adults have experienced income loss, especially self-employed individuals, low-income households and people belonging to ethnic minority groups. The report of their COVID-19 survey, conducted in October 2020 (Financial Conduct Authority, 2021), also shows that people from Any other ethnic backgrounds (22%), Mixed background (19%) and Black or Black British (17%) people had high rates of reporting their financial situation ‘to be a lot worse than prior the pandemic’ (compared to 14% of White people). Job losses, particularly in hospitality, tourism and retail, have led to income reduction and financial hardship (see also Chapter 7). Using data from the UKHLS COVID-19 survey, Hu (2020) reports that ethnic minority people born outside of the UK were at a higher risk of losing their job, and ethnic minority people born in the UK experienced lower furloughing rates compared to White British people. This indicates lower employment protection for both migrant and UK-born ethnic minority groups (Hu, 2020; Allen et al, 2021). Pakistani and Bangladeshi people have been identified as two of the most vulnerable groups when it comes to job security, as they make up to 30% of workers in the sectors most affected by restrictions put in place in response to the COVID-19 outbreak (Platt and Warwick, 2020; Allen et al, 2021).

Previous research, then, points to persistent ethnic inequalities in many socioeconomic domains. The aim of this chapter is to explore how pre-existing ethnic inequalities relate to the differential experiences of the COVID-19 pandemic of ethnic minority people compared to White British people. We describe ethnic inequalities in a range of socioeconomic measures: education, occupation, tenure and financial situation before the COVID-19 outbreak. We then focus on how people’s financial situation has changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, whether they have experienced income change and have been receiving income-related benefits, and to what extent they worry about their financial situation. Using EVENS data, we map the socioeconomic circumstances for 21 distinct ethnic groups in the UK. Thus, we are able to thoroughly investigate ethnic inequalities in socioeconomics in Britain and illustrate how these were amplified under the influence of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Results

Education

Compared to the White British group (32.4%), higher proportions of degree-educated people are seen in most ethnic minority groups, with the exception of people from Roma (5.9%), Gypsy/Traveller (18.8%) and Any other Black (26.8%) ethnic groups (Table 8.1). We observe the highest proportions of attaining degree-education for people from White Irish (65.3%), Indian (62.9%), Any other White (60.9%), Black African (60.8%) and Jewish (60.3%) ethnic groups – these are especially high compared to the 32.4% of degree-educated among the White British group. The rates of having no qualifications are most pronounced for Roma (54.6%) and Gypsy/Traveller (51.2%) people, but are also substantial for Arab (9.1%) people in comparison to the White British group (2.4%).

In Table 8.1, we present rates for people aged 18‒65. Figure 8.1 shows the percentage point difference relative to the White British group once age and sex differences are accounted for (see Box 8.1). We find that, compared to the White British group, many ethnic minority groups are more likely to be degree-educated. This is especially the case for White Irish people (whose rate of degree-educated is 33 percentage points higher), Indian people (30 percentage points higher), Black African people (28 percentage points higher), people from Any other White backgrounds (28 percentage points higher) and Jewish people (28 percentage points higher), but is also present for people from Any other Asian, Chinese, Any other ethnic group, White Eastern European, Pakistani and Mixed White and Asian ethnic groups. Thus, we continue to see an educational advantage once differences in age and sex are taken into account for most ethnic minority groups. Significantly lower rates of being degree-educated compared to the White British group are only seen for Roma (27 percentage points lower), Gypsy/Traveller (14 percentage points lower) and Mixed White and Black Caribbean (12 percentage points lower) ethnic groups.

Box 8.1:

Socioeconomic circumstances: measures and methods

We undertake descriptive analyses for eight outcomes and show tables for each by ethnic group: highest educational qualification, occupational class, type of tenure, financial difficulties three months prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and in the midst of the pandemic, income change, receipt of benefits, and worries about financial situation.

Logistic regression models are used to plot percentage point difference figures for degree-level education, highest occupational class, homeownership, financial difficulties, income decrease as well as no change in income, receipt of benefits and financial worries. We code each outcome of interest as 1 (for example, having a degree-level education, being in the highest occupational class, being a homeowner, having financial difficulties). We adjust these models for age and sex, and compare the adjusted percentage point differences for ethnic minority people to those of White British people. The estimates are shown with 95% confidence intervals. Age is used as a continuous variable (18‒65 years). Stata 16.1 (StataCorp, 2019) statistical software was used to conduct the analyses.

