Jobs Lost, Jobs Regained: An Analysis of Black/White Differences in Job Displacement in the 1980s

UCSC Dept. of Economics WP 377

26 Pages Posted: 27 Oct 1997

See all articles by Robert W. Fairlie

Robert W. Fairlie

UCLA; National Bureau of Economic Research

Lori G. Kletzer

University of California at Santa Cruz

Date Written: June 1997

Abstract

Over the period 1982 to 1991, black men were considerably more likely to experience job displacement than were white men, and following displacement, the likelihood of reemployment was substantially lower for black men. Using data from the 1984 to 1992 Displaced Worker Surveys, we find that black men experienced rates of job displacement that were 30 percent higher, and reemployment rates that were 30 percent lower, than the corresponding rates for white men. We find that racial differences in education levels and occupational distributions explain part of these racial gaps in job displacement and reemployment, whereas racial differences in industry distributions worked to narrow these gaps.

JEL Classification: J64

Suggested Citation

Fairlie, Robert W. and Kletzer, Lori G., Jobs Lost, Jobs Regained: An Analysis of Black/White Differences in Job Displacement in the 1980s (June 1997). UCSC Dept. of Economics WP 377, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=38048 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.38048

Robert W. Fairlie (Contact Author)

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Lori G. Kletzer

University of California at Santa Cruz ( email )

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