The study is a comparative analysis of labor market performance and income of different ethnic groups in Romania. Both census statistics and Labor Force Survey data show an increasing socioeconomic inequality along ethnicity. The majority of Roma live on the periphery of society, under very vulnerable conditions. Most of those who are employed are working in the secondary labor market, taking poorly paid, casual jobs. Although the gap from the average is incomparably smaller, the social positions of Hungarians are also worsening, which means less favorable job positions and lagging incomes. Another important conclusion of the analysis is that a significant part of the widening wage gap along ethnic lines can no longer be explained by the structural path dependency of discriminatory practices under socialist dictatorship. In our model of income distribution, those factors that reflect the traditionally disadvantegeous positions of Hungarians (eg. lower qualifications, fewer Hungarians in leading positions, etc.) were held constant.
Keywords: labor market outcomes, income inequalities, ethnic minorities, Romania
