The Impact of Post‐School Joblessness on Male Black‐White Wage Differentials

Abstract

This study examines the employment undercurrents of the divergence in black‐white wages for young males in the 1980s. By integrating school‐to‐work transition literature with black‐white research on earnings differences, we establish a framework for linking employment during the school‐to‐work transition and subsequent wage differentials. We empirically confirm this link using the youth cohort of the National Longitudinal Surveys. Results suggest that the higher rates of joblessness among a subset of black youth directly translate into lower earnings for blacks and produce black‐white wage divergence. Young black males with extremely high levels of joblessness during the school‐to‐work period face the greatest reduction in relative wages.