Black Workers Still Earn Less than Their White Counterparts

#employment

Another defining feature of racial inequality in the labor market is the significant pay disparities between black and white workers. In 2019, the typical (median) black worker earned 24.4% less per hour than the typical white worker. This is an even larger wage gap than in 1979, when it was 16.4%.

Controlling for racial differences in education, experience, and the fact that black workers are more likely to live in lower-wage Southern states leaves an unexplained gap of 14.9% in 2019 (out of a total average gap of 26.5%).

This is up from an unexplained gap of 8.6% in 1979 (out of a total average gap of 17.3%). Any simple or rational explanation for this disparity is further complicated by the fact that racial wage gaps among men are significantly larger than among women. Source