ERIC ED600048: The Unequal Race for Good Jobs: How Whites Made Outsized Gains in Education and Good Jobs Compared to Blacks and Latinos

2019·3.5 MB·English

by  ERIC

The Unequal Race for
Good Jobs
How Whites Made
Outsized Gains in
Education and
Good Jobs
Compared to
Blacks and
Latinos
Anthony P. Carnevale
Jeff Strohl
Artem Gulish
Martin Van Der Werf
Kathryn Peltier Campbell
2019
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Unequal
The Race for Good Jobs
How Whites Made Outsized Gains
in Education and Good Jobs
Compared to Blacks and Latinos
2019
Anthony P. Carnevale
Jeff Strohl
Artem Gulish
Martin Van Der Werf
Kathryn Peltier Campbell
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
We would like to express our gratitude to JPMorgan Chase & Co. for the generous support that
made this report possible, particularly to Sarah Steinberg for her encouragement and guidance.
The staff of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce was instrumental in
the production of this report from conception to publication. In particular, we would like to thank
r
Andrea Porter for strategic guidance;
r
Ban Cheah for project conceptualization, data programming, and analysis;
r
Nicole Smith for economic methodology;
r
Neil Ridley and Tanya I. Garcia for editorial and qualitative feedback;
r
Hilary Strahota, Emma Wenzinger, Frank Zhang, and Caitlin Panarella for communications
efforts, including design development and public relations; and
r
Andrew Debraggio and Coral Castro for assistance with logistics and operations.
Many others contributed their thoughts and feedback throughout the production of this report.
We especially are grateful to our talented designers, editorial advisors, and printers, whose efforts
were vital to its successful completion. We would also like to thank Elizabeth González of the
College Futures Foundation, Harry Holzer of Georgetown University, CJ Powell of the Leadership
Conference Education Fund, and Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute, who provided
feedback on an earlier version of this report.
The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of
JPMorgan Chase & Co. or any of its officers or employees. All errors and omissions are the responsibility of
the authors.
CONTENTS
Introduction ..............................................................................................................................................1
Inequity in the Post–World War II Economy .......................................................................................4
Upskilling as the Driver of Change in the US Economy ....................................................................8
Trends in Good Jobs by Educational Pathway for White, Black, and Latino Workers ..............12
— White workers moved to jobs on the bachelor’s degree pathway,
leaving jobs on the high school pathway behind ..................................................................................................13
— Black workers gained good jobs on the middle-skills and bachelor’s
degree pathways...........................................................................................................................................................16
— Latino workers gained good jobs on all three educational pathways, but gained their
largest share of jobs overall on the high school pathway ....................................................................................19
Persistent Equity Gaps between White, Black, and Latino Workers .............................................22
— Not all good jobs pay equally: racial differences in earnings remain. ...............................................................27
Conclusion ...............................................................................................................................................30
— Policy Implications ......................................................................................................................................................30
References ...............................................................................................................................................33
Figures
Figure 1. Skilled-services industries provided all of the net growth in employment and good jobs
between 1991 and 2016, while blue-collar industries shed employment and good jobs..................... 9
Figure 2. Good jobs have almost doubled for workers with bachelor’s degrees and above in
skilled-services industries, and middle-skills good jobs have experienced strong growth
in both skilled-services and blue-collar industries ....................................................................................... 10
Figure 3. Good jobs held by White workers are increasingly concentrated among those with at least
a bachelor’s degree .............................................................................................................................................. 14
Figure 4. Nearly all the net new good job gains by Whites were by workers with bachelor’s degrees
or higher in skilled-services industries, while all the net losses were by workers with a high
school diploma or less ........................................................................................................................................ 15
Figure 5. Good jobs held by Black workers are increasingly on the bachelor’s degree pathway ........................ 17
Figure 6. Black workers with bachelor’s and graduate degrees made strong gains in good jobs
within skilled-services industries, and also made significant gains on the middle-skills
pathway in both skilled-services and blue-collar industries ....................................................................... 18
Figure 7. Among Latino workers, those with no more than a high school diploma have the largest
share of good jobs, but those with a bachelor’s degree or higher are quickly catching up ............... 20
Figure 8. Latino workers obtained good jobs across both blue-collar and skilled-services industries
with bachelor’s and graduate degrees, with middle skills, and even with a high school
diploma or less ...................................................................................................................................................... 21
Figure 9. White, Black, and Latino workers all increased their likelihood of having a good job
between 1991 and 2016, but equity gaps remain ......................................................................................... 23
Figure 10. White workers are more likely than Black or Latino workers to have a good job at every
level of educational attainment ........................................................................................................................ 24
Figure 11. White workers continue to be overrepresented in good jobs, while Black and Latino
workers are underrepresented. ........................................................................................................................ 25
Figure 12. White workers gained more good jobs than their growth in overall employment, while
Black and Latino workers gained fewer good jobs ...................................................................................... 26
Figure 13. The inequitable distribution of good jobs and corresponding earnings shifted $554 billion
to White workers from Black and Latino workers in 2016 ......................................................................... 29
Tables
Table 1. Overview of White Workers by Educational Pathway ................................................................................... 13
Table 2. Overview of Black Workers by Educational Pathway .................................................................................... 16
Table 3. Overview of Latino Workers by Educational Pathway...................................................................................19
Table 4. In 2016, more than half of good jobs among Whites and Blacks were held by workers
with bachelor’s and graduate degrees, compared to just over a third among Latinos ........................ 22
Introduction
The American job machine has performed well over the past 25 years. Between 1991 and 2016, employment
among White, Black, and Latino workers grew by 20 percent, while employment in good jobs soared by 35
percent.1 Yet the opportunities and benefits of the modern economy have not accrued evenly across the
three groups.2 Discrimination and a history of racial injustice in this country have led to Whites gaining a
disproportionate edge in educational opportunity and good jobs.
