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Economic News Release
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A Profile of the Working Poor, 2000

U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
March 2002

Report 957

In 2000, 31 million people, or 11.3 percent of the population lived at or below the official poverty level—1.1 million fewer than in 1999. While the bulk of these individuals were children and adults who did not participate in the labor force, about 6.4 million were classified as the “working poor.” This was 445,000 fewer than in 1999, continuing a 7-year downtrend. As defined for this report, the working poor are individuals who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force (working or looking for work), but whose incomes fell below the official poverty level. Of all persons in the labor force for at least 27 weeks, 4.7 percent were classified as working poor in 2000, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous year.

Working full time substantially lowers a person’s probability of being poor. Among persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, the poverty rate for those usually employed full time was 3.5 percent, compared with 10.2 percent for part-time workers. The majority of the working poor—three-fifths— were, nevertheless, full-time workers. Only a small proportion of the working poor (4.1 percent) actively sought a job for more than 6 months in 2000 without finding any work, up from 3.5 percent in 1999. (See tables A and 1.)

This report presents data on the relationships between labor force activity and poverty in 2000 for individual workers and their families. The data were collected in the work experience and income supplement to the March 2001 Current Population Survey. For a more detailed description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in this report, see the Technical Note.

For persons living with family members, the income thresholds used to determine poverty status are in terms of family, rather than personal, income. Thus, earnings from employment are only one factor in determining the poverty status of individuals living in family settings. Also important are the earnings of others in the family, the size of the family, and other sources of income that family members might have. Personal income data are used in determining the poverty status of persons living alone or with unrelated individuals.

Demographic characteristics
Among those who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 2000, the proportion of women classified as working poor (5.5 percent) was higher than that of men (4.0 percent). Both rates continued their downward trend from 7.3 percent for women and 6.2 percent for men in 1993. (See table 2.)

Working wives were less likely than working husbands to be poor (in aggregate) because working wives were more likely to be in families with a second earner, usually a husband. (See “Family structure,” below.) In 2000, 1.8 percent of wives who were in the labor force 27 weeks or more were in poverty, compared with 3.0 percent of husbands. In contrast, 16.7 percent of women who maintain families and who were in the labor force for at least 27 weeks were in poverty. (See table 5.)

Younger workers were again more likely to be in poverty than were older workers. Young workers have lower earnings and are more likely to be unemployed than are older workers. Among teenagers who were in the labor force 27 weeks or more, 9.2 percent were in poverty, as were 8.7 percent of 20- to 24-year olds. These rates were roughly double the rate for workers aged 35 to 44 (4.5 percent), and more than triple the rate for workers 45 to 54 years of age (2.7 percent). (See table 2.)

Black and Hispanic workers continued to experience poverty at much higher rates than did whites. In 2000, 4.0 percent of white labor force participants were classified as working poor, compared with 8.7 percent of blacks and 10.0 percent of Hispanics. Among whites and Hispanics, rates for men and women were comparable; in contrast, the rate for black women (11.4 percent) was twice that of black men (5.6 percent). One explanation for this is that a relatively large proportion of black women maintain families on their own. Nearly 30 percent of black women maintained families in 2000, compared with only about 10 percent of white women. As noted above, women maintaining families are far more likely to be among the working poor than are married women.

Table A. Poverty status of persons and primary families in the labor force for 27 week or more, 1997-2000
(Numbers in thousands)
Characteristics
       1997      1998
   1999
    2000
Total persons1
     
    130,047   131,731
133,651  135,626
   In poverty                 7,453
7,158     6,796
   6,351
   Rate        
5.7
  5.4
    5.1
     4.7
Unrelated individuals
     26,158    26,971
 27,845
  29,041
   In poverty                 2,534
2,281
  2,272
   2,198
   Rate        
9.7
  8.5
    8.2
     7.6
Primary families2            58,815    59,621
 60,454
  60,870
   In poverty     
      4,068
4,019
  3,755
   3,417
   Rate         
  
6.9    
  6.7
    6.2
     5.6         
1  Includes persons in families not shown separately.  
2  Primary families with at least one member in the labor force for more than half of the year.

Educational attainment
Education and the likelihood of living in poverty were closely related among those in the labor force at least 27 weeks of the year. In 2000, high school dropouts were more than twice as likely as high school graduates to be counted among the working poor (12.9 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively). The incidence of being counted among the working poor declined further as educational attainment rose. Among workers with associate degrees, 2.5 percent were classified as working poor, and only 1.4 percent of college graduates were so classified. (See table 3.)

Occupation
The occupation in which one was employed continued to be related to the likelihood of being among the working poor in 2000. Almost 31 percent of the poor who worked during the year were employed in service occupations as their longest job of the year. Looked at another way, nearly 11 percent of all workers who were in the labor force for at least 27 weeks and whose longest job over the year was in services were poor, more than twice the average for all occupations. Private household workers, a subset of service workers that is made up largely of women, were the most likely to be in poverty (20 percent). Farming, forestry, and fishing was another occupation with a relatively high proportion of workers in poverty (13.7 percent). Executive, administrative, and managerial occupations and professional specialty jobs had low incidences of poverty, at 1.4 percent each. High earnings and full-time employment are typical in these occupations. (See table 4.)

Family structure
Among families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 2000, 3.4 million, or 5.6 percent, had incomes at or below the poverty line, down from 6.2 percent in 1999. The poverty threshold for families is based on both the total family income and the number of family members; thus, the larger the family, the higher the level of income needed to keep the family out of poverty. This, coupled with the fact that the presence of children tends to reduce the overall labor supply of a family, contributes to the relatively high incidence of poverty among families with children. Consequently, families with at least one child under the age of 18 were much more likely to have incomes below the poverty level than were families without children (8.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively).

Families with more workers are less likely to be below the poverty line. In 2000, 11.4 percent of families with only one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were in poverty, while only 1.8 percent of families with two labor force participants, and 1.1 percent of families with three or more participants were in poverty. (See table 6.)

Unrelated individuals
Unrelated individuals are those who live either alone or with nonrelatives. Of the 29.0 million unrelated individuals who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 2000, about 2.2 million, or 7.6 percent, lived below the poverty level. This rate was down from 8.2 percent in 1999. Those who were living alone were less than half as likely as those who were living with nonrelatives to be poor (4.8 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively). Unrelated individuals with low incomes often live with others in order to share expenses and pool resources. Because their poverty status is determined by personal rather than household income, the actual economic hardship of these individuals may be overstated by the poverty measure. Conversely, many of those who live alone do so because they have sufficient incomes to support themselves. (See table 7.)

