Black and white Americans experience life in profoundly and persistently different ways, according to a new Pew Research Center survey examining racial attitudes in the United States.

The telephone survey, conducted over a three-month period starting in February, is the latest in a series of polls by various organizations trying to make sense of the sharp deterioration in the country’s optimistic racial attitudes since the election of the nation’s first black president in 2008. While most African-Americans think individual racism is a bigger factor than institutional racism, they also say they have experienced unfair treatment by a number of institutions.

Using data from the Census Bureau’s monthly Current Population Survey, Pew outlines significant racial disparities across a range of economic and educational opportunities. Despite gains in the past 50 years, African-Americans are still at least twice as likely as whites to be unemployed or living in poverty. Blacks also lag behind whites in attaining college degrees, although the disparity in high school completion rates has narrowed.