How Do Business Cycles Affect Worker Groups Differently?

Duzhak, Evgeniya A.

Journal Article

How Do Business Cycles Affect Worker Groups Differently?

Abstract: Racial disparities in socioeconomic outcomes for the U.S. population are often masked by aggregate statistics. Unemployment rates vary significantly across groups according to gender and race or ethnicity and have different sensitivities to the business cycle. Focusing on jobless rates by demographic groups shows that Black and Hispanic workers, particularly men, are the most sensitive to periods of economic growth and decline. This higher sensitivity persists across individuals with the same education level. Occupation plays a role in explaining the relative cyclical differences in unemployment rates across demographic groups.

Keywords: business cycles; racial disparities; unemployment; diversity;