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Employer Skill Demands and Labor Market Outcomes of Blacks and Women

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  • Harry J. Holzer

Abstract

The author uses data from a 1992–94 survey of employers in four metropolitan areas to investigate the effects of skill demands, as measured by hiring requirements and job tasks, on the wages and employment of newly hired workers. Skill demands were generally associated with lower employment of blacks than whites, and with higher employment of women than men. Most tasks and requirements had statistically significant positive effects on starting hourly wages. Together, these effects help to account for some of the differences between the hourly wages of white and black men, and for some of the trends over time in the relative wages and employment of race and gender groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Harry J. Holzer, 1998. "Employer Skill Demands and Labor Market Outcomes of Blacks and Women," ILR Review, Cornell University, ILR School, vol. 52(1), pages 82-98, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:ilrrev:v:52:y:1998:i:1:p:82-98
    DOI: 10.1177/001979399805200105
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Harry J. Holzer & Keith R. Ihlanfeldt, 1998. "Customer Discrimination and Employment Outcomes for Minority Workers," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 113(3), pages 835-867.
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    Cited by:

    1. Olivier Baguelin, 2005. "Understanding socio-demographic disparities in the labor market: the case for a motivation-based theory," Post-Print halshs-00196132, HAL.
    2. Dragos BIGU, 2009. "Discrimination and Profit," REVISTA DE MANAGEMENT COMPARAT INTERNATIONAL/REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL COMPARATIVE MANAGEMENT, Faculty of Management, Academy of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania, vol. 10(5), pages 1021-1027, December.
    3. Marina Bassi & Matías Busso & Sergio Urzúa & Jaime Vargas, 2012. "Disconnected: Skills, Education, and Employment in Latin America," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 79504, February.
    4. Joanna N. Lahey, 2017. "Understanding Why Black Women Are Not Working Longer," NBER Chapters, in: Women Working Longer: Increased Employment at Older Ages, pages 85-109, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    5. Busso, Matías & Bassi, Marina & Urzúa, Sergio & Vargas, Jaime, 2012. "Disconnected: Skills, Education, and Employment in Latin America," IDB Publications (Books), Inter-American Development Bank, number 427.
    6. Michael A. Stoll, 2005. "Geographical Skills Mismatch, Job Search and Race," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 42(4), pages 695-717, April.
    7. Chad R. Wilkerson & Megan D. Williams, 2006. "Minority workers in the Tenth District: rising presence, rising challenges," Economic Review, Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City, vol. 91(Q IV), pages 31-59.
    8. Madhu S. Mohanty, 2003. "An Alternative Explanation for the Equality of Male and Female Unemployment Rates in the U.S. Labor Market in the Late 1980s," Eastern Economic Journal, Eastern Economic Association, vol. 29(1), pages 69-92, Winter.
    9. Michael A. Stoll & Steven Raphael & Harry J. Holzer, 2001. "Why Are Black Employers More Likely to Hire African Americans than White Employers?," JCPR Working Papers 228, Northwestern University/University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research.
    10. Olivier Baguelin, 2005. "Self-esteem achievement through work and socio-demographic disparities in the labor market," Université Paris1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (Post-Print and Working Papers) halshs-00196140, HAL.
    11. Joanna N. Lahey & Douglas R. Oxley, 2021. "Discrimination at the Intersection of Age, Race, and Gender: Evidence from an Eye‐Tracking Experiment," Journal of Policy Analysis and Management, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 40(4), pages 1083-1119, September.
    12. Pauline Halchuk, 2006. "Measuring employment outcomes for Indigenous Australians," Australian Journal of Labour Economics (AJLE), Bankwest Curtin Economics Centre (BCEC), Curtin Business School, vol. 9(2), pages 201-215, June.

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