Education: We combine university higher degree and first-level degree qualifications into a ‘degree-educated’ category. From hereon in, we use the term ‘degree-educated’ to address those who are educated to at least undergraduate degree level, so this category also includes people who have postgraduate qualifications.
Occupational class: We use the five category version of the National Statistics Socioeconomic Classification (NS-SEC; ONS, 2022) from the occupation types coded according to the Standard Occupational Classification 2020 (SOC2020; ONS, 2021a). We present analyses using occupation type reported prior to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tenure: Homeownership is defined as both without and with a mortgage. Renting includes people who are private or social renting.
Financial difficulties: In EVENS, the question on the financial situation before the COVID-19 outbreak specifically asks: ‘In the 3 months before the coronavirus outbreak, how well were you managing financially?’ The question mapping the financial situation during the pandemic asks: ‘And now, how are you managing financially?’ and thus provides information on people’s financial circumstances between February and October 2021 – the months affected by COVID-19 lockdowns and subsequent policy changes. The possible answers to these two questions were: living very comfortably, living somewhat comfortably, finding it somewhat difficult, finding it very difficult or prefer not to say. We show the proportions of people having financial difficulties who answer that managing financially is either somewhat or very difficult.
Income change: The EVENS question about income change asks: ‘Is your current household income higher than, about the same as or lower than before the coronavirus outbreak in February 2020?’ We show the rates of income change categorised as income increase (combining ‘much higher’ or ‘a little higher’ answers), no change in income (‘about the same’) and income decrease (combining ‘a little lower’ or ‘much lower’).
Benefits receipt: We define a person as receiving income-related benefit(s) if they indicate receiving any of the following benefit payments: universal credit, job seeker’s allowance, employment and support allowance, pension credit, housing benefit, council tax support, statutory sick pay, attendance allowance, personal independence payments, asylum/home office/section 95 support, carer’s allowance, child tax credits, income support, industrial injuries disablement benefit, tax credits or a working tax credit.
Worries about financial situation: In the figure showing percentage point difference in reporting financial worries, we combine the answers ‘very worried’ and ‘extremely worried’.

Occupation

Here, we present self-reported occupation before the outbreak of COVID-19 in February 2020. Looking at Table 8.2, we see the proportion of people in higher managerial, administrative and professional occupations (the highest class) is greater for people from Jewish (62.9%), Any other White (60.4%), White Irish (55.9%), Mixed White and Asian (55.4%) and Indian (53.7%) ethnic groups. These rates are considerably higher than that of the White British group (43.7%). The lowest proportions in the highest occupational class are observed for Gypsy/Traveller and Roma people (12.4% and 17.1%, respectively). People from Any other Black backgrounds also show lower proportions of having an occupation in the highest class (25.7%) – many of them have intermediate occupations (29.3%) or semi-routine and routine occupations (31.9%). A large proportion of people in the Any other ethnic (35.5%), Arab (31.9%) and Pakistani (31.5%) groups are also in intermediate occupations. When it comes to semi-routine and routine occupations, high rates are seen for Roma (51.5%), White Gypsy/Traveller (42.6%), White Eastern European (37.4%) and Mixed White and Black Caribbean (33.8%) ethnic groups.

Figure 8.2 shows the percentage point difference relative to the White British group of the proportion who are in a higher managerial, administrative or professional occupation once differences in age and sex are accounted for. Compared to the White British group, people from Jewish, Any other White and Indian ethnic groups show significantly higher rates of being in these occupations (see Figure 8.2). This is especially true for people from the Jewish and Any other White ethnic groups, who have rates of being in the highest occupational class that are 19 percentage points and 17 percentage points higher than those for White British people. People from Gypsy/ Traveller, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, Any other Black and White Eastern European ethnic groups show lower rates of being in a higher managerial, administrative or professional occupation compared to the White British group. Even though the White British group exhibits a lower proportion of people in the highest occupational class, many differences between White British people and ethnic minorities are not statistically significant. Thus, even though at first sight, we might see an occupational advantage for some ethnic minority groups, this does not seem to be the case for many once age and sex differences are accounted for.

Tenure

The highest proportions of home ownership without a mortgage are seen for Gypsy/Traveller (44%), Roma (38.6%), White British (31.4%), Jewish (30.6%) and Indian (27.5%) people (Table 8.3). It is important to note that for Gypsy/Traveller and Roma people, their dwelling type might be different from conventional home ownership (see Chapter 6). The survey indicates that a high proportion of Gypsy/Traveller people live on a traveller site (59%) and do not own the land they live on (58%). The lowest rates of owning a home without a mortgage are seen for people from the White Eastern European (6.9%), Black African (10.1%), Any other mixed background (10.5%) and Any other White background (11.8%) groups. For these groups, we simultaneously see high rates of renting.