During this period, Whites started out with more good jobs than Blacks and Latinos, and they gained an
outsized share of the new good jobs compared to Blacks and Latinos.3 Today, White workers are the only
major racial or ethnic group for whom the majority of their jobs are good jobs.4 Overall, Whites have a
disproportionate share of good jobs relative to their share of employment, and Blacks and Latinos are
disproportionately underrepresented in good jobs relative to their share of employment. In 2016, White
workers held 77 percent of the good jobs in the United States even though Whites collectively held 69
percent of all jobs. Black workers held 10 percent of good jobs even as Blacks held 13 percent of all jobs.
Latino workers held 13 percent of good jobs, while Latinos held 18 percent of all jobs.5
1 Our main data source is the Current Population Survey (CPS), 1992–2017. The CPS, sponsored jointly by the US Census Bureau
and the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, began using data on degree attainment in 1992. Previously, this survey had included data
only on years of education.
2 We cover the three largest racial and ethnic groups in the workforce: Whites, Blacks, and Latinos. All the analysis includes only
these three groups. The aggregate numbers in the report are totals for these groups only and discussion of shares are out of
the totals for these three groups only. While Asians now represent a significant share of the workforce, the Current Population
Survey did not separately report data for Asians until 2003.
3 We use the term Black to refer to people who identify as Black or African American and the term Latino to refer to people who
identify as Hispanic or Latino, including people who identify racially as Black and ethnically as Latino. We use single terms for
different racial and ethnic groups—White, Black, and Latino—to alleviate ambiguity and enhance clarity. In charts and tables, we
use the terms White, Black/African American, and Hispanic/Latino.
4 Our analysis encompasses workers ages 25 to 64 covered in the CPS, 1992–2017, but gaps by race or ethnicity in the number of
annual work hours could contribute to gaps in good jobs. For more on racial gaps in annual work hours, see Wilson and Jones,
Working Harder or Finding It Harder to Work, 2018.
5 The discussion of jobs and earnings is based on workers’ employment and total wages and salaries for 25-to-64-year-old
workers. We compare aggregate levels of employment and earnings in the economy at different points of time and do not
account for multiple jobs held by a single worker or movement of workers between jobs in a given year.
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THE UNEQUAL RACE FOR GOOD JOBS
The good news is that for workers in all three groups, the likelihood of being employed in a good job—or the
percentage of all jobs that are good jobs—is now higher than it was a quarter century ago: in 2016, 58 percent
of Whites (compared to 50% in 1991), 41 percent of Blacks (compared to 33%), and 37 percent of Latinos
(compared to 30%) held good jobs. As shown below, this is in part because all three groups have responded to
the growing demand for more educated workers by substantially increasing their educational attainment. As the
complexity of occupations and work tasks has grown, the number of workers with postsecondary education has
increased substantially, and workers are therefore receiving higher earnings than in the past.6
At the same time, racial gaps in economic opportunity persist, even among workers who have the same
education level. White workers not only are more likely than Black and Latino workers to have a good job, but
also have higher earnings in good jobs. Moreover, Blacks and Latinos are less likely than Whites to have any job,
much less one that is good. Overall, for the past 25 years, Black unemployment rates have been approximately
double those of Whites, and Latino unemployment rates have been roughly 1.5 times those of Whites.
What Is a Good Job?
We define a good job as one that pays family-sustaining earnings. Good jobs pay a minimum of $35,000
($17 per hour for full-time jobs) for workers between the ages of 25 and 44 and at least $45,000 ($22
per hour) for workers between the ages of 45 and 64. In 2016, these good jobs paid median earnings
of $56,000 for workers without a bachelor’s degree and $75,000 for workers with a bachelor’s
degree or higher. Overall median earnings for all good jobs were $65,000.
The persistent racial divide in good jobs reflects a variety of factors, including differential access to high-
quality, well-resourced K–12 schools and selective colleges and universities;7 employment discrimination;
segregated social and professional networks; and other forms of systemic privilege and discrimination based
on race and ethnicity.8 In addition, the divide in educational attainment that contributes to the good jobs gap
also reflects different barriers on the postsecondary pathway. For example, Black and Latino students are
more likely to enroll in colleges with lower graduation rates.9 And when they do enroll in college, they are
disproportionately more likely than White students to be the first in their family to go to college;10 to come
6 See Carnevale and Rose, The Undereducated American, 2011, and Goldin and Katz, The Race between Education and
Technology, 2008.
