What Explains Black Employment Dynamics?
AEA Papers and Proceedings
vol. 114,
May 2024
(pp. 191-95)
Abstract
This paper investigates the proximate causes of excessively cyclical employment growth and persistently high unemployment among Black workers, relative to White workers. Using data from the Quarterly Workforce Indicators and Job-to-Job Flows, we find that the concentration of Black workers in highly cyclical industries cannot account for the excess cyclicality; rather, Black employment tends to be more volatile regardless of industry. The high level and excessive cyclicality of unemployment among Blacks compared to Whites can be traced to lower job finding rates overall and higher and more cyclical separation rates in most industries.Citation
Boulware, Karl David, and Kenneth N. Kuttner. 2024. "What Explains Black Employment Dynamics?" AEA Papers and Proceedings, 114: 191-95. DOI: 10.1257/pandp.20241125Additional Materials
JEL Classification
- E24 Employment; Unemployment; Wages; Intergenerational Income Distribution; Aggregate Human Capital; Aggregate Labor Productivity
- E32 Business Fluctuations; Cycles
- J15 Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
- J22 Time Allocation and Labor Supply
- J63 Labor Turnover; Vacancies; Layoffs