Labor market problems
As noted above, people who work full time—that is, 35 or more hours a week—are far less likely to live in poverty than are others. However, there remains a sizable group of full-time workers who live below the poverty threshold. In 2000, among those who participated in the labor force for more than half the year and who usually worked in full-time wage and salary jobs, almost 3.4 million, or 3.1 percent, were classified as working poor. (See table 8.)

There are three primary labor market problems experienced by these full-time workers: Low earnings, unemployment, and involuntary part-time employment. (See definitions in the Technical Note.) About 85 percent of the working poor who usually worked full time experienced at least one of these major labor market problems. Low earnings continued to be the most common problem, with 73 percent of workers facing it, either alone or in conjunction with other labor market problems. About 30 percent of the working poor experienced unemployment, either alone or in conjunction with other problems. Only 3.6 percent experienced all three problems.

Some 514,000, or 15.3 percent, of the working poor did not experience any of the three primary labor market problems in 2000. Their poverty status may be explained by other factors, including short-term employment, some weeks of voluntary part-time work, or a family structure that increases the risk of poverty.

Stephanie Boraas, an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, prepared this report.

Technical Note

Source of data

The primary source of data in this report is the work experience and income supplement (the Annual Demographic Survey) to the March 2001 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey of households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect demographic, social, and economic information about persons 16 years of age and older. Work experience and income information collected in the March supplement refers to activity in the entire prior calendar year.

The estimates in this report are based on a sample and, consequently, may differ from figures that would have been obtained from a complete count using the same questionnaire and procedures. Sampling variability may be relatively large in cases where the numbers are small. Thus, small estimates, or small differences between estimates, should be interpreted with caution. For a detailed explanation of the March supplement to the CPS, its sampling variability, and more extensive definitions than those provided below, see Poverty in the United States: 2000—Current Population Reports, series P-60, no. 214 (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2001). This publication also is available on the Census Bureau Web site (https://www.census.gov).

Information in this report will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339. This material is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permission.

For more information on the data provided in this report, write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Labor Force Statistics, Room 4675, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212; e-mail: cpsinfo@bls.gov; or telephone (202) 691-6378.

Concepts and definitions

Poverty classification. Poverty statistics presented in this report are based on definitions developed by the Social Security Administration in 1964 and revised by Federal interagency committees in 1969 and 1981. These definitions originally were based on the Department of Agriculture’s Economy Food Plan and reflected the different consumption requirements of families, based on factors such as family size and the number of children under 18 years of age.

The actual poverty thresholds vary in accordance with the makeup of the family. In 2000, the average poverty threshold for a family of four was $17,603; for a family of nine or more persons, the threshold was $35,060; and for an unrelated individual aged 65 or older, it was $8,259. Poverty thresholds are updated each year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The thresholds do not vary geographically. For more information, see Poverty in the United States: 2000, cited above.

Low earnings. The low earnings level, as first developed in 1987, represented the average of the real value of the minimum wage between 1967 and 1987 for a 40-hour workweek. The base year of 1967 was chosen because that was the first year in which minimum-wage legislation covered essentially the same broad group of workers who currently are covered. The low earnings level has subsequently been adjusted each year using the CPI-U, so that the measure maintains the same real value that it held in 1987. In 2000, the low earnings threshold was $253.45 per week. For a more complete definition, see Bruce W. Klein and Philip L. Rones, "A profile of the working poor," Monthly Labor Review, October 1989, pp. 3-13.

Income. Data on income are limited to money income received in the calendar year preceding the March survey date, before personal income taxes and payroll deductions. They do not include the value of noncash benefits such as Food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, public housing, and employer-provided benefits. For a complete definition of the income concept, see Poverty in the United States: 2000, cited above.

In the labor force. Persons in the labor force are those who worked or looked for work sometime during the calendar year preceding the March survey date. The number of weeks in the labor force is accumulated over the entire year. The focus in this report is on persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.

Involuntary part-time workers. These are persons who, in at least 1 week of the year, worked fewer than 35 hours because of slack work or business conditions, or because they could not find full-time work. The number of weeks of involuntary part-time work is accumulated over the year.

Occupation. Refers to the occupation in which a person worked the most weeks during the calendar year.

Unemployed. Unemployed persons are those who looked for work while not employed or those who were on layoff from a job and expecting recall. The number of weeks unemployed is accumulated over the entire year.

Family. A family is defined as a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Persons in related subfamilies—married couples or parent-child groups sharing the living quarters of another family member—are included as members of that family and are not distinct family units. The count of families used in this report does not include unrelated subfamilies, such as lodgers, guests, or resident employees living in a household but not related to the householder (the person in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented). Families are classified either as married-couple families or as those maintained by men or women without spouses present. Family status is determined at the time of the March interview, and thus may be different from that of the previous year.

Unrelated individuals. These are persons who are not living with any relatives. Such individuals may live alone, reside in a nonrelated family household, or live in group quarters with other unrelated individuals.

Related children. Data on related children refer to own children (including sons, daughters, and step- or adopted children) of the husband, wife, or person maintaining the family and all other children related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption.

Race. White, black, and “other” are terms used to describe the race of workers. Included in the “other” group are American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Asians and Pacific Islanders. Because of the relatively small sample size, data for this group are not separately tabulated or published.

Hispanic origin. This term refers to persons who identify themselves in the CPS enumeration process as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or of some other Hispanic origin or descent. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; thus, they also are included in both the white and black population groups.

