Revisiting Occupational Crowding in the United States: A Preliminary Study

Posted: 3 Dec 1998

See all articles by Karen J. Gibson

Karen J. Gibson

Portland State University

William A. Darity

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - Department of Economics; Duke University - Department of Economics

Samuel L. Myers, Jr.

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs

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Abstract

In her study of occupational segregation in the United States using the 1960 Census, Barbara R. Bergmann found black males with low levels of education more concentrated in low-skill service and laborer occupations than white males and virtually excluded from higher status occupations. Utilizing a crowding index which, similar to Bergmann's, controls for the education level of the worker, this paper presents an analysis of the employment patterns of black males and females in fifty-nine occupations in Wayne County (Detroit, Michigan) and Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) in 1990. Within blue-collar and service employment, males are underrepresented in the craft occupations and concentrated in low-skill operative, laborer, and service occupations. Females are underrepresented in both craft and operative occupations and concentrated in low-skill service occupations. Within white-collar employment, both males and females are largely excluded from high-skill private sector managerial occupations. Black representation in public sector managerial and private sector professional occupations is better in Detroit than Pittsburgh. The decline in manufacturing employment in both counties has left black males with fewer occupational options and black females overrepresented in low status clerical and service occupations.

JEL Classification: J15, J16, J71

Suggested Citation

Gibson, Karen Joyce and Darity, William A. and Myers, Samuel L., Revisiting Occupational Crowding in the United States: A Preliminary Study. Feminist Economics, Vol. 4, No. 3, Fall 1998, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=139460

Karen Joyce Gibson (Contact Author)

Portland State University ( email )

School of Urban Studies and Planning
Portland, OR 97207-0751
United States

William A. Darity

University of North Carolina (UNC) at Chapel Hill - Department of Economics ( email )

Chapel Hill, NC 27599
United States
919-966-5392 (Phone)

Duke University - Department of Economics ( email )

213 Social Sciences Building
Box 90097
Durham, NC 27708-0204
United States

Samuel L. Myers

University of Minnesota - Twin Cities - Hubert H. Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs ( email )

301 19th Ave. S.
Minneapolis, MN 55455
United States
612-625-9821 (Phone)

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