When Nationalism Meets Soft Skills: Towards a Comprehensive Framework for Explaining Ethno-migrant Inequality in the Dutch Labour Market

Ethno-migrant inequality in the labour market is a persistent problem in many countries.¹ In the Netherlands, especially people with a first-or second-generation ‘non-Western’ migration background² find themselves in subordinated positions in the labour market. Their unemployment rates in particular, are a matter of great concern. In the first quarter of 2017, their unemployment rate was 12.8 percent, compared to 4.4 percent of the nonmigrant population.³ This factor of three of having higher chances of becoming unemployed if you have a migration background, than if you do not, has been visible and consistent for several decades already. This problem cannot be