Language fluency and immigrant employment prospects: evidence from Britain's ethnic minorities

Abstract

Using data from the Fourth National Survey of Ethnic Minorities, the determinants of location-specific language capital and its impact upon the employment prospects of male and female ethnic minority immigrants in Britain are investigated. It is found that lack of English language fluency reduces average predicted employment probabilities by 20–25 percentage points. Increasing the provision of English language training directly or indirectly, by requiring immigrants to obtain UK qualifications, would go a long way to eliminating the 10% employment gap between Britain's white and ethnic minority communities.