7 For a data-based exploration of inequities in the education system that contribute to disparate academic and labor market
outcomes for Black and Latino students compared to White students, see Carnevale and Strohl, Separate and Unequal, 2013;
Carnevale et al., Our Separate & Unequal Public Colleges, 2018; and Carnevale et al., Born to Win, Schooled to Lose, 2019.
8 See Pager and Shepherd, “The Sociology of Discrimination,” 2008, for a more comprehensive exploration of racial discrimination
in employment, housing, credit, and consumer markets.
9 Young Invincibles, Race & Ethnicity as a Barrier to Opportunity, 2017.
10 Redford and Hoyer, “First-Generation and Continuing-Generation College Students,” 2017.
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from lower-income families; and to receive less financial support from Racial and ethnic
family and friends,11 all of which contribute to lower graduation rates.
discrimination
in its many
Significant equity gaps remain among White, Black, and Latino workers
forms is deeply
even as all three groups have achieved higher levels of education and
greater access to good jobs. We focus on the relationship between intertwined
human capital and economic opportunity, but it must be acknowledged
with economic
that racial and ethnic discrimination in its many forms is deeply
inequalities.
intertwined with economic inequalities.
Discrimination is a complex issue with economic, social, and political dimensions that manifest through
institutional, organizational, and interpersonal dynamics.12 We do not purport to address all aspects of
discrimination or the causes and dynamics that underpin racial and ethnic inequality in the United States.
Instead, we focus on how historic differences in access to postsecondary education differentially affected
the likelihood of securing a good job for White, Black, and Latino workers.
Our key findings include:
Between 1991 and 2016, the share of workers employed in good jobs has increased by 7 to 8
percentage points for White, Black, and Latino workers.
The distribution of good jobs among the three major racial and ethnic groups remains inequitable,
even though all groups made gains.
Black and Latino workers’ earnings in good jobs are lower than those of White workers at all levels
of education.
Among workers with good jobs, Whites are paid $554 billion more annually than they would be if
good jobs and good jobs earnings were equitably distributed in the workforce, while Blacks are paid
$202 billion less and Latinos $352 billion less annually because of these inequalities.
White, Black, and Latino workers are all earning a growing share of their good jobs with a bachelor’s
degree or higher.
For all three groups, economic opportunity shifted from the high school pathway to the middle-
skills pathway.
11 This is largely because Black and Latino families have less wealth than White families. Black families with more limited financial
resources actually show a greater inclination to provide financial support for their children than similarly situated White families,
but they are unable to provide the support they would like to give. Nam et al., Bootstraps Are for Black Kids, 2015.
12 For a more comprehensive examination of discrimination see Pager and Shepherd, “The Sociology of Discrimination,” 2008.
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THE UNEQUAL RACE FOR GOOD JOBS
Inequity in the
Post–World War II Economy
In the post–World War II period, White, Black, and Latino workers experienced key shifts in employment
opportunities at different historical moments. For White workers, the critical juncture came during the
postwar industrial boom, when returning veterans gained disproportionate access to well-paid blue-
collar jobs and GI benefits that helped them secure educational opportunity and housing for their families.
For Black workers, the critical juncture came during the civil rights movement of the 1960s, when they
gained legal access to many educational and economic opportunities previously denied to them. For
Latino workers, the critical juncture came in the 1990s, when demographic changes largely propelled by
immigration resulted in Latinos gaining a larger presence in the US workforce than in past generations.13
The experiences of Whites, Blacks, and Latinos in the United States underpin the dynamic of how access
to good jobs for each group has changed. These experiences were similar insofar as Whites, Blacks, and
Latinos all increased their levels of educational attainment over time. But White workers have consistently
had disproportionate advantages in educational attainment. Meanwhile, educational disadvantages faced
by Blacks and Latinos have been compounded by employment discrimination, which persists even among
college graduates14 despite broad social changes and regulatory efforts to thwart it, such as those of the US
Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC).
Where White workers are in today’s economy has much
Educational
to do with where they were in the early and mid-20th
disadvantages faced
century. Following World War II, White veterans had greater
by Blacks and Latinos
access than other racial and ethnic groups to the GI Bill’s
educational benefits and preferred access to low-interest have been compounded
mortgages.15 The educational benefits facilitated White
by employment
workers’ disproportionate access to high-paying jobs, while
discrimination.
homeownership allowed them to build wealth, which they
13 Tienda and Sánchez, “Latin American Immigration to the United States,” 2013. Our analysis does not disaggregate the Latino
workforce by nativity, although we recognize that there are significant educational differences between US-born and foreign-
born Latinos.
14 For an example of how White and Black college graduates are treated differently in job recruitment and hiring, see Gaddis,
“Discrimination in the Credential Society,” 2015.
15 Turner and Bound, “Closing the Gap or Widening the Divide,” 2003; Brown, Divergent Fates, 2013.
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