Customer Discrimination and Employment Outcomes for Minority Workers

This paper investigates the effects of customer discrimination on the employment and earnings of minorities, particularly blacks. Data are used from a new survey of employers in four large metropolitan areas in the United States. Our results show that the racial composition of an establishment's customers has sizable effects on the race of who gets hired, particularly in jobs that involve direct contact with customers and in sales or service occupations. Race of customers also affects wages, with employees in establishments that have mostly black customers earning less than those in establishments with mostly white customers.