Changes in occupational segregation by race and ethnicity in the USA

Abstract

This paper analyses changes in segregation by race and ethnicity in the USA across 13 broad occupational groups over the period 1983–2002. It is found that overall segregation between Blacks and Non-Blacks modestly declined while overall segregation between Hispanics and Non-Hispancis significantly increased during this period. It is also found that Blacks and Hispanics remained underrepresented in higher-paying occupations and overrepresented in lower-paying occupations. However, Blacks tended to be less underrepresented in the former occupations and less overrepresented in the latter occupations than Hispanics.

Acknowledgements

I thank Mark Taylor (editor) and Amit Sen for helpful suggestions.

Notes

¹ Blacks or African Americans refer to people who have origins in Black racial groups of Africa. Hispanics refer to people having ancestry from Spanish-speaking countries including Mexico, Puerto Rico, Cuba as well as countries with fewer representatives in the USA. The CPS occupational data are only available for Blacks and Hispanics over the period 1983–2002.

² It should be noted that segregation measures based on broad occupational data are less accurate than those based on detailed occupational data. As a result, the analysis in this paper is likely to underestimate the level of occupational segregation by race and ethnicity.