An intracohort analysis of occupational trends produced more consistent results than did conventional approaches to the study of labor force change. There was a trend of convergence between the occupational distributions of white and Negro males from 1930 to 1940 and, especially, from 1940 to 1950, which did not hold, however, during the fifties. Figures for the South showed a trend of convergence similar to that of the country as a whole during the 1940's, but, in contrast to popular opinion, the Negro lost notable occupational ground in the South during the fifties. The factor of education was found to be of special importance for the Negro's mobility during periods of substantial occupational change.