IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/jopoec/v38y2025i1d10.1007_s00148-025-01069-4.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

The evolution of labor market disparities between Hispanic and non-Hispanic men: 1970–2019

Author

Listed:
  • Ioannis Kospentaris

    (Athens University of Economics and Business)

  • Leslie S. Stratton

    (Virginia Commonwealth University)

Abstract

We describe how labor market disparities between prime-age Hispanic and non-Hispanic men have evolved over the last 50 years in the United States. Using data from the decennial Census, the American Community Survey, and the March Current Population Survey, we examine several employment and earning outcomes, distinguishing between U.S.-born and immigrant Hispanics. U.S.-born Hispanics have experienced gains to employment, having a 2% disadvantage compared to non-Hispanics prior to 1990 and a 1% advantage after 2010. In terms of earnings, the results are less positive. Hispanics face a substantial negative earnings disparity of between 10 and 20% that shows only modest improvement over time. Most of the employment gain is driven by those with less than a high school degree, while the earnings disparity increases with education. Immigrant Hispanics who completed their education in the U.S. have experienced an even greater increase in employment, reaching a positive 10% differential compared to non-Hispanics, but their earnings persistently remain 15–25% lower than non-Hispanics. English language proficiency accounts for a substantial part of the earnings disparity between Hispanic immigrants and non-Hispanics.

Suggested Citation

  • Ioannis Kospentaris & Leslie S. Stratton, 2025. "The evolution of labor market disparities between Hispanic and non-Hispanic men: 1970–2019," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 38(1), pages 1-21, March.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:38:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-025-01069-4
    DOI: 10.1007/s00148-025-01069-4
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s00148-025-01069-4
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s00148-025-01069-4?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to look for a different version below or search for a different version of it.

    Other versions of this item:

