According to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, the wage gap between white and black Americans was 18.1%in 1979. Astonishingly, as Statista's Niall McCarthy reports, it has continued to expand ever since. By 2015, whites earned an average hourly real wage of $25.22 compared to $18.49 for blacks, making for a 26.7% wage gap.



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EPI cited discrimination and growing earnings inequality in general as the primary reasons for America's huge racial pay gap. Which is odd considering that after 8 years of a black president things got worse faster... with the biggest jump (2.8 percentage points) in 36 years.

Chart: Bloomberg