Figure 8.3 shows the percentage point difference relative to the White British group of the proportion of homeownership (either outright or with a mortgage) once age and sex differences are accounted for. It illustrates that, compared to the White British group, no other ethnic group has significantly higher rates of being a homeowner. Similar rates of home ownership to those for White British people are observed for Jewish, White Irish, Indian and Pakistani people. We see disadvantage particularly for Arab and Black African people compared to White British people when it comes to homeownership; rates are lower by 35 percentage points for Arab people and by 34 percentage points for Black African people. Such a pattern indicates clear White British advantage in terms of homeownership across ethnic groups, with people from Arab, Black African, White Eastern European and Any other White backgrounds at a particular disadvantage.

Financial difficulties before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

In Table 8.4, we show proportions of people reporting financial difficulties before the COVID-19 outbreak and during the COVID-19 pandemic, together with a calculation of the relative rate of the change in financial difficulties. We see high proportions of reporting financial difficulties before the pandemic for people from Arab (40.6%), Any other (39.8%), Mixed White and Black African (37.8%), Any other mixed (34.2%) and Any other Black (31.2%) ethnic groups.

Table 8.4 also shows that for all ethnic groups, except Mixed White and Black African people, there were increases in financial difficulties during the pandemic. The ‘Relative rate’ column in Table 8.4 shows that, relative to the rates before the COVID-19 pandemic, the highest increases are seen for people from Chinese (1.9 times higher), Any Other Black (1.7 times higher), Mixed White and Black Caribbean, Gypsy/Traveller, Roma (all 1.6 times higher) and Any Other White (1.5 times higher) ethnic groups. We only see a decrease in reporting financial difficulties for Mixed White and Black African people; however, they initially report extraordinarily high rates of financial difficulties (36.9%), and the rates of difficulties reported during the pandemic are still high and comparable to rates reported by other ethnic minority groups (for example, people from Indian or Any other White ethnic groups).

We present two figures illustrating the percentage point difference in reporting financial difficulties before the pandemic (Figure 8.4) and during the pandemic (Figure 8.5) compared to the White British group, adjusted for differences in age and sex. Before the COVID-19 outbreak, we observe that people from the Arab and Any other ethnic groups show higher rates of reporting financial difficulties compared to the White British group, by 17 percentage points and 10 percentage points respectively. By contrast, Indian people were less likely to report having financial difficulties than White British people, by 5 percentage points. However, looking at the differences in financial situations during the pandemic, we see that ethnic minority groups were more likely to report struggling financially compared to the White British group – especially people from Arab (by 25 percentage points), Any other Black (by 23 percentage points), Any other (by 20 percentage points), Any other mixed (by 16 percentage points) and Mixed White and Black Caribbean (by 15 percentage points) ethnic groups. During the pandemic, no ethnic minority group was less likely to have financial difficulties compared to White British people, with ethnic inequalities further increasing compared to the pre-pandemic rates.

Income change

Table 8.5 shows income change rates by ethnic group. The highest rates of income increase during the pandemic are seen for people from Mixed White and Black African (49.9%), White Irish (25.7%), Any other Black (26.1%), Mixed White and Asian (25%) and Black African (24.9%) ethnic groups. Conversely, the highest rates of experiencing income decrease are reported by people from Roma (55.6%), Irish (41.5%), Any other Black (39.5%), Chinese (38.1%) and Gypsy/Traveller (36%) ethnic groups. The highest rates of reporting no change to their income are seen for Black Caribbean (51%), Indian (52.2%), White British (52.6%) and Eastern European (51.5%) people.

Even though, intuitively, income increase should indicate advantage, in the light of the events throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the association might not be as straightforward. For example, key workers’ workload and hours could have initially increased, resulting in higher income, but so could their exposure to the virus in addition to further psychological strain (May et al, 2021). People who had been furloughed might report decreased income, but also more savings due to reduced transport or other costs; however, such a pattern does not necessarily indicate advantage in comparison to people whose income had not changed. We could thus speculate that people whose income has remained stable are at an advantage as their financial stability was not shaken by the COVID-19 crisis.

Figure 8.6 shows the percentage point difference in reporting an income decrease compared to the White British group when controlling for differences in age and sex. We observe significantly higher rates of experiencing an income decrease for Roma (by 30 percentage points), Irish (by 15 percentage points), Any other Black (by 14 percentage points) and Chinese (by 13 percentage points) ethnic groups.

