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This paper focuses on the labour disparities between Sub-Saharan African immigrants in the Netherlands, a hitherto undescribed ethnic group, and the native Dutch population. Using unique data with nationwide coverage, the analysis reveals that the labour market position of Sub-Saharan Africans displays an exceptionally large disparity with the native Dutch, compared with discrepancies found in previous research on other immigrant groups. The outcomes also show great differences across the Sub-Saharan groups with Cape Verdeans and South Africans deviating the least from the native Dutch, Ghanaians occupying an intermediate position, while people from Somalia, Eritrea, Congo, Sudan and Sierra Leone are in the worst position. Most importantly, we found that the conventional human capital model does not account for much of the disparity between Sub-Saharan Africans and the native Dutch, even when the model is expanded with language proficiency as an additional variable. Considering these findings, we suggest that alternative explanations, such as society of origin, the operation of norm images and ethnic concentration in specific sectors impeding mobilities should be researched further. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The unemployment rate for most ethnic minorities in the Netherlands is higher than that of the host population. It is feared that ethnic minorities' low labour market participation will constrain the overall social cohesion of Dutch society. Increased labour market participation of ethnic minorities is therefore considered as the most effective way to reduce the number of claimants and increase their social integration. The two questions to be addressed in this paper are to what extent the labour market is accessible for ethnic minorities in the Netherlands and whether their increased participation in work increases the level of general socio-economic welfare. The available data suggest that social exclusion on the job market continues to be a widespread practice. In most cases increased labour participation has succeeded only due to the creation of low-paid jobs in the public sector. However, in these echelons increased participation hardly leads to an increase in individual welfare. The labour market intervention has thus resulted in the emergence of a social stratum of working poor. It is questionable whether this outcome strengthens intended social cohesion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]