Black workers’ wages are more sensitive to labor market slack: Regression coefficients showing change in Black and white worker hourly and annual wages given a 1-percentage-point increase in the unemployment rate
| Outcome | Regression coefficient |
|---|---|
| Black | -0.756 |
| White | -0.522 |
| Black | -0.487 |
| White | -0.289 |
| Black | -1.75 |
| White | -0.45 |
| Black | -1.25 |
| White | -0.57 |
Notes: For all regressions, a three-year centered moving average of all variables is used, with Newey-West calculations of standard errors. Controls in the wage and annual earnings regressions include inflation, productivity growth, a time trend, and dummies for the following periods: 1979–1988, 1989–2000, 2001–2007, and 2008–2014. The annual earnings measure includes only workers with earnings during the year.
Source: Author’s analysis of Current Population Survey microdata (EPI 2021a; Flood et al. 2021) and CPS, CPI, and productivity data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS-CPS 2021; BLS-CPI 2021; BLS-LPC 2021).