Table 1.  Persons in the labor force: Poverty status and work experience by weeks in the labor force, 2000
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                     27 weeks or more in the labor force    
            Poverty status and work experience               Total in the labor                                             
                                                                   force                                                    
                                                                                         Total             50 to 52 weeks   
                                                                                                                            
                          TOTAL                                                                                             
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................        150,002               135,626               121,540       
    Did not work during the year..........................          1,425                   640                   522       
    Worked during the year................................        148,577               134,986               121,018       
      Usual full-time workers.............................        119,829               113,923               105,591       
      Usual part-time workers.............................         28,748                21,063                15,427       
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          3,433                 2,652                 2,035       
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         25,315                18,410                13,391       
                                                                                                                           
                At or above poverty level                                                                                   
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................        141,132               129,275               116,512       
    Did not work during the year..........................            881                   378                   296       
    Worked during the year................................        140,252               128,897               116,216       
      Usual full-time workers.............................        114,763               109,983               102,351       
      Usual part-time workers.............................         25,489                18,914                13,866       
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          2,575                 2,036                 1,583       
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         22,914                16,877                12,282       
                                                                                                                            
                   Below poverty level                                                                                      
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................          8,869                 6,351                 5,028       
    Did not work during the year..........................            544                   262                   226       
    Worked during the year................................          8,325                 6,089                 4,802       
      Usual full-time workers.............................          5,066                 3,940                 3,240       
      Usual part-time workers.............................          3,259                 2,149                 1,561       
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................            858                   616                   452       
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................          2,401                 1,533                 1,109       
                                                                                                                            
                         Rate(1)                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................           5.9                   4.7                   4.1        
    Did not work during the year..........................          38.2                  41.0                  43.3        
    Worked during the year................................           5.6                   4.5                   4.0        
      Usual full-time workers.............................           4.2                   3.5                   3.1        
      Usual part-time workers.............................          11.3                  10.2                  10.1        
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          25.0                  23.2                  22.2        
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................           9.5                   8.3                   8.3        
   1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force.
                                                                                
Table 2.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 2000
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                      Below poverty level                 Rate(1)           
                                                        Hispanic                                                            
          Age and sex             Total   White   Black  origin                                                             
                                                                  Total  White  Black Hispanic  Total  White  Black Hispanic
                                                                                       origin                        origin 
                                                                                                                            
    Total, 16 years and older... 135,626 113,022 15,974   14,636  6,351  4,561  1,397    1,463    4.7    4.0    8.7    10.0 
16 to 19 years..................   5,228   4,499    547      720    483    355    113       96    9.2    7.9   20.7    13.4 
20 to 24 years..................  13,048  10,742  1,721    2,009  1,141    834    241      244    8.7    7.8   14.0    12.2 
25 to 34 years..................  30,459  24,489  4,153    4,275  1,746  1,238    404      499    5.7    5.1    9.7    11.7 
35 to 44 years..................  37,056  30,510  4,630    3,952  1,663  1,165    394      376    4.5    3.8    8.5     9.5 
45 to 54 years..................  31,056  26,357  3,297    2,444    825    573    172      174    2.7    2.2    5.2     7.1 
55 to 64 years..................  14,361  12,490  1,282    1,015    397    313     61       55    2.8    2.5    4.8     5.4 
65 years and older..............   4,417   3,936    346      221     96     83     11       18    2.2    2.1    3.2     8.1 
                                                                                                                            
    Men, 16 years and older.....  72,758  61,664  7,435    8,525  2,901  2,279    420      871    4.0    3.7    5.6    10.2 
16 to 19 years..................   2,612   2,244    267      419    206    161     36       52    7.9    7.2   13.4    12.5 
20 to 24 years..................   6,749   5,692    769    1,191    490    387     71      143    7.3    6.8    9.2    12.0 
25 to 34 years..................  16,485  13,588  1,857    2,552    722    592     83      309    4.4    4.4    4.5    12.1 
35 to 44 years..................  20,187  16,927  2,215    2,330    790    607    133      223    3.9    3.6    6.0     9.6 
45 to 54 years..................  16,345  14,073  1,527    1,303    459    328     76      103    2.8    2.3    5.0     7.9 
55 to 64 years..................   7,734   6,773    620      590    196    165     21       26    2.5    2.4    3.3     4.4 
65 years and older..............   2,647   2,367    180      140     39     39    -         13    1.5    1.7    -       9.6 
                                                                                                                            
    Women, 16 years and older...  62,867  51,358  8,539    6,111  3,450  2,282    977      592    5.5    4.4   11.4     9.7 
16 to 19 years..................   2,617   2,255    280      301    278    194     77       44   10.6    8.6   27.6    14.7 
20 to 24 years..................   6,299   5,050    952      819    651    447    170      101   10.3    8.9   17.8    12.4 
25 to 34 years..................  13,974  10,901  2,296    1,723  1,024    646    321      190    7.3    5.9   14.0    11.0 
35 to 44 years..................  16,869  13,583  2,415    1,622    873    558    261      153    5.2    4.1   10.8     9.4 
45 to 54 years..................  14,710  12,284  1,770    1,141    365    245     96       71    2.5    2.0    5.4     6.2 
55 to 64 years..................   6,627   5,717    662      426    201    148     41       29    3.0    2.6    6.2     6.8 
65 years and older..............   1,770   1,569    165       80     57     43     11        4    3.2    2.8    6.7     5.6 
   1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
  NOTE: Detail for race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not
presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.  Dash represents zero or rounds to zero.
                                                                                
Table 3.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by educational attainment, race, and sex, 2000
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                 Below poverty level                 Rate(1)           
       Educational attainment and race          Total      Men      Women                                                              
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                              Total      Men      Women     Total      Men      Women  
                                                                                                                                       
    Total, 16 years and older................  135,626    72,758    62,867     6,351     2,901     3,450      4.7       4.0       5.5  
Less than a high school diploma..............   16,013     9,674     6,339     2,071     1,086       985     12.9      11.2      15.5  
  Less than 1 year of high school............    4,566     2,978     1,588       685       461       223     15.0      15.5      14.1  
  1-3 years of high school...................    9,832     5,715     4,116     1,234       562       672     12.6       9.8      16.3  
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........    1,616       981       635       152        62        90      9.4       6.3      14.2  
High school graduates, no college............   42,673    23,141    19,531     2,314       961     1,353      5.4       4.2       6.9  
Some college, no degree......................   27,249    13,829    13,421     1,158       473       685      4.2       3.4       5.1  
Associate degree.............................   11,968     5,737     6,230       297       108       189      2.5       1.9       3.0  
College graduates............................   37,723    20,377    17,346       511       274       238      1.4       1.3       1.4  
                                                                                                                                       
      White, 16 years and older..............  113,022    61,664    51,358     4,561     2,279     2,282      4.0       3.7       4.4  
Less than a high school diploma..............   13,058     8,140     4,918     1,518       899       619     11.6      11.1      12.6  
  Less than 1 year of high school............    4,008     2,674     1,335       616       427       189     15.4      16.0      14.2  
  1-3 years of high school...................    7,825     4,680     3,145       792       419       373     10.1       9.0      11.9  
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........    1,225       786       439       111        53        57      9.0       6.8      13.1  
High school graduates, no college............   35,260    19,369    15,891     1,553       703       850      4.4       3.6       5.3  
Some college, no degree......................   22,567    11,654    10,913       853       368       485      3.8       3.2       4.4  
Associate degree.............................   10,065     4,981     5,085       229        90       140      2.3       1.8       2.7  
College graduates............................   32,072    17,520    14,552       408       219       189      1.3       1.2       1.3  
                                                                                                                                       
