Still an Equal Opportunity Employer? Public Sector Employment Inequality after the Great Recession

• In Event: 375 - Regular Session. Labor Market

Abstract

Historically, the public sector has served as an equalizing institution through the expansion of job opportunities for minority workers. This study examines whether the public sector continues to serve as an equalizing institution in the aftermath of the Great Recession. Using Current Population Survey data, I investigate changes in public sector employment and unemployment between 2003 and 2013. Contrary to recent accounts of public / private sector convergence, my results suggest that the public sector continues to offer higher earnings and better employment outcomes than the private sector. Within the public sector, however, racial employment inequality increased after the recession. Black women in particular experienced a disproportionate share of public sector job losses. I find that deteriorating employment outcomes for black public sector women cannot be explained by differences in education, occupation, or any of the other measurable factors that are typically associated with employment. My results point to a post-recession double disadvantage for black public sector women: they are concentrated in a shrinking sector of the economy, and they are more likely than other public sector workers to experience unemployment.

Author

• Jennifer Laird, University of Washington