Migrants’ lives beyond the workplace

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation has just produced a report that looks at the experiences of Central and East Europeans in the UK.

An outline is as follows:

"This report explores the experiences beyond the workplace of migrants from East and Central Europe working in low wage jobs.

Following an earlier report on these migrants’ experiences at work, this study explores their access to information, advice and English classes, their accommodation, leisure time, social contact with British people and long-term intentions.

The relationship between migrants and other residents has come under the spotlight in recent debates on ‘integration’ and ‘social cohesion’ but there has been little evidence on Eastern European migrants and this study helps to fill that gap.

Based on a survey of more than 600 migrants working in the UK before and after enlargement of the EU on 1 May 2004, the study provides unique insights into their experiences.

Highlighting some of the challenges new migrants face, it makes a strong case for reviewing national policy towards them."

For more details see Migrants’ lives beyond the workplace by Sarah Spencer, Martin Ruhs, Bridget Anderson and Ben Rogaly.

A brief summary of the report can be found here.

Work-rich and time-poor

The Joseph Rowntree Foundation recently published some findings on trends in the way we work.

The objective of the paper - Work-rich and work-poor: The three decades of change (by Richard Berthoud) - is to describe, and as far as possible explain, the changing distribution of jobs among families. This matter is approached from three angles:

- Analysing the distribution of employment among individuals over the 30 years between 1974 and 2003, taking account especially of the changing relative positions of men and women, disabled people and older and younger potential workers;

- Comparing the year-by-year changes in group-specific employment probabilities with
the fluctuations in the overall employment rate across the business cycle, to look for underlying trends;

- Assessing the family position of individuals with and without jobs, to show whether they have a partner, and whether the partner has a job.

The research found:

- Around two million adults (aged 20-59) who are in work today would probably not have had a job in the mid-1970s.

- Those whose job prospects have improved most are mothers, especially those with adequate qualifications, good health and a working partner.

- This means that the number of couples who both have a job has increased. They are 'work-rich'.

- On the other hand, there are another two million adults who would have been likely to have had a job thirty years ago, but are now out of work.

- Those whose chances have deteriorated most are disabled men with poor educational qualifications and no working partner.

- There has been a steep increase, too, in the number of non-working adults without a partner, or whose partner does not have a job. The proportion has doubled from 7 per cent to 14 per cent over 30 years. Most of these 'work-poor' families live on social security benefits, and have very low incomes.

- These trends have not mainly been associated with changes in the demand for labour in the economy as a whole, but there are some signs that the underlying growth in the number of non-working families may have levelled off over the past few years.

For a brief summary of the findings click here

New report reveals details of persistent low pay and poverty

Today's Guardian contains an article that is very critical of Labour's drive to tackle poverty since the late 1990s. A policy, incidentally, that is centred in the belief that work is the best route out of poverty.

In Low wages undermine work route out of poverty Lucy Ward comments on a recent study by the Joseph Rowntree Foundation.

The findings suggest that the last three governments have reduced poverty, but at the same time little has been done to tackle the root causes of the problem - gross inequalities of rates of pay.

More details of the study can be found in a press release.

The report - Monitoring poverty and social exclusion 2006 (Guy Palmer, Tom MacInnes and Peter Kenway) can be downloaded here for free.