THE coalition government is leaving behind a racially “penalising” job market, new figures showed yesterday, with two in five black and Asian workers now in poorly paid jobs.

According to a new report by the TUC, the number of black people in low paying jobs increased by almost 13 per cent between 2011 and 2014.

Last year alone, over 15 per cent of the black and Asian workforce was underemployed — nearly 500,000 people.

Supermarket worker Natasha told the TUC that despite being in her job since 2002 on a full-time contract she sometimes struggled to make ends meet.

“Recently I was having problems with the thermostat and had to take out a payday loan of £200 plus £20 interest fee to fix it,” she said.

Research also found that youth unemployment among black and minority ethnic (BME) communities has grown by almost 50 per cent since the Tories came into power.

Unemployment among young white workers has fallen by 2 per cent.

Operation Black Vote campaign director Simon Wolley told the Star that statistics like these are the reason why “politics and engaging within it really matters.”

And he said: “The news that BME workers on low-paid jobs have risen 13 per cent is another clear indication of the growing race penalities within our society.”

The TUC is now demanding that a future government fund reviews by the Equality and Human Rights Commission into different job sectors.

New provisions for “promotion of racial equality” should also be included in all government contracts.

Ahead of this year’s black workers’ conference, TUC race equality officer Wilf Sullivan said that the data exposed how BME workers were disproportionately affected.

“The exploitation faced by black workers is increasing and many of the gains made from tackling institutional racism are being undermined by the pernicious growth of precarious work,” he said.

“Unless urgent action is taken a new generation of young black workers will be faced with the choice of low-paid casual employment or ending up on the scrapheap.”

TUC leader Frances O’Grady echoed the sentiment: “For all the talk of a recovery, our economy still isn’t creating enough well-paid, permanent jobs to meet demand.”