The native Dutch are twice as likely to be invited for a job interview via an online cv database than people with an ethnic minority background – be it Moroccan, Turkish, Polish or Surinamese, according to an experiment carried out for the social affairs ministry.

Older people also face discrimination in applying for jobs, the research shows.

The researchers placed 1,700 fake cvs in internet cv databases and monitored how often they were read and how often the candidates were invited for an interview. They concluded that ethnicity and age were key factors and that there was clear discrimination in both cases.

Social affairs minister Lodewijk Asscher said this, and other, research shows discrimination in the jobs market remains a tricky issue to solve. He said he had already introduced various measures to tackle discrimination and a special team of labour inspectors is focusing on the issue.

In addition, agreements have been made with companies about introducing jobs and work experience places for youngsters from an ethnic minority background.

‘Discrimination ensures that dreams about the future end in frustration and that talent is wasted,’ Asscher said. The cabinet will launch a new campaign against discrimination on Wednesday.