An Examination of Racial Discrimination in the Labor Market for Recent College Graduates: Estimates from the Field

We present experimental evidence from a correspondence test of racial discrimina-tion in the labor market for recent college graduates. Over 9000 job advertisements were answered with a randomized set of résumés from fictitious, recently-graduated job seekers. We find strong evidence of differential treatment by race: black appli-cants receive approximately 14 percent fewer interview requests than their otherwise identical white counterparts. The racial gap in employment opportunities increases as perceived productivity characteristics are added, which is difficult to reconcile with models of statistical discrimination. We investigate different channels through which the observed racial differences might occur and conclude that taste-based discrimina-tion at the race-skill level is the most likely explanation. The racial differences identified operate primarily through customer-level discrimination