Laird Jennifer
730 School of Social Work, Columbia University, 1255 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10025, USA.
Demography. 2017 Feb;54(1):391-411. doi: 10.1007/s13524-016-0532-4.
Historically in the United States, 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 data from the Current Population Survey, I investigate changes in public sector employment between 2003 and 2013. My results point to a post-recession double disadvantage for black public sector workers: they are concentrated in a shrinking sector of the economy, and they are more likely than white and Hispanic public sector workers to experience job loss. These two trends are a historical break for the public sector labor market. I find that race and ethnicity gaps in public sector employment cannot be explained by differences in education, occupation, or any of the other measurable factors that are typically associated with employment. Among unemployed workers who most recently worked for the public sector, black women are the least likely to transition into private sector employment.
从历史上看，在美国，公共部门一直作为一个均衡机构，通过为少数族裔工人扩大就业机会来发挥作用。本研究考察了在大衰退之后，公共部门是否继续作为一个均衡机构发挥作用。利用当前人口调查的数据，我研究了2003年至2013年期间公共部门就业情况的变化。我的研究结果表明，衰退后黑人公共部门工人面临双重劣势：他们集中在经济中一个不断萎缩的部门，而且与白人和西班牙裔公共部门工人相比，他们更有可能失业。这两种趋势是公共部门劳动力市场的一个历史性转变。我发现，公共部门就业中的种族和族裔差距无法用教育、职业或任何其他通常与就业相关的可衡量因素的差异来解释。在最近为公共部门工作的失业工人中，黑人女性最不可能转向私营部门就业。
