Beneath the Surface on Employment

The O'Neills use a rich source of data from the Current Population Survey and the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth to measure these factors, as well as scores from the Armed Forces Qualification Test. In 2008, when schooling, work experience, scores on the AFQT, age, region, hours worked and type of employer were accounted for, black men ages 35 to 43 earned 100 percent of the wages of similar white males. Hispanic males in the same category earned 97 percent of what non-Hispanic white males earned, and those between the ages of 43 and 51 earned 100 percent when these factors, along with the ability to speak English, were taken into account.

Read the rest of Linda Chavez's review of "The Declining Importance of Race and Gender in the Labor Market" here.