      Black, 16 years and older..............   15,974     7,435     8,539     1,397       420       977      8.7       5.6      11.4  
Less than a high school diploma..............    2,273     1,154     1,119       463       142       321     20.4      12.3      28.7  
  Less than 1 year of high school............      314       190       124        38        19        19     12.1      10.1      15.2  
  1-3 years of high school...................    1,636       811       825       387       114       273     23.7      14.1      33.1  
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........      323       153       170        37         8        29     11.5       5.4      17.1  
High school graduates, no college............    5,868     2,960     2,908       639       194       445     10.9       6.6      15.3  
Some college, no degree......................    3,608     1,565     2,043       220        58       162      6.1       3.7       7.9  
Associate degree.............................    1,382       513       869        34         7        27      2.5       1.5       3.1  
College graduates............................    2,843     1,242     1,600        41        19        22      1.4       1.5       1.4  
   1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
                                                                               
Table 4.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more who worked during the year: Poverty status by occupation of longest job held,
race, and sex, 2000
 (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                   Below poverty level                 Rate(1)           
              Occupation and race                 Total      Men      Women                                                              
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                Total      Men      Women     Total      Men      Women  
                                                                                                                                         
    Total, 16 years and older(2)...............  134,986    72,400    62,586     6,089     2,756     3,333      4.5       3.8       5.3  
                                                                                                                                         
Managerial and professional specialty..........   41,510    20,821    20,689       579       256       323      1.4       1.2       1.6  
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....   20,654    11,065     9,589       291       144       147      1.4       1.3       1.5  
  Professional specialty.......................   20,856     9,756    11,100       287       111       176      1.4       1.1       1.6  
Technical, sales, and administrative support...   39,088    14,078    25,010     1,566       406     1,160      4.0       2.9       4.6  
  Technicians and related support..............    4,617     2,125     2,492        34        11        24       .7        .5        .9  
  Sales occupations............................   15,801     8,065     7,736       900       252       649      5.7       3.1       8.4  
  Administrative support, including clerical...   18,670     3,888    14,782       632       143       488      3.4       3.7       3.3  
Service occupations............................   17,599     6,940    10,660     1,868       491     1,376     10.6       7.1      12.9  
  Private household............................      710        32       677       142        11       131     20.0      (3)       19.3  
  Protective service...........................    2,372     1,928       444        66        42        24      2.8       2.2       5.4  
  Service, except private household and                                                                                                  
   protective..................................   14,517     4,979     9,539     1,660       438     1,222     11.4       8.8      12.8  
Precision production, craft, and repair........   15,045    13,803     1,242       475       424        51      3.2       3.1       4.1  
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........   18,451    14,078     4,373     1,155       818       338      6.3       5.8       7.7  
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    7,388     4,632     2,755       391       211       180      5.3       4.6       6.5  
  Transportation and material moving                                                                                                     
   occupations.................................    5,763     5,146       617       264       218        47      4.6       4.2       7.5  
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                             
   laborers....................................    5,301     4,299     1,001       500       389       111      9.4       9.1      11.1  
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................    3,236     2,632       604       444       359        85     13.7      13.7      14.0  
                                                                                                                                         
      White, 16 years and older(2).............  112,655    61,454    51,201     4,417     2,185     2,232      3.9       3.6       4.4  
                                                                                                                                         
Managerial and professional specialty..........   35,633    18,204    17,429       450       214       237      1.3       1.2       1.4  
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....   17,869     9,852     8,018       224       123       101      1.3       1.3       1.3  
  Professional specialty.......................   17,763     8,352     9,411       226        90       136      1.3       1.1       1.4  
Technical, sales, and administrative support...   32,786    12,004    20,782     1,044       310       734      3.2       2.6       3.5  
  Technicians and related support..............    3,792     1,801     1,991        30         8        22       .8        .4       1.1  
  Sales occupations............................   13,672     7,140     6,533       610       205       405      4.5       2.9       6.2  
  Administrative support, including clerical...   15,322     3,063    12,258       404        97       308      2.6       3.2       2.5  
Service occupations............................   13,315     5,227     8,088     1,237       339       897      9.3       6.5      11.1  
  Private household............................      543        18       525       100         6        94     18.5      (3)       17.9  
  Protective service...........................    1,809     1,506       303        35        22        13      1.9       1.5       4.3  
  Service, except private household and                                                                                                  
   protective..................................   10,963     3,703     7,260     1,102       311       791     10.0       8.4      10.9  
Precision production, craft, and repair........   13,280    12,274     1,006       413       372        41      3.1       3.0       4.0  
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........   14,617    11,297     3,319       859       616       243      5.9       5.5       7.3  
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    5,839     3,800     2,040       291       166       125      5.0       4.4       6.1  
  Transportation and material moving                                                                                                     
   occupations.................................    4,590     4,110       480       195       158        37      4.2       3.8       7.7  
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                             
   laborers....................................    4,187     3,388       799       373       292        80      8.9       8.6      10.1  
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................    2,975     2,406       570       415       334        81     14.0      13.9      14.2  
                                                                                                                                         
      Black, 16 years and older(2).............   15,725     7,298     8,426     1,291       379       912      8.2       5.2      10.8  
                                                                                                                                         
Managerial and professional specialty..........    3,502     1,315     2,187        79        17        61      2.2       1.3       2.8  
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....    1,742       700     1,042        48        11        37      2.8       1.6       3.6  
  Professional specialty.......................    1,760       615     1,146        31         6        24      1.7       1.0       2.1  
Technical, sales, and administrative support...    4,497     1,293     3,204       410        52       358      9.1       4.1      11.2  
  Technicians and related support..............      536       172       365      -         -         -         -         -         -    
  Sales occupations............................    1,412       561       851       237        27       210     16.8       4.9      24.7  
  Administrative support, including clerical...    2,548       560     1,988       172        25       147      6.8       4.5       7.4  
Service occupations............................    3,348     1,281     2,067       524       114       409     15.6       8.9      19.8  
  Private household............................      138        10       128        38         3        36     27.7      (3)       27.8  
  Protective service...........................      496       367       129        25        15        11      5.1       4.0       8.4  
  Service, except private household and                                                                                                  
   protective..................................    2,714       904     1,810       460        97       363     17.0      10.8      20.1  
Precision production, craft, and repair........    1,229     1,068       162        39        35         5      3.2       3.2       2.9  
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........    2,969     2,175       794       214       138        76      7.2       6.3       9.6  
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    1,109       594       515        73        32        42      6.6       5.4       8.1  
  Transportation and material moving                                                                                                     
   occupations.................................      958       841       117        41        31         9      4.3       3.7       8.1  
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                             
   laborers....................................      901       740       161        99        74        25     11.0      10.1      15.5  
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................      174       161        13        23        20         3     13.4      12.7      (3)   
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more who worked during the year.
  2 Includes a small number of persons whose last job was in the Armed Forces.
  3 Data not shown where base is less than 80,000.
  NOTE: Dash represents zero or rounds to zero.
                                                                                
