Inequality between whites and ethnic minorities hampers the global economy, according to an article published on the Guardian’s website recently. In fact, figures from the United Kingdom’s Department for Work and Pensions showed that between 2012 and 2013, all minority ethnic groups were unemployed at higher rates than whites, which was especially true for those who are under the age of 25.

The United Kingdom is not unique in Europe. Anthony Heath, professor and head of the Department of Sociology at the University of Oxford, wrote with his colleagues in 2008 that the second generation of ethnic minority groups is quite disadvantaged in terms of receiving education and entering the labor market.

By analyzing statistics from the last four decades, Li Yaojun, a professor of sociology at the University of Manchester, showed that during the economic recession in 1980s and 1990s, the unemployment rates of ethnic minorities in the United Kingdom were drastically higher than those of whites. In the current economic crisis, whites have seen a decline in unemployment rates, while the opposite is true for ethnic minorities.

So far, there has been no hard law against racial discrimination, and discrimination is not treated as a civil offense that requires significant penalties, which could be an effective way to address the problem, said Steve Jefferys, an emeritus professor of European Employment Studies at London Metropolitan University.