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Employment Restructuring and the Labor Market Status of Young Black Men in the 1980s

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  • David R. Howell

Abstract

The decline in the employment status of young black men relative to their white peers in the post-1970 U.S. Labor market is the impetus for this research. This paper examines the effects of recent employment restructuring on young workers by race and sex. In the case of the least educated group of young black men (aged 25-34), the employment-to-population ratio declined by almost 35 percent (equivalent to 28 percentage points) from 1970 tol985. Moreover, the 1980s were a stark reversal to the decades-long trend of a narrowing of the black/white earnings gap. Recent literature on demand-side trends for black employment has employed aggregate Census industry and occupation classifications: A more accurate depiction of change among various demographic groups is represented in an increasingly consistent segregation of job classifications. The findings indicate that job segments with the highest concentration of young black men had the lowest employment and earnings growth, but the highest growth in educational requirements, between 1979 and 1989. Furthermore, while the distributions of moderately educated young black and white women among segments converged during this time, the black and white male distributions diverged sharply. Hence, the results imply a strong link between changes in rates of labor market discouragement and changes in job opportunities, job quality, and educational requirements. A lingering question remains for future research: Given that the distribution of young, moderately educated black and white women has narrowed substantially, why have young black men failed to redistribute themselves toward higher-quality, growing job segments as effectively as their white counterparts?

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  • David R. Howell, 1991. "Employment Restructuring and the Labor Market Status of Young Black Men in the 1980s," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_67, Levy Economics Institute.
    • Handle: RePEc:lev:wrkpap:wp_67
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    1. Richard B. Freeman & Harry J. Holzer, 1986. "The Black Youth Employment Crisis: Summary of Findings," NBER Chapters, in: The Black Youth Employment Crisis, pages 3-20, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    2. Richard B. Freeman & Harry J. Holzer, 1986. "The Black Youth Employment Crisis," NBER Books, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc, number free86-1.
    3. Freeman, Richard B. & Holzer, Harry J. (ed.), 1986. "The Black Youth Employment Crisis," National Bureau of Economic Research Books, University of Chicago Press, number 9780226261645, September.
    4. Smith, James P & Welch, Finis R, 1989. "Black Economic Progress after Myrdal," Journal of Economic Literature, American Economic Association, vol. 27(2), pages 519-564, June.
    5. Cain, Glen G & Finnie, Ross E, 1990. "The Black-White Difference in Youth Employment: Evidence for Demand-Side Factors," Journal of Labor Economics, University of Chicago Press, vol. 8(1), pages 364-395, January.
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    Cited by:

    1. George McCarthy, 1992. "The Role of Unemployment in Triggering Internal Labor Migration," Economics Working Paper Archive wp_75, Levy Economics Institute.

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