Center for Economic Inclusion - Indicators for an inclusive regional economy

Inclusive Growth

Average wage

Why this matters

Too many of Minnesota’s Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian adult workers are earning wages that don’t allow them to prosper in our economy. These workers face risks that threaten the stability of our economy. The most accessible jobs, those in retail, human services, entry-level healthcare, and manufacturing do not pay wages that allow workers to care for their families, often forcing workers to work two or three jobs to make ends meet. Furthermore, wage equity gaps between workers of different racial and ethnic groups incentivize workers to find work in other states or leave the labor force entirely.

An inclusive regional economy would compensate workers adequately for their time and enable workers of all races and ethnicities to access highly paid professions, resulting in equitable average wages across racial and ethnic groups and GDP growth and a larger tax base as a result.

What this means

Disparities among the region’s full-time workers over the 2015-2019 period reflect structural inequities that see Hmong, Somali, Ethiopian, and Mexican residents earn less than 60% of what their White counterparts earn. Earnings did, however, grow faster than average for workers from Hispanic and some Asian cultural communities from 2016 to 2020.

Community perspective

Quotes in this section come from residents of the Minneapolis-St. Paul region and are intended to offer context for understanding the Indicators. They were shared with the Center for Economic Inclusion in a series of community engagement sessions conducted over the course of this project.

“It has been challenging to figure out what I should request for salary when applying for jobs. We have been socialized to keep our pay and salary a secret. Often this sends individuals on a trajectory where they are always behind financially, because of secrecy. We could all earn more if we work together to dismantle those beliefs.”

“Jobs with salaries can require so much of you: you really don't get paid for the amount of work that you do. This applies to who we now know as essential workers. Educators are severely underpaid, too.”

Additional Research & Partners

Additional Research:

Partners:

What you can do

Employer Strategy:

Employers can take ongoing actions to remove bias from application processes, including by removing discriminatory language from job descriptions, allowing lived and work experience to supplement degree requirements, creating racially diverse interview committees, offering regular antiracist training, and conducting blind resume reviews, which can increase and deepen potential candidate pools, contribute to faster hiring and better employee retention, and benefit from the talents and perspectives of workers of all races and ethnicities.
Employers can commit to hiring and supporting racially diverse leadership teams, which research shows can contribute to increased productivity and profitability.
To retain employees of color, employers can listen to Black, Indigenous, Hispanic, and Asian employees and center their perspectives when addressing challenges related to exclusionary practices.

Local Policy:

City and county officials can invest in local workforce development programs that target specific communities that experience high unemployment, such as Black residents, new immigrants, Spanish speakers, and Indigenous residents.
City and county officials can connect unemployed and underemployed workers to the jobs created by new development through targeted local hiring policies, community workforce agreements, and community benefits agreements.

State Policy:

State policymakers can establish a state version of the federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which allows employers to reduce their tax liability by up to $9,600 per new hire from demographic groups that experience high unemployment.
State policymakers can invest in childcare access and affordability to enable parents to return to the labor force, if they choose to.