UK nationals living in Ireland experience the second highest unemployment rate of 24 per cent , according to the study.
Only Africans had a higher unemployment rate of 27.1 per cent in 2012 while people from the original EU member states, such as France, Germany and the Scandinavian countries have an unemployment rate of just 9.9 per cent. Those from the mainly central and east European states which joined the EU in 2004 and 2007 have an unemployment rate of 18.4 per cent.
The report says the trend among UK nationals “merits further research”.
The report also says there is a “substantial gap” between the unemployment rate for Irish women (10.5 per cent) and non-Irish females (15.3 per cent). The unemployment rate among Irish men was 18.1 per cent, compared to 21.1 per cent for non-Irish men.
Discrimination
Black people are almost four times more likely than white Irish people to report experiencing discrimination in shops, pubs, housing and transport.
Black Africans, Europeans from an ethnic minority background and people from the new central and eastern EU states fared worse than other groups in getting a job. “The study also found that migrants who arrived in Ireland during the recession (ie. in or after 2008) were found to be more likely to report experiencing discrimination when looking for work than those who had arrived during the boom,” it adds.
Across the EU, 56 per cent of respondents said they believed there was widespread discrimination on the basis of ethnic origin; 37 per cent felt such discrimination was rare. In Ireland, 35 per cent said there was widespread discrimination on the grounds of ethnic origin; 51 per cent felt it was rare.
Better educated
Immigrant groups were better educated than the Irish population, with all immigrants more likely to have third level education compared with Irish nationals. "In most OECD countries the reverse is true: immigrants are less likely to hold tertiary degrees than natives," says the report.