Exploring education and employment gains among African Americans

Black History Month is an important time to reflect on the achievements of African Americans, and celebrate their profound presence in the fabric of American society. From our area of expertise, we have observed many positive trends in the education and labor market outcomes for African Americans throughout the past two decades. But it’s a good news, bad news story.

Since the 1990s, the number of African American students who enroll in college has nearly doubled. That’s good news, but 68 percent of them have enrolled in two-year and four-year open-access institutions—schools that traditionally have much lower graduation rates, and, thus, bleaker labor market outcomes.

More good news: The latest data from NCES shows that the number of Bachelor’s degrees conferred to African-American students increased by 54 percent between 2002-03 and 2012-13. Female African Americans accounted for 65 percent of that gain. That increase is remarkable, but it is also concerning that African American men continue to lag behind.

Let’s dig a bit deeper. African Americans are very consistent in pursuing majors with high social value, such as human services and community organization (20%), social work (19%), and public administration (17%). Overall, African Americans account for 12 percent of Bachelor’s degree holders who majored in psychology and social work.

That’s good news. The flip side of it is that the majors African Americans most frequently pursue are also among the lowest paying. For example, 20 percent of African Americans major in human services and community organization, which has the second-lowest median earnings among detailed majors ($39,000). Conversely, African Americans with degrees in STEM-related majors can earn as much as 50 percent more than those with degrees in art or psychology. The top three college majors that lead to the highest-paying salaries among African Americans are in architecture and engineering with median earnings at $66,206; computers, statistics, and mathematics ($61,998); and health ($61,000). African Americans account for seven percent of all STEM majors.

We celebrate this month the extensive contributions of African Americans to society. We are happy to see some positive trends in postsecondary attainment by African Americans. However, in an economy where education beyond high school is becoming the surest way to gain traction, we hope to report in future years that African Americans are attaining postsecondary credentials at an even faster pace.  

Dr. Carnevale is Director and Research Professor of the Georgetown University Center on Education and the Workforce, an independent, nonprofit research and policy institute affiliated with the Georgetown McCourt School of Public Policy that studies the link between education, career qualifications, and workforce demands.