Occupational Patterns

Declining Standard of Living

The proportion of Americans living in poverty was 15 percent (46.2 million) in 2011, little changed from 2010, and the highest number in the 53 years since the Census Bureau has collected that statistic. In addition, the Census Bureau reported that median household income in 2011 dropped 1.5 percent to $50,054—the lowest level since 1995, when adjusted for inflation—while the gap between rich and poor households rose. Meanwhile, the jobless rate remained at 8.1 percent, and homeownership dropped for a fifth straight year to 64.6 percent, the lowest in more than a decade, hurt by more rigorous financing rules and a shift to renting.

Differences in Occupations

Different ethnic and racial groups are represented in different occupations. For example, among employed men, nearly half (48 percent) of Asians worked in management, professional, and related occupations in 2010, compared with 35 percent of whites, 24 percent of blacks, and 15 percent of Hispanics.

Employed black and Hispanic men were more likely than other men to work in production, transportation, and material moving occupations. Nearly one-half of employed Hispanic men were in two job groups: natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations; and production, transportation, and material moving occupations. Hispanic women showed the highest figures in service occupations.

Disparities in Earnings

The wealth gap between whites and some minorities is at a 25-year high. In 2010, median usual weekly earnings of Asian and white men working full-time in management, professional, and related occupations (the highest-paying major occupation group) were $1,408 and $1,273, respectively. Those figures were well above the earnings of Hispanic men ($1,002) and black men ($957) in the same occupation group.

In 2011, median weekly earnings of Hispanics who worked full-time were at $549—significantly lower than those of blacks or African Americans ($615), whites ($775), and Asians ($866). Blacks ages 16 to 24 had median weekly earnings of [Page 66]$404, about the same as their Hispanic counterparts ($410).

Among women in management, professional, and related occupations, median usual weekly earnings of Asian women ($1,143) were higher than those of white women ($932), black women ($812), and Hispanic women ($789).

The median wealth or net worth of Hispanic households fell by 66 percent from 2005 to 2009. By contrast, the median wealth of whites fell by just 16 percent over the same period. African Americans saw their wealth drop by 53 percent. Asians also saw a big decline, with household wealth dropping 54 percent.

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