Table 5.  Persons in families and unrelated individuals: Poverty status and work experience, 2000
 (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                           
                                              In married-couple families      In families maintained by  In families maintained by         
                                                                                        women                       men              Unre- 
    Poverty status and work       Total                                                                                              lated 
          experience             persons                                                                                             indi- 
                                           Hus-             Related   Other   House-   Related   Other   House-   Related   Other   viduals
                                           bands    Wives  children   rela-   holder  children   rela-   holder  children   rela-          
                                                           under 18   tives           under 18   tives           under 18   tives          
                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                           
             TOTAL                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                           
      All persons(1)...........  211,180   54,973   55,563    5,424   17,106   12,507    1,685    9,502    4,213      482    4,072   45,652
  With labor force activity....  150,002   44,016   36,783    2,425   12,329    9,281      721    6,555    3,439      197    2,840   31,417
    1 to 26 weeks..............   14,376    1,492    3,640    1,362    2,666      848      415      940      208      119      311    2,376
    27 weeks or more...........  135,626   42,524   33,143    1,063    9,663    8,433      307    5,615    3,231       78    2,528   29,041
  With no labor force activity.   61,179   10,957   18,780    2,999    4,777    3,226      963    2,947      775      285    1,232   14,236
                                                                                                                                           
  At or above poverty level                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                           
      All persons(1)...........  190,610   52,349   52,927    5,064   16,464    9,413    1,208    8,288    3,731      422    3,792   36,952
  With labor force activity....  141,132   42,523   35,914    2,349   12,082    7,391      594    6,039    3,152      181    2,720   28,187
    1 to 26 weeks..............   11,858    1,271    3,367    1,308    2,585      366      340      769      130      110      267    1,345
    27 weeks or more...........  129,275   41,251   32,547    1,040    9,497    7,025      254    5,270    3,022       71    2,454   26,842
  With no labor force activity.   49,477    9,826   17,013    2,715    4,382    2,022      613    2,249      579      241    1,071    8,765
                                                                                                                                           
      Below poverty level                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                           
      All persons(1)...........   20,571    2,623    2,636      360      642    3,095      477    1,214      483       60      280    8,700
  With labor force activity....    8,869    1,493      869       76      247    1,890      127      516      287       16      119    3,229
    1 to 26 weeks..............    2,518      220      273       53       81      483       74      172       78        9       45    1,031
    27 weeks or more...........    6,351    1,273      596       23      166    1,408       53      345      209        7       75    2,198
  With no labor force activity.   11,701    1,131    1,767      284      395    1,204      350      697      196       44      161    5,471
                                                                                                                                           
            Rate(2)                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                           
       All persons(1)...........     9.7      4.8      4.7      6.6      3.8     24.7     28.3     12.8     11.5     12.4      6.9     19.1 
   With labor force activity....     5.9      3.4      2.4      3.1      2.0     20.4     17.6      7.9      8.3      7.9      4.2     10.3 
     1 to 26 weeks..............    17.5     14.8      7.5      3.9      3.0     56.9     17.9     18.2     37.3      7.2     14.4     43.4 
     27 weeks or more...........     4.7      3.0      1.8      2.2      1.7     16.7     17.1      6.1      6.5      9.0      3.0      7.6 
   With no labor force activity.    19.1     10.3      9.4      9.5      8.3     37.3     36.3     23.7     25.3     15.6     13.1     38.4 
  1 Data on families include persons in primary families and unrelated subfamilies.
  2 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total.
  NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  
                                                                                
     Table 6.  Primary families: Poverty status, presence of related children, and work experience of family members in the
     labor force for 27 weeks or more, 2000
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                           Characteristic                                        At or above   Below poverty     Rate(1)   
                                                                Total families  poverty level      level                   
                                                                                                                           
             Total primary families............................      60,870         57,453          3,417           5.6    
                                                                                                                           
     With related children under 18............................      34,734         31,772          2,962           8.5    
     Without children..........................................      26,136         25,681            455           1.7    
                                                                                                                           
     With one member in the labor force........................      24,836         22,014          2,822          11.4    
     With two or more members in the labor force...............      36,034         35,439            595           1.7    
       With two members........................................      30,013         29,483            531           1.8    
       With three or more members..............................       6,021          5,956             64           1.1    
                                                                                                                           
     Married-couple families:                                                                                              
                                                                                                                           
       With related children under 18..........................      25,793         24,530          1,264           4.9    
       Without children........................................      21,169         20,869            300           1.4    
                                                                                                                           
       With one member in the labor force......................      15,201         14,066          1,134           7.5    
         Husband...............................................      11,456         10,593            863           7.5    
         Wife..................................................       3,116          2,886            230           7.4    
         Relative..............................................         628            587             42           6.7    
       With two or more members in the labor force.............      31,761         31,332            429           1.4    
         With two members......................................      26,662         26,275            386           1.4    
         With three or more members............................       5,099          5,057             43            .8    
                                                                                                                           
     Families maintained by women:                                                                                         
                                                                                                                           
       With related children under 18..........................       6,910          5,417          1,493          21.6    
       Without children........................................       3,257          3,146            111           3.4    
                                                                                                                           
       With one member in the labor force......................       7,332          5,867          1,465          20.0    
         Householder...........................................       5,924          4,635          1,290          21.8    
         Relative..............................................       1,408          1,233            175          12.5    
       With two or more members in the labor force.............       2,835          2,696            139           4.9    
                                                                                                                           
     Families maintained by men:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
       With related children under 18..........................       2,030          1,826            205          10.1    
       Without children........................................       1,711          1,666             45           2.6    
                                                                                                                           
