This report is the third in a series on White racial preferences in the labor market.

Many people may have been surprised to hear President Donald Trump falsely claim that there is a White genocide going on in South Africa.¹ Among the most surprised were South Africans. Piet Croucamp is an Afrikaner — a member of the White ethnic minority group in South Africa that supposedly is the target of this genocide — and a professor of Political Studies and International Relations. He stated that the White genocide claim is simply untrue.² Gareth Newham, who heads the Institute for Security Studies in South Africa, also said the claim is completely false.³

But this was more than a garden variety Trump conspiracy theory. In response to this non-existent crisis, President Trump decided that the United States would make an exception to its suspension of the US Refugee Admissions Program to admit Afrikaners.⁴ Typically, refugees are a politically and economically disadvantaged group.⁵ White South Africans, though, are likely the richest people on the African continent. South Africa is ranked seventh in Africa by per capita GDP,⁶ but it is the most economically unequal country in the world⁷ with the small White South African population receiving a grossly disproportionate share of the income. In 2015, White South Africans had a median income more than ten times that of Black South Africans.⁸ In 2024, the Black unemployment rate in South Africa was nearly 40 percent while the White rate was about 10 percent.⁹ The life expectancy of White South Africans is about 10 years longer than their Black compatriots.¹⁰ This inequality is the legacy of South Africa’s 20th century White supremacist system of apartheid.

Dan Corder, a White South African media personality, sums up the situation simply:

the safest people in South Africa are White men because of all the infrastructure which creates secure neighborhoods, high walls, electric fences, good safe working environments, good cars . . .  and the most vulnerable are Black women because again [they are] the least protected in the most destitute conditions.¹¹

Asked about the US refugee program, Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated, “The United States has a right to pick and choose who they allow into the United States.”¹² Right now, the United States has a clear preference for a high-income White African group.

Although Trump’s White genocide claim is obviously false, the fact that he made it should not be completely surprising. Previously, Trump has reportedly referred to African nations as “s**thole countries” and indicated that he preferred immigrants from countries like Norway rather than Haiti or El Salvador.¹³ It seems fair to assume that he prefers White immigrants to Black or Latino immigrants.

Sadly, although Trump might be the most blunt and powerful to hold these views, he is not alone. Scholars have shown that anti-Black racial attitudes persist in the United States,¹⁴ and they find strong evidence of continuing anti-Black discrimination in the labor market.¹⁵ The flipside of this anti-Blackness is a system of White racial preference.

This report is the third in a series examining White racial preferences in the US labor market (The first report looked at White-Black unemployment rate disparities, while the second examined the racial preference for White coaches in college football.) This report provides evidence showing that White African immigrants have more success in the US labor market than similar Black African immigrants. This is what one would find in a system of White racial preferences.

Key Findings

• In 2023, there were 2.3 million Sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States. Nearly 90 percent of these immigrants are Black, but 3.3 percent, or 75,000, are White.
•  A fifth of White African immigrants are in management occupations, but less than a tenth of Black African immigrants are in these occupations. The two leading occupational categories for Black African immigrants are healthcare and transportation.
• White African immigrants have an unemployment rate about half the rate for Black African immigrants.
• Taking into account or controlling for educational attainment, state of residence, country of origin, and several other factors, White African immigrants still have a much lower likelihood of being unemployed compared to similar Black African immigrants.
•  In 2023, the median annual wage for White African immigrants was $75,000. This wage was $27,000 or over 50 percent more than the median for Black African immigrants.
• After controlling for age, educational attainment, English speaking ability and other factors, White African immigrants still earn over 20 percent more than similar Black African immigrants.

Sub-Saharan African Immigrants in the United States

In 2023, there were 2.3 million Sub-Saharan African immigrants in the United States. For the rest of this report, “African” will refer only to Sub-Saharan Africans.¹⁶ While nearly 90 percent of these immigrants are Black, 3.3 percent or 75,000 are White. (The remainder are primarily people who identify as multiracial or Asian.) Most (62. 2 percent) White African immigrants are from South Africa. Nearly half of Black African immigrants are from three countries: Nigeria (23.2 percent), Ethiopia (13.3 percent), and Ghana (11.2 percent).

White African immigrants are concentrated in some of the largest states by population. California (17.8 percent), Florida (13.2 percent), Texas (7.9 percent) and New York (7.1 percent) have nearly half (45.9 percent) of all White African immigrants.

