Race and Rehiring in the High-Tech Industry

Abstract

Previous research reveals that economic dislocation generates racial inequality because minorities suffer greater consequences from job displacement—longer unemployment duration and greater downward mobility. These outcomes, however, are conditional on being permanently laid off. This article examines the factors, including race, that influence whether or not a worker becomes displaced. More specifically, the article analyzes the probability of being rehired after an initial layoff using administrative data collected on workers laid off after the severe 1985 sectoral recession in Silicon Valley's semiconductor industry. The results from logit regressions show that, after controlling for observable worker and firm characteristics, black workers are less likely to be rehired than other workers.