BALTIMORE _ A study released Monday found stark disparities in income between blacks and whites in Baltimore.
The region's black workers are concentrated in low-wage industries and jobs and tend to earn less and have higher job turnover than their white counterparts, according to the report released by Associated Black Charities of Maryland.
"Baltimore doesn't have to be a city where African American household income is nearly half that of whites," said Diane Bell-McKoy, president and CEO of the organization, said during a presentation of the findings during a panel discussion at Annie E. Casey Foundation's Baltimore headquarters. "We know we can do better economically for our citizens, regardless of their race."
Wage disparities by race occur across industries and in nearly every industry, according to the analysis of racial differences in employment, job growth, earnings and turnover compiled compiled by the University of Baltimore's Jacob France Institute.
Associated Black Charities said it commissioned the study to better understand racial patterns of employment as a first step toward removing "systemic and institutional racialized barriers that continue to keep people of color locked out of opportunities."
Four industries with high numbers or concentrations of African American employment include retail trade, transportation and warehousing; health care and social assistance; administration, support and waste management services, the study found.
The analysis sought to answer the question, "Is African American employment concentrated in lower-paying or higher-turnover sectors of the city and regional economy."