Black African immigrants are a bit more dispersed: 13.1 percent reside in Texas, 8.8 percent in Maryland, 8.1 percent in New York, 6.3 percent in Georgia, and 6.0 percent in Minnesota. These five states only cover about two-fifths (42.2 percent) of the Black African immigrant population.

Table 1

The analysis here will focus on the prime-age population — 25-to-54-year-olds. White African immigrants are on average more highly educated than Black African immigrants. Three-tenths (30.2 percent) of these White immigrants have advanced degrees compared to 20.1 percent for Black immigrants (Table 1). A tiny share (3.4 percent) of White immigrants has less than a high school diploma, but 12.4 percent of Black immigrants have this educational attainment.

Employed prime-age White African immigrants are more concentrated in management occupations than Black African immigrants. A fifth (20.3 percent) of White African immigrants are in management occupations, but less than a tenth of Black African immigrants (8.3 percent) are in these occupations (Table 2). The leading occupations for Black African immigrants are healthcare (12.6 percent) and transportation (12.0 percent) occupations. Management occupations are ranked third for this group.

Table 2

White African Immigrants are Less Likely to be Unemployed

Figure 1

White African immigrants have an unemployment rate about half the rate for Black African immigrants (1.7 percent versus 4.1 percent, Figure 1). A roughly two-to-one Black-to-White unemployment rate ratio is a common finding. For example, among high school dropouts, Black teenagers face an unemployment rate about twice that of their White counterparts. Black adults with a high school diploma experience unemployment at twice the rate of similarly educated White adults. Even among college graduates in STEM fields, Black graduates have unemployment rates about twice those of White graduates. Across a wide variety of demographic slices, White people have lower unemployment rates than Black people, and it is often about half the rate of Black unemployment.¹⁷

As discussed above, the White African population differs on characteristics that could be important to employment outcomes. There are differences in educational attainment, state of residence, and country of origin. Controlling for these and 9 other factors, White African immigrants still have a more than 20 percent lower odds of being unemployed compared with similar Black African immigrants (Table 3). This type of inequality is what one would find in a system that provides an employment preference to White individuals.

Table 3

White African Immigrants Receive Higher Wages

Figure 2

In 2023, the median annual wage for White African immigrants was $75,000. This wage was $27,000, or over 50 percent, more than the median for Black African immigrants (Figure 2). After controlling for age, educational attainment, English speaking ability and other factors, White African immigrants still earn over 20 percent more than similar Black African immigrants (Table 3). Again, this type of inequality is what one would find in a system that favors White individuals for higher-paying occupations¹⁸ and for higher wages within similar occupations.

Other researchers examining different datasets, different years, and using somewhat different methodologies have also found that White African immigrants earn more than their Black peers.¹⁹ Economist Patrick L. Mason concludes that even though Black Americans increasingly have different ethnic identities, they all have similarly worse labor market outcomes relative to White Americans.²⁰ As this study suggests, Black immigrants are likely affected by the anti-Black sentiments in the United States, and White immigrants likely benefit from the White racial preferences in the society.  

Conclusion

Alongside the new myth of a White genocide in South Africa is the somewhat older myth that White people in the United States are systematically disadvantaged in the labor market. A large slice of the American public shares the views of Tim Hershman of Akron, Ohio, who stated, “If you apply for a job, they seem to give the blacks the first crack at it.”²¹ For the entirety of Hershman’s lifetime, the Black unemployment rate has been about twice the White unemployment rate — and yet he falsely believes that Black people are advantaged in the labor market. Nearly half of White people, and almost two-thirds of White Republicans, are concerned about discrimination against White people in America.²² This concern exists in spite of the fact that White people are overrepresented in positions of political power,²³ and White households have over six times the wealth of Black households.²⁴

The plain fact of the matter is that being White confers considerable advantages in the United States relative to Black people, including increasing one’s odds of finding employment in a high-paying job. There are racial preferences in the labor market — White racial preferences. Affirmative action and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies are necessary to counteract these deep and long-standing White racial preferences. It is fair and helpful to debate the design and implementation of affirmative action and DEI policies, but the country cannot advance to equal opportunity without them. Absent effective anti-discrimination policies, Black people will be condemned to higher unemployment and lower wages forever.

Acknowledgements

Zorah Zafari provided research and data analysis assistance for this report.