Ethnic minority candidates are an increasingly essential part of the UK jobs market, according to the latest government figures on UK population growth.

From 2001-2003, the UK's white population declined by 0.1% , a drop of 100,300, while the non-white population grew by 3.8%.

London's ethnic minority population grew by 68,000 between 2001-2003, and now accounts for 40.7% of the capital's total population. London's share of the non-white population has fallen from 44.7% in 2001 to 42.5% in 2003.

The Chinese community showed the fastest average annual population growth at 11.1%. This was largely attributed to immigration of people born in China rather than a high birth rate. The Office for National Statistics research was based on the 2001 census.