       With one member in the labor force......................       2,303          2,081            223           9.7    
         Householder...........................................       1,931          1,745            186           9.6    
         Relative..............................................         372            336             36           9.8    
       With two or more members in the labor force.............       1,438          1,411             27           1.9    
       1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
       NOTE: Data relate to primary families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
                                                                               
     Table 7.  Unrelated individuals in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex,
     race, Hispanic origin, and living arrangement, 2000
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                         
                  Characteristic                   Total       At or above   Below poverty     Rate(1)   
                                                              poverty level      level                   
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                         
                   Age and sex                                                                           
                                                                                                         
            Total unrelated individuals......      29,041         26,842          2,198           7.6    
     16 to 19 years..........................         574            372            203          35.3    
     20 to 24 years..........................       4,167          3,526            641          15.4    
     25 to 64 years..........................      23,155         21,842          1,313           5.7    
     65 years and older......................       1,145          1,103             42           3.6    
                                                                                                         
     Men.....................................      15,941         14,876          1,065           6.7    
     Women...................................      13,100         11,967          1,133           8.6    
                                                                                                         
             Race and Hispanic origin                                                                    
                                                                                                         
     White...................................      23,883         22,161          1,722           7.2    
        Men..................................      13,108         12,297            811           6.2    
        Women................................      10,775          9,864            911           8.5    
                                                                                                         
     Black...................................       3,921          3,581            340           8.7    
        Men..................................       2,094          1,911            183           8.7    
        Women................................       1,827          1,670            157           8.6    
                                                                                                         
     Hispanic origin.........................       2,495          2,189            306          12.3    
        Men..................................       1,607          1,438            170          10.6    
        Women................................         888            752            136          15.3    
                                                                                                         
                Living arrangement                                                                       
                                                                                                         
     Living alone............................      15,176         14,452            724           4.8    
     Living with others......................      13,865         12,391          1,474          10.6    
       1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or
     more.
       NOTE: Detail for race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the
     "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black
     population groups.  
                                                                               
     Table 8.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status and labor market problems of full-time
     wage and salary workers, 2000
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                  At or above     Below                
                Poverty status and labor market problems                Total       poverty      poverty      Rate(1)  
                                                                                     level        level                
                                                                                                                       
          Total, full-time wage and salary workers.................    107,055      103,693        3,362         3.1   
                                                                                                                       
     No unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, or low                                                         
        earnings(2)................................................     89,085       88,571          514          .6   
                                                                                                                       
     Unemployment only.............................................      5,001        4,698          304         6.1   
     Involuntary part-time employment only.........................      2,020        1,984           36         1.8   
     Low earnings only.............................................      7,830        6,191        1,639        20.9   
                                                                                                                       
     Unemployment and involuntary part-time employment.............        861          807           53         6.2   
     Unemployment and low earnings.................................      1,300          765          534        41.1   
     Involuntary part-time employment and low earnings.............        634          475          159        25.1   
                                                                                                                       
     Unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, and low                                                           
        earnings...................................................        324          202          122        37.7   
       1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
       2 The low earnings threshold in 2000 was $253.45 per week.
       NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  
                                                                               

 

Last Modified Date: August 1, 2008

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A Profile of the Working Poor, 2000

U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
March 2002

Report 957

In 2000, 31 million people, or 11.3 percent of the population lived at or below the official poverty level—1.1 million fewer than in 1999. While the bulk of these individuals were children and adults who did not participate in the labor force, about 6.4 million were classified as the “working poor.” This was 445,000 fewer than in 1999, continuing a 7-year downtrend. As defined for this report, the working poor are individuals who spent at least 27 weeks in the labor force (working or looking for work), but whose incomes fell below the official poverty level. Of all persons in the labor force for at least 27 weeks, 4.7 percent were classified as working poor in 2000, down 0.4 percentage point from the previous year.

Working full time substantially lowers a person’s probability of being poor. Among persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, the poverty rate for those usually employed full time was 3.5 percent, compared with 10.2 percent for part-time workers. The majority of the working poor—three-fifths— were, nevertheless, full-time workers. Only a small proportion of the working poor (4.1 percent) actively sought a job for more than 6 months in 2000 without finding any work, up from 3.5 percent in 1999. (See tables A and 1.)

This report presents data on the relationships between labor force activity and poverty in 2000 for individual workers and their families. The data were collected in the work experience and income supplement to the March 2001 Current Population Survey. For a more detailed description of the source of the data and an explanation of the concepts and definitions used in this report, see the Technical Note.

For persons living with family members, the income thresholds used to determine poverty status are in terms of family, rather than personal, income. Thus, earnings from employment are only one factor in determining the poverty status of individuals living in family settings. Also important are the earnings of others in the family, the size of the family, and other sources of income that family members might have. Personal income data are used in determining the poverty status of persons living alone or with unrelated individuals.

Demographic characteristics
Among those who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 2000, the proportion of women classified as working poor (5.5 percent) was higher than that of men (4.0 percent). Both rates continued their downward trend from 7.3 percent for women and 6.2 percent for men in 1993. (See table 2.)

Working wives were less likely than working husbands to be poor (in aggregate) because working wives were more likely to be in families with a second earner, usually a husband. (See “Family structure,” below.) In 2000, 1.8 percent of wives who were in the labor force 27 weeks or more were in poverty, compared with 3.0 percent of husbands. In contrast, 16.7 percent of women who maintain families and who were in the labor force for at least 27 weeks were in poverty. (See table 5.)

Younger workers were again more likely to be in poverty than were older workers. Young workers have lower earnings and are more likely to be unemployed than are older workers. Among teenagers who were in the labor force 27 weeks or more, 9.2 percent were in poverty, as were 8.7 percent of 20- to 24-year olds. These rates were roughly double the rate for workers aged 35 to 44 (4.5 percent), and more than triple the rate for workers 45 to 54 years of age (2.7 percent). (See table 2.)

Black and Hispanic workers continued to experience poverty at much higher rates than did whites. In 2000, 4.0 percent of white labor force participants were classified as working poor, compared with 8.7 percent of blacks and 10.0 percent of Hispanics. Among whites and Hispanics, rates for men and women were comparable; in contrast, the rate for black women (11.4 percent) was twice that of black men (5.6 percent). One explanation for this is that a relatively large proportion of black women maintain families on their own. Nearly 30 percent of black women maintained families in 2000, compared with only about 10 percent of white women. As noted above, women maintaining families are far more likely to be among the working poor than are married women.

