Authors
Abstract
We analyze the occupational structure of the non-Hispanic American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) workforce in the United States, relative to the non-Hispanic White workforce, using public-use census microdata. AIAN workers are generally overrepresented in low-skilled occupations and underrepresented in high-skilled occupations, relative to White workers. This pattern is stronger among men than among women and stronger among single-race AIANs than multiple-race AIANs. AIAN occupational dissimilarity does not appear to have declined substantially since 1980. Controlling for individual differences in factors such as education, age, location, and language proficiency accounts for a significant proportion of AIAN underrepresentation in high-education occupations.
