From 1980 on, Black-white wage gaps grew alongside the gap in productivity and pay; as racial inequality increased, so did corporate power: Black-white median wage gap and productivity-pay ratio, 1980–2024
| Year | Black-white median wage gap | Productivity-pay ratio |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 17.4% | 1.60 |
| 1981 | 17.4% | 1.63 |
| 1982 | 19.0% | 1.61 |
| 1983 | 18.3% | 1.65 |
| 1984 | 19.1% | 1.70 |
| 1985 | 19.7% | 1.73 |
| 1986 | 19.4% | 1.76 |
| 1987 | 19.5% | 1.77 |
| 1988 | 18.3% | 1.79 |
| 1989 | 20.0% | 1.80 |
| 1990 | 20.2% | 1.82 |
| 1991 | 20.6% | 1.83 |
| 1992 | 20.6% | 1.89 |
| 1993 | 20.0% | 1.89 |
| 1994 | 20.6% | 1.90 |
| 1995 | 20.8% | 1.91 |
| 1996 | 21.6% | 1.93 |
| 1997 | 21.8% | 1.94 |
| 1998 | 19.9% | 1.93 |
| 1999 | 19.8% | 1.95 |
| 2000 | 20.3% | 1.96 |
| 2001 | 22.4% | 1.95 |
| 2002 | 21.1% | 1.97 |
| 2003 | 19.9% | 2.01 |
| 2004 | 19.5% | 2.07 |
| 2005 | 22.4% | 2.11 |
| 2006 | 20.8% | 2.12 |
| 2007 | 22.6% | 2.12 |
| 2008 | 22.9% | 2.10 |
| 2009 | 21.2% | 2.10 |
| 2010 | 21.8% | 2.14 |
| 2011 | 22.7% | 2.14 |
| 2012 | 24.5% | 2.17 |
| 2013 | 23.1% | 2.17 |
| 2014 | 24.7% | 2.17 |
| 2015 | 25.1% | 2.17 |
| 2016 | 24.0% | 2.15 |
| 2017 | 25.7% | 2.17 |
| 2018 | 26.4% | 2.18 |
| 2019 | 23.8% | 2.17 |
| 2020 | 23.5% | 2.18 |
| 2021 | 23.4% | 2.24 |
| 2022 | 21.5% | 2.25 |
| 2023 | 21.8% | 2.26 |
| 2024 | 21.6% | 2.27 |
Sources: Author's analysis of Economic Policy Institute, State of Working America Data Library, “Black-white wage gap—Black-white wage gap, raw median,” and “Productivity and pay levels—Productivity and pay, real dollars per hour (2024$),” 2026.