Black, African, Caribbean or Black British UK employees earned less than White employees in 2022, with medians of £13.53 and £14.35 per hour respectively, according to new research by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
After using personal and work characteristics to provide an adjusted pay gap based on a like-for-like comparison, the findings highlighted that UK-born White employees earned more on average than most ethnic minority employees.
The pay gap for Black, African, Caribbean or Black British employees was largely consistent over recent years, but between 2012 and 2022, they were the only ethnicity group to be consistently earning less than White staff.
Country of birth affected how much employees earned, with UK-born Black, African, Caribbean or Black British employees earning more in 2022 than UK-born White staff, at £15.18 and £14.26 respectively, while non-UK-born Black British workers earned less, at £12.95.
When adjusting for pay-determining characteristics, such as occupation and geography, the pay gap narrows and reverses, as the gap for UK-born Black, African, Caribbean, or Black British employees moved from earning 6.5% more to earning 5.6% less than with White staff.
Meanwhile, the pay gap for Asian or Asian British groups has narrowed over the period, while in 2019, the Other ethnic group earned 6.7% less than White employees. In 2020, the trend reversed, with this group earning 6.3% more.
The ONS’ analysis for England and Wales, that looked at 18 rather than just five ethnic groups, found that among Asian or Asian British employees, Chinese or Indian staff had higher earnings than White British workers, while Bangladeshi or Pakistani employees earned less than White British staff.
An ONS spokesperson said: “To understand the relationship between ethnicity and pay, and specifically the difference between the raw and adjusted pay gaps, we can look at the cumulative effect of each factor included in our statistical model. These factors are termed ‘confounders’, as they may influence both pay and ethnicity, which would influence the relationship between ethnicity and pay.”