Table A. Poverty status of persons and primary families in the labor force for 27 week or more, 1997-2000
(Numbers in thousands)
Characteristics            1997      1998      1999     2000
Total persons1              130,047   131,731   133,651  135,626
   In poverty                 7,453 7,158     6,796    6,351
   Rate                 5.7   5.4       5.1      4.7
Unrelated individuals        26,158    26,971    27,845   29,041
   In poverty                 2,534 2,281     2,272    2,198
   Rate                 9.7   8.5       8.2      7.6
Primary families2            58,815    59,621    60,454   60,870
   In poverty             4,068 4,019     3,755    3,417
   Rate                 6.9       6.7       6.2      5.6            
1  Includes persons in families not shown separately.  
2  Primary families with at least one member in the labor force for more than half of the year.

Educational attainment
Education and the likelihood of living in poverty were closely related among those in the labor force at least 27 weeks of the year. In 2000, high school dropouts were more than twice as likely as high school graduates to be counted among the working poor (12.9 percent and 5.4 percent, respectively). The incidence of being counted among the working poor declined further as educational attainment rose. Among workers with associate degrees, 2.5 percent were classified as working poor, and only 1.4 percent of college graduates were so classified. (See table 3.)

Occupation
The occupation in which one was employed continued to be related to the likelihood of being among the working poor in 2000. Almost 31 percent of the poor who worked during the year were employed in service occupations as their longest job of the year. Looked at another way, nearly 11 percent of all workers who were in the labor force for at least 27 weeks and whose longest job over the year was in services were poor, more than twice the average for all occupations. Private household workers, a subset of service workers that is made up largely of women, were the most likely to be in poverty (20 percent). Farming, forestry, and fishing was another occupation with a relatively high proportion of workers in poverty (13.7 percent). Executive, administrative, and managerial occupations and professional specialty jobs had low incidences of poverty, at 1.4 percent each. High earnings and full-time employment are typical in these occupations. (See table 4.)

Family structure
Among families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 2000, 3.4 million, or 5.6 percent, had incomes at or below the poverty line, down from 6.2 percent in 1999. The poverty threshold for families is based on both the total family income and the number of family members; thus, the larger the family, the higher the level of income needed to keep the family out of poverty. This, coupled with the fact that the presence of children tends to reduce the overall labor supply of a family, contributes to the relatively high incidence of poverty among families with children. Consequently, families with at least one child under the age of 18 were much more likely to have incomes below the poverty level than were families without children (8.5 percent and 1.7 percent, respectively).

Families with more workers are less likely to be below the poverty line. In 2000, 11.4 percent of families with only one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were in poverty, while only 1.8 percent of families with two labor force participants, and 1.1 percent of families with three or more participants were in poverty. (See table 6.)

Unrelated individuals
Unrelated individuals are those who live either alone or with nonrelatives. Of the 29.0 million unrelated individuals who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 2000, about 2.2 million, or 7.6 percent, lived below the poverty level. This rate was down from 8.2 percent in 1999. Those who were living alone were less than half as likely as those who were living with nonrelatives to be poor (4.8 percent and 10.6 percent, respectively). Unrelated individuals with low incomes often live with others in order to share expenses and pool resources. Because their poverty status is determined by personal rather than household income, the actual economic hardship of these individuals may be overstated by the poverty measure. Conversely, many of those who live alone do so because they have sufficient incomes to support themselves. (See table 7.)

Labor market problems
As noted above, people who work full time—that is, 35 or more hours a week—are far less likely to live in poverty than are others. However, there remains a sizable group of full-time workers who live below the poverty threshold. In 2000, among those who participated in the labor force for more than half the year and who usually worked in full-time wage and salary jobs, almost 3.4 million, or 3.1 percent, were classified as working poor. (See table 8.)

There are three primary labor market problems experienced by these full-time workers: Low earnings, unemployment, and involuntary part-time employment. (See definitions in the Technical Note.) About 85 percent of the working poor who usually worked full time experienced at least one of these major labor market problems. Low earnings continued to be the most common problem, with 73 percent of workers facing it, either alone or in conjunction with other labor market problems. About 30 percent of the working poor experienced unemployment, either alone or in conjunction with other problems. Only 3.6 percent experienced all three problems.

Some 514,000, or 15.3 percent, of the working poor did not experience any of the three primary labor market problems in 2000. Their poverty status may be explained by other factors, including short-term employment, some weeks of voluntary part-time work, or a family structure that increases the risk of poverty.

Stephanie Boraas, an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, prepared this report.

Technical Note

Source of data

The primary source of data in this report is the work experience and income supplement (the Annual Demographic Survey) to the March 2001 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey of households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics to collect demographic, social, and economic information about persons 16 years of age and older. Work experience and income information collected in the March supplement refers to activity in the entire prior calendar year.

The estimates in this report are based on a sample and, consequently, may differ from figures that would have been obtained from a complete count using the same questionnaire and procedures. Sampling variability may be relatively large in cases where the numbers are small. Thus, small estimates, or small differences between estimates, should be interpreted with caution. For a detailed explanation of the March supplement to the CPS, its sampling variability, and more extensive definitions than those provided below, see Poverty in the United States: 2000—Current Population Reports, series P-60, no. 214 (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2001). This publication also is available on the Census Bureau Web site (https://www.census.gov).

Information in this report will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service: 1-800-877-8339. This material is in the public domain and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permission.

For more information on the data provided in this report, write to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Division of Labor Force Statistics, Room 4675, 2 Massachusetts Avenue, NE., Washington, DC 20212; e-mail: cpsinfo@bls.gov; or telephone (202) 691-6378.

Concepts and definitions

Poverty classification. Poverty statistics presented in this report are based on definitions developed by the Social Security Administration in 1964 and revised by Federal interagency committees in 1969 and 1981. These definitions originally were based on the Department of Agriculture’s Economy Food Plan and reflected the different consumption requirements of families, based on factors such as family size and the number of children under 18 years of age.

The actual poverty thresholds vary in accordance with the makeup of the family. In 2000, the average poverty threshold for a family of four was $17,603; for a family of nine or more persons, the threshold was $35,060; and for an unrelated individual aged 65 or older, it was $8,259. Poverty thresholds are updated each year to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The thresholds do not vary geographically. For more information, see Poverty in the United States: 2000, cited above.

Low earnings. The low earnings level, as first developed in 1987, represented the average of the real value of the minimum wage between 1967 and 1987 for a 40-hour workweek. The base year of 1967 was chosen because that was the first year in which minimum-wage legislation covered essentially the same broad group of workers who currently are covered. The low earnings level has subsequently been adjusted each year using the CPI-U, so that the measure maintains the same real value that it held in 1987. In 2000, the low earnings threshold was $253.45 per week. For a more complete definition, see Bruce W. Klein and Philip L. Rones, "A profile of the working poor," Monthly Labor Review, October 1989, pp. 3-13.

