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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Racial Wage Gap

  • Wage gap between blacks and whites is worst in nearly 40 years, By Tanzina Vega, September 20, 2016, CNN Money: “The wage gap between blacks and whites is the worst it’s been in nearly four decades, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute.  Last year, the hourly pay gap between blacks and whites widened to 26.7%, with whites making an average of $25.22 an hour compared to $18.49 for blacks, the EPI found. Almost 40 years ago, in 1979, the wage gap between blacks and whites was 18.1%, with whites earning an inflation-adjusted average of $19.62 an hour and blacks earning $16.07 an hour…”
  • Black and white wage gap growing significantly, analysis say, By Lonnie Shekhtman, September 20, 2016, Christian Science Monitor: “The wage gap between black and white workers has grown by 32 percent in the last three decades, according to an analysis released Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The widening disparity is most deeply felt among college-educated workers, EPI says.  In comparing the average hourly wages of black and white workers, the Washington, D.C.-based, liberal think tank took into account where workers lived, their education levels, and professional experience. It found that in 2015, black men earned 22 percent less overall than white men, an increase from a 17 percent disparity in 1979…”