Individuals from ethnic minorities accounted for 14% of the working age population in 2020 but only 12% of those in work and 21% of the unemployed.
At 18%, ethnic minority representation was higher amongst IT specialists than within the workforce as a whole (12%) in 2020 and in total there were 300,000 ethnic minority IT specialists in the UK at that time.
Ethnic minority representation amongst IT specialists varies significantly across the UK - from just 4% in Northern Ireland of England to 32% in London.
Ethnic minority representation amongst IT specialists in 2020 ranged from just 12% of specialist IT managers and web designers/developers - to 26% of business analysts.
Ethnic minority IT specialists were twice as likely to be working in non-permanent positions as their ‘white’ counterparts (6% versus 3% respectively).
There were approximately 10,000 unemployed IT specialists from ethnic minority groups in the UK during 2020 - 24% of all unemployed IT specialists in the UK at that time.
The corresponding the associated unemployment rate for ethnic minority IT specialists (3.2%) was notably higher than that of their ‘white’ counterparts (2.3%).
Ethnic minority IT specialists were more likely to be self-employed than other IT staff during 2020 (13% compared with 9% of those from white ethnic groups).
Just over one half (52%) of all ethnic minority IT specialists were working in IT businesses in 2020 - a higher proportion than for those of white ethnic origin (45%) and IT specialists as a whole (45%).
Ethnic minority representation was lowest within the manufacturing sector where just 8% of IT specialists were from minority ethnic groups.
In 2020, ethnic minority IT specialists (full-time employees) were earning the same as white / all IT specialists as a whole, with median hourly rates in each case of £21phr.
Ethnic minority IT specialists are less likely to be in ‘positions of responsibility’ than those of white ethnicity with 37% and 41% respectively stating that they were a manager / foreman or team leader in 2020.
Almost nine in ten ethnic minority IT specialists have an HE level qualification (87%) compared with less than seven in ten (67%) of those from white ethnic groups.
Ethnic minority IT specialists are less likely than others to find employment from contacts in post (21% compared with 24% of white IT specialists over the 2016-20 period).
