RACE AND UNEMPLOYMENT - LABOR-MARKET EXPERIENCES OF BLACK AND WHITE MEN, 1968-1988

This article addresses two questions: First, why is Black unemployment persistently higher than White unemployment? Second how can this fact be reconciled with narrowing Black/White differentials in educational attainment, occupational position, and earnings? We show that the per sistent racial gap in unemployment is due to differential access to em ployment opportunities by region, occupational placement, labor market segmentation by race, and labor market discrimination. Our findings s howing that the racial gap in unemployment is greatest for college-edu cated men and are consistent with the view that Blacks still encounter barriers to employment in the labor market.