Figure 8.7 shows the percentage point difference in reporting no change in income compared to White British people, adjusted for differences in age and sex. No change in income, rather than an income increase, might hint at higher stability, both in terms of employment and finances. Less income volatility might thus indicate an overall advantage. Figure 8.7 illustrates that compared to the White British majority, no ethnic group had higher rates of experiencing stability in their income. Conversely, significantly lower rates of experiencing no change in income are seen especially for people from White Irish (by 21 percentage points), Any other Black (by 19 percentage points) and Mixed White and Asian (by 12 percentage points) backgrounds.

Current receipt of benefits

Increase in financial difficulties during the pandemic might have led people to seek additional help from the government. We explore the receipt of benefits across ethnic groups to illustrate the levels of financial hardship experienced during the pandemic. The four main types of benefits claimed were universal credit (40.5%), council tax support or reduction (29.3%), housing benefit (24.9%) and personal independence payments (21.2%).

Table 8.6 shows that highest proportions of people receiving benefits are seen for people from Any other Black (59%), Gypsy/Traveller (58.9%), Roma (50.6%), Bangladeshi (47.5%), Mixed White and Black Caribbean (47.4%), Arab (44.8%), Any other ethnic group (44.5%) and Chinese (44%) ethnic groups. We observe different patterns of benefit receipt rates by age – while for some groups, the proportion of people claiming benefits remains quite stable across age groups (for example, Bangladeshi, White British or Indian people), for others, different patterns emerge. We see large differences in receiving benefits by age for people from Gypsy/Traveller (79% of those aged 18‒29 compared to 20.9% of those aged 50‒65), Any other Black (78.8% of those aged 18‒29 compared to 31.5% of those aged 50‒65) and Mixed White and Black African (64% of those aged 18‒29 compared to 26.4% of those aged 50‒65) ethnic groups. In contrast, higher rates of benefit receipt are seen for older people aged 50‒65 compared to the 18‒29 age group in any other (61% compared to 44.3%) and Arab (61.7% compared to 33%) ethnic groups.

Figure 8.8 shows the percentage point difference in benefits receipt compared to White British people, adjusted for differences in age and sex. Compared to the White British group, people from Gypsy/Traveller, Any other Black, Bangladeshi, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, Any other, Arab, Pakistani and Chinese ethnic groups have higher rates of receiving income-related benefits (Figure 8.8). Especially high percentage point differences are seen for people from Gypsy/Traveller (an increase by 32 percentage points) and Any other Black (31 percentage points) ethnic groups. Conversely, only people from Any other White, White Irish and Indian ethnic groups show lower rates of receiving income-related benefits compared to White British people. Such patterns show that for most ethnic minority groups, additional financial support from the government was essential during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Worries about financial situation

Table 8.7 shows that high rates of reporting being extremely worried about their financial situation are seen for people from Bangladeshi (14.9%), White Irish (13.5%), Any other (12.2%), Black African (9.4%) and Mixed White and Black Caribbean (9%) ethnic groups. Conversely, we see low rates of extreme worry in terms of financial situation for Roma (0.1%), White Eastern European (2.5%) and Chinese (3.5%) people.

Figure 8.9 shows the percentage point difference in being worried about finances compared to White British people, while controlling for differences in age and sex. Compared to the White British group, people from Arab, Any other, Pakistani, Bangladeshi and Any other Asian groups show higher rates of being worried about their financial situation (Figure 8.9). The difference is especially high for Arab (by 25 percentage points), Any other (by 18 percentage points), Bangladeshi (by 14 percentage points), Pakistani (by 13 percentage points) and Any other Asian (by 12 percentage points) ethnic groups. No ethnic minority group is less likely to report being worried about finances than the White British group. For both Arab and Any other ethnic groups, high rates of financial worries correspond with high rates of reporting financial difficulties, both in pre-pandemic times as well as in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such a pattern highlights that both groups are at a considerable risk financially.

Discussion and conclusion

In this chapter, we explored ethnic inequalities in socioeconomic status (education, occupational class, tenure, receipt of benefits and financial worries), documenting pre-pandemic inequalities as well as inequalities evident during the COVID-19 pandemic. We found that ethnic minority groups show high educational attainment levels. For some ethnic minority groups, high occupational class is also more commonly observed compared to the White British groups. Despite this educational and, for some, occupational advantage, severe ethnic inequalities are apparent across most other socioeconomic domains. This is marked by lower homeownership rates, higher financial difficulties (further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic), high rates of receipt of benefits and worries about finances. We note that these trends are likely due to the structural and institutional racism ethnic minority people have experienced over their life courses and continue to experience to this day (see Chapter 4), which then leads to a disjuncture between educational success and socioeconomic security.

