Muslim graduates more likely to be jobless
Muslim graduates are less likely to have jobs than other graduates, the government has revealed.
76% of Muslim graduates of working age are employed, compared to 87% of graduates overall. Employment minister Margaret Hodge said that more must be done to improve the number of Muslim graduates finding work.
"This is a time when we are all thinking about how young Muslims can be encouraged to feel integrated into British society. The 11 per cent gap in getting Muslim graduates into jobs is really worrying," she told a seminar in London.
Sulaiman Moolla, Vice President of the Federation of Student Islamic Societies, said that the organisation heard from Muslim graduates who felt discriminated against in job interviews.
However, that might not be the only reason why they don't perform as well in the graduate labour market. Ms Moolla suggested that Muslim students' choices of university could have a bearing on their employability, with those graduating from less prestigious universities finding it harder to gain jobs.
The Department for Work and Pensions meanwhile claimed that lifestyle differences were impacting on the figures: for example, some Muslim graduates choose not to return to work after having children, it said.
The figures released by Ms Hodge also illustrated how Muslims make up a disproportionately small part of the graduate body: 2.8% of the British population is Muslim, compared to about 2% of graduates.
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