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Judith K. Hellerstein & David Neumark, 2008. "Workplace Segregation in the United States: Race, Ethnicity, and Skill," The Review of Economics and Statistics, MIT Press, vol. 90(3), pages 459-477, August.
    2. Fortin, Nicole & Lemieux, Thomas & Firpo, Sergio, 2011. "Decomposition Methods in Economics," Handbook of Labor Economics, in: O. Ashenfelter & D. Card (ed.), Handbook of Labor Economics, edition 1, volume 4, chapter 1, pages 1-102, Elsevier.
    3. Jesse Rothstein, 2023. "The Lost Generation? Labor Market Outcomes for Post-Great Recession Entrants," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 58(5), pages 1452-1479.
    4. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn, 2017. "The Gender Wage Gap: Extent, Trends, and Explanations," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 55(3), pages 789-865, September.
    5. Oaxaca, Ronald, 1973. "Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets," International Economic Review, Department of Economics, University of Pennsylvania and Osaka University Institute of Social and Economic Research Association, vol. 14(3), pages 693-709, October.
    6. Francisca M. Antman & Brian Duncan & Stephen J. Trejo, 2023. "Hispanic Americans in the Labor Market: Patterns over Time and across Generations," Journal of Economic Perspectives, American Economic Association, vol. 37(1), pages 169-198, Winter.
    7. David Lagakos & Benjamin Moll & Tommaso Porzio & Nancy Qian & Todd Schoellman, 2018. "Life-Cycle Human Capital Accumulation across Countries: Lessons from US Immigrants," Journal of Human Capital, University of Chicago Press, vol. 12(2), pages 305-342.
    8. Patrick Bayer & Kerwin Kofi Charles, 2018. "Divergent Paths: A New Perspective on Earnings Differences Between Black and White Men Since 1940," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 133(3), pages 1459-1501.
    9. Alan S. Blinder, 1973. "Wage Discrimination: Reduced Form and Structural Estimates," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 8(4), pages 436-455.
    10. Daniel Chiquiar & Gordon H. Hanson, 2005. "International Migration, Self-Selection, and the Distribution of Wages: Evidence from Mexico and the United States," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 113(2), pages 239-281, April.
    11. Ioannis Kospentaris & Leslie S. Stratton, 2022. "The Evolution of Labor Market Disparities between Hispanic and non-Hispanic Men: 1970-2019," Working Papers 2203, VCU School of Business, Department of Economics.
    12. Barry T. Hirsch & John V. Winters, 2014. "An Anatomy Of Racial and Ethnic Trends in Male Earnings in the U.S," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 60(4), pages 930-947, December.
    13. Todd Schoellman, 2012. "Education Quality and Development Accounting," The Review of Economic Studies, Review of Economic Studies Ltd, vol. 79(1), pages 388-417.
    14. Kevin Lang & Michael Manove, 2011. "Education and Labor Market Discrimination," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 101(4), pages 1467-1496, June.
    15. Neal, Derek A & Johnson, William R, 1996. "The Role of Premarket Factors in Black-White Wage Differences," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 104(5), pages 869-895, October.
    16. Tomaz Cajner & Tyler Radler & David Ratner & Ivan Vidangos, 2017. "Racial Gaps in Labor Market Outcomes in the Last Four Decades and over the Business Cycle," Finance and Economics Discussion Series 2017-071, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (U.S.).
    17. Trejo, Stephen J, 1997. "Why Do Mexican Americans Earn Low Wages?," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 105(6), pages 1235-1268, December.
    18. Baum-Snow, Nathaniel & Neal, Derek, 2009. "Mismeasurement of usual hours worked in the census and ACS," Economics Letters, Elsevier, vol. 102(1), pages 39-41, January.
    19. Lisa B. Kahn & Lindsay Oldenski & Geunyong Park, 2022. "Racial and Ethnic Inequality and the China Shock," NBER Working Papers 30646, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Tymon Słoczyński, 2020. "Average Gaps and Oaxaca–Blinder Decompositions: A Cautionary Tale about Regression Estimates of Racial Differences in Labor Market Outcomes," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 73(3), pages 705-729, May.
    2. Sloczynski, Tymon, 2018. "Average Gaps and Oaxaca's Blinder Decompositions: A Cautionary Tale about Regression Estimates of Racial Differences in Labor Market Outcomes," IZA Discussion Papers 12041, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).
    3. Gawai, Vikas PD & Foltz, Jeremy D., 2023. "Discrimination in Science: Salaries of Foreign and US Born Land-Grant University Scientists," 2022 Annual Meeting, July 31-August 2, Anaheim, California 322134, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    4. Romain Aeberhardt & Élise Coudin & Roland Rathelot, 2017. "The heterogeneity of ethnic employment gaps," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 30(1), pages 307-337, January.
    5. Francine D. Blau & Lawrence M. Kahn & Nikolai Boboshko & Matthew Comey, 2024. "The Impact of Selection into the Labor Force on the Gender Wage Gap," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 42(4), pages 1093-1133.
    6. , 2021. "Racial Wealth Disparities: Reconsidering the Roles of Human Capital and Inheritance," Working Papers 22-3, Federal Reserve Bank of Boston.
    7. Słoczyński, Tymon, 2012. "New Evidence on Linear Regression and Treatment Effect Heterogeneity," MPRA Paper 39524, University Library of Munich, Germany.
    8. Huong Thu Le & Ha Trong Nguyen, 2018. "The evolution of the gender test score gap through seventh grade: new insights from Australia using unconditional quantile regression and decomposition," IZA Journal of Labor Economics, Springer;Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 7(1), pages 1-42, December.
    9. Katie Meara & Francesco Pastore & Allan Webster, 2020. "The gender pay gap in the USA: a matching study," Journal of Population Economics, Springer;European Society for Population Economics, vol. 33(1), pages 271-305, January.
    10. Michaela Fuchs & Anja Rossen & Antje Weyh & Gabriele Wydra‐Somaggio, 2021. "Where do women earn more than men? Explaining regional differences in the gender pay gap," Journal of Regional Science, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 61(5), pages 1065-1086, November.
    11. Gustavo Canavire-Bacarreza & Luis C. Carvajal-Osorio, 2020. "Two Stories of Wage Dynamics in Latin America: Different Policies, Different Outcomes," Journal of Labor Research, Springer, vol. 41(1), pages 128-168, June.
    12. Gustavo Adolfo García & Diego René Gonzales Miranda & Oscar Gallo & Juan Pablo Roman Calderon, 2020. "Millennials and the gender wage gap: Do millennial women face a glass ceiling?," Documentos de Trabajo de Valor Público 18409, Universidad EAFIT.
    13. Waitkus, Nora & Minkus, Lara, 2021. "Investigating the gender wealth gap across occupational classes," LSE Research Online Documents on Economics 108206, London School of Economics and Political Science, LSE Library.
    14. David Neumark, 2018. "Experimental Research on Labor Market Discrimination," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 56(3), pages 799-866, September.
    15. Kaya Ezgi, 2021. "Gender wage gap across the distribution: What is the role of within- and between-firm effects?," IZA Journal of Development and Migration, Sciendo & Forschungsinstitut zur Zukunft der Arbeit GmbH (IZA), vol. 12(1), pages 1-49, January.
    16. Melanie Jones & Ezgi Kaya, 2024. "Performance‐related pay and the UK gender pay gap," Industrial Relations: A Journal of Economy and Society, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 63(4), pages 512-529, October.
    17. Joanna Małgorzata Landmesser, 2019. "Decomposition Of Gender Wage Gap In Poland Using Counterfactual Distribution With Sample Selection," Statistics in Transition New Series, Polish Statistical Association, vol. 20(3), pages 171-186, September.
    18. Mahalia Jackman & Kishmar Lorde, 2021. "Gaps in the (paid) work hours of male and female heads of households: empirical evidence from Barbados," International Journal of Manpower, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 42(7), pages 1321-1337, January.
    19. Paul Goldsmith-Pinkham & Karen Jiang & Zirui Song & Jacob Wallace, 2022. "Measuring Changes in Disparity Gaps: An Application to Health Insurance," AEA Papers and Proceedings, American Economic Association, vol. 112, pages 356-360, May.
    20. Daniela Piazzalunga & Maria Laura Di Tommaso, 2019. "The increase of the gender wage gap in Italy during the 2008-2012 economic crisis," The Journal of Economic Inequality, Springer;Society for the Study of Economic Inequality, vol. 17(2), pages 171-193, June.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    Hispanics; Disparities; Earnings; Employment; Education; Immigration; Language;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • J15 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demographic Economics - - - Economics of Minorities, Races, Indigenous Peoples, and Immigrants; Non-labor Discrimination
    • J21 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Demand and Supply of Labor - - - Labor Force and Employment, Size, and Structure
    • J31 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Wages, Compensation, and Labor Costs - - - Wage Level and Structure; Wage Differentials
    • J71 - Labor and Demographic Economics - - Labor Discrimination - - - Hiring and Firing

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:spr:jopoec:v:38:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1007_s00148-025-01069-4. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.