The paper analyzes and compares trends in the occupational distribution of white and nonwhite men between 1962 and 1972 at ages 35-44, 45-54, and 55-64. The findings suggest that in 1972, as in 1962, the inferior occupational chances of nonwhites are due primarily to their disadvantageous patterns of occupational mobility, rather than to impoverished social origins. Tables displaying the collected data are included. (NJ)