We observe that ethnic minority people, especially those from White Irish, Indian, Black African, Any other White and Jewish ethnic groups, show significantly higher rates of having a degree-level education compared to the White British group. High rates of having no qualifications are seen especially for Roma (54.6%) and Gypsy/Traveller (51.2%) people. Similarly, although some ethnic minority groups are more likely to be in higher occupational positions, we see that ethnic minority people are more likely to be represented in the lowest occupational class of semi-routine and routine occupations compared to White British people. This is particularly pronounced for Roma, Gypsy/Traveller, Mixed White and Black Caribbean and Eastern European people.

In terms of tenure, our results show that no other ethnic minority group is more likely to own their home, both without or with a mortgage, than White British people. Nonetheless, even when owning a home, the quality of housing might differ for ethnic minorities compared to the White British (see Chapter 6). The lowest rates of owning a home are seen among Eastern European, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, Black African and Arab people. Simultaneously, these ethnic groups show very high rates of renting. In this analysis we are unable to distinguish between private and social renting. Nonetheless, either type of renting indicates a level of housing instability and could be especially damaging during the COVID-19 pandemic when paired with job and income uncertainty.

High rates of people reporting financial difficulties before the pandemic are seen for people from Arab, Any other, Mixed White and Black African and Any other Black ethnic groups. However, these rates increased further for all ethnic groups when asked about their financial situation in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic (February‒October 2021), with the exception of the Mixed White and Black African group. The highest rates of financial difficulties during the pandemic are seen for people from Arab, Any other Black, Any other and Roma ethnic groups. Compared to White British people, people from Roma, Irish, Arab, Any other Black and Chinese ethnic groups also more often reported that their income decreased during the pandemic. Nonetheless, the income decrease reported might be qualitatively very different for individuals as well as ethnic groups. It could be argued that while those people who report no change have missed out on potential gains, their financial situation as well as their employment type (see Chapter 7) remained the most stable and thus most resilient during the COVID-19 crisis. Our findings show that compared to White British people, no other ethnic group experienced more income stability, and that people from White Irish, Any other Black and Mixed White and Asian ethnic groups experienced the least stability.

Related to income (in)stability, high rates of benefit receipts were seen for people from Any other Black, Gypsy/Traveller, Roma, Bangladeshi and Chinese ethnic groups, indicating high levels of financial hardship, and also indicating that people had to seek additional governmental help due to the financial effects of the pandemic. Lowest rates of receiving income-related benefits were observed for people from White Irish (17.9%), Any other White (18%) and Indian (21.4%) ethnic groups, but these figures still show a noticeable share of people struggling in relation to their income. Moreover, some ethnic minority groups might have been less aware of the available help, and thus not claimed the benefits they were entitled to (Haque et al, 2020). Highly differentiated patterns of benefit receipt by age are seen for ethnic minority groups, while the rates for the White British group remain stable across age groups. Lastly, we observe high rates of being extremely worried about their financial situation for people from Bangladeshi, White Irish, Pakistani, Black African, Mixed White and Black Caribbean, Arab and Any other ethnic groups.

In this chapter, we illustrate ethnic differences in socioeconomic circumstances using unrivalled EVENS data mapping the lives of 21 ethnic groups in the UK. We show that despite some decrease in ethnic inequalities in educational attainment and, for some groups, occupational level, we still see large inequalities when comparing ethnic minority groups to the White British population on other socioeconomic indicators, especially in tenure, financial difficulties, income fluctuations, receipt of benefits and worries about finances. Gypsy/Traveller people are particularly disadvantaged across most domains, a finding that has not been possible to examine with survey data prior to EVENS due to the undersampling of this group. Also, people belonging to the Arab and Any other ethnic groups appear to be disproportionately struggling financially. Our findings show persistent socioeconomic inequalities for ethnic minority people in the UK, with worse outcomes related to finances having been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. The groups considerably affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in terms of financial struggles, worries and income fluctuations are people from Arab, Any other Black, Any other, Any other mixed, Chinese, Gypsy/Traveller, Roma, White Irish, Bangladeshi, Pakistani and Any other Asian ethnic groups. Thus, we present evidence showing that ethnic minority groups were much less immune to the socioeconomic strain of the COVID-19 outbreak compared to White British people, with some groups being severely affected while already experiencing longstanding inequalities prior to the COVID-19 crisis.