While the overall numbers have not been good news from an egalitarian's point of view, some bright spots should not be overlooked. For the first time this century, the pay gap between men and women has been shrinking quite significantly. And the pay gap between African-American and white men has also shown some signs of closing in the last few years. These equalizing trends simply have not been large enough to offset the factors that have increased inequality overall. It is always tempting to look for a single cause that can explain a major social or economic event, but in all likelihood the growing gap between rich and poor has many causes.
Much evidence points toward declining demand for low-skilled workers as a crucial factor.
In the view of many economists, the principal source of this shift has been technological change that has allowed firms to economize on low-skilled labor while increasing the demand for highly educated workers. Ironically, these changes are broadly a consequence of the growing importance of computers and automation in the economy, the very technological advances that have helped drive the current economic boom. Globalization of the economy may also have played a role. Although the effects of globalization are not negligible, most economists think they are less significant than the effects of technological change on wage inequality. Finally, institutional changes in the labor market have had an impact.