Income. Data on income are limited to money income received in the calendar year preceding the March survey date, before personal income taxes and payroll deductions. They do not include the value of noncash benefits such as Food Stamps, Medicare, Medicaid, public housing, and employer-provided benefits. For a complete definition of the income concept, see Poverty in the United States: 2000, cited above.

In the labor force. Persons in the labor force are those who worked or looked for work sometime during the calendar year preceding the March survey date. The number of weeks in the labor force is accumulated over the entire year. The focus in this report is on persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.

Involuntary part-time workers. These are persons who, in at least 1 week of the year, worked fewer than 35 hours because of slack work or business conditions, or because they could not find full-time work. The number of weeks of involuntary part-time work is accumulated over the year.

Occupation. Refers to the occupation in which a person worked the most weeks during the calendar year.

Unemployed. Unemployed persons are those who looked for work while not employed or those who were on layoff from a job and expecting recall. The number of weeks unemployed is accumulated over the entire year.

Family. A family is defined as a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Persons in related subfamilies—married couples or parent-child groups sharing the living quarters of another family member—are included as members of that family and are not distinct family units. The count of families used in this report does not include unrelated subfamilies, such as lodgers, guests, or resident employees living in a household but not related to the householder (the person in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented). Families are classified either as married-couple families or as those maintained by men or women without spouses present. Family status is determined at the time of the March interview, and thus may be different from that of the previous year.

Unrelated individuals. These are persons who are not living with any relatives. Such individuals may live alone, reside in a nonrelated family household, or live in group quarters with other unrelated individuals.

Related children. Data on related children refer to own children (including sons, daughters, and step- or adopted children) of the husband, wife, or person maintaining the family and all other children related to the householder by birth, marriage, or adoption.

Race. White, black, and “other” are terms used to describe the race of workers. Included in the “other” group are American Indians, Alaskan Natives, and Asians and Pacific Islanders. Because of the relatively small sample size, data for this group are not separately tabulated or published.

Hispanic origin. This term refers to persons who identify themselves in the CPS enumeration process as Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, or of some other Hispanic origin or descent. Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; thus, they also are included in both the white and black population groups.

Table 1.  Persons in the labor force: Poverty status and work experience by weeks in the labor force, 2000
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
                                                                                     27 weeks or more in the labor force    
            Poverty status and work experience               Total in the labor                                             
                                                                   force                                                    
                                                                                         Total             50 to 52 weeks   
                                                                                                                            
                          TOTAL                                                                                             
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................        150,002               135,626               121,540       
    Did not work during the year..........................          1,425                   640                   522       
    Worked during the year................................        148,577               134,986               121,018       
      Usual full-time workers.............................        119,829               113,923               105,591       
      Usual part-time workers.............................         28,748                21,063                15,427       
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          3,433                 2,652                 2,035       
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         25,315                18,410                13,391       
                                                                                                                           
                At or above poverty level                                                                                   
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................        141,132               129,275               116,512       
    Did not work during the year..........................            881                   378                   296       
    Worked during the year................................        140,252               128,897               116,216       
      Usual full-time workers.............................        114,763               109,983               102,351       
      Usual part-time workers.............................         25,489                18,914                13,866       
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          2,575                 2,036                 1,583       
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         22,914                16,877                12,282       
                                                                                                                            
                   Below poverty level                                                                                      
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................          8,869                 6,351                 5,028       
    Did not work during the year..........................            544                   262                   226       
    Worked during the year................................          8,325                 6,089                 4,802       
      Usual full-time workers.............................          5,066                 3,940                 3,240       
      Usual part-time workers.............................          3,259                 2,149                 1,561       
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................            858                   616                   452       
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................          2,401                 1,533                 1,109       
                                                                                                                            
                         Rate(1)                                                                                            
                                                                                                                            
  Total in labor force....................................           5.9                   4.7                   4.1        
    Did not work during the year..........................          38.2                  41.0                  43.3        
    Worked during the year................................           5.6                   4.5                   4.0        
      Usual full-time workers.............................           4.2                   3.5                   3.1        
      Usual part-time workers.............................          11.3                  10.2                  10.1        
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          25.0                  23.2                  22.2        
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................           9.5                   8.3                   8.3        
   1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force.
                                                                                
Table 2.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 2000
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                 
                                                                      Below poverty level                 Rate(1)           
                                                        Hispanic                                                            
          Age and sex             Total   White   Black  origin                                                             
                                                                  Total  White  Black Hispanic  Total  White  Black Hispanic
                                                                                       origin                        origin 
                                                                                                                            
    Total, 16 years and older... 135,626 113,022 15,974   14,636  6,351  4,561  1,397    1,463    4.7    4.0    8.7    10.0 
16 to 19 years..................   5,228   4,499    547      720    483    355    113       96    9.2    7.9   20.7    13.4 
20 to 24 years..................  13,048  10,742  1,721    2,009  1,141    834    241      244    8.7    7.8   14.0    12.2 
25 to 34 years..................  30,459  24,489  4,153    4,275  1,746  1,238    404      499    5.7    5.1    9.7    11.7 
35 to 44 years..................  37,056  30,510  4,630    3,952  1,663  1,165    394      376    4.5    3.8    8.5     9.5 
45 to 54 years..................  31,056  26,357  3,297    2,444    825    573    172      174    2.7    2.2    5.2     7.1 
55 to 64 years..................  14,361  12,490  1,282    1,015    397    313     61       55    2.8    2.5    4.8     5.4 
65 years and older..............   4,417   3,936    346      221     96     83     11       18    2.2    2.1    3.2     8.1 
                                                                                                                            
    Men, 16 years and older.....  72,758  61,664  7,435    8,525  2,901  2,279    420      871    4.0    3.7    5.6    10.2 
16 to 19 years..................   2,612   2,244    267      419    206    161     36       52    7.9    7.2   13.4    12.5 
20 to 24 years..................   6,749   5,692    769    1,191    490    387     71      143    7.3    6.8    9.2    12.0 
25 to 34 years..................  16,485  13,588  1,857    2,552    722    592     83      309    4.4    4.4    4.5    12.1 
35 to 44 years..................  20,187  16,927  2,215    2,330    790    607    133      223    3.9    3.6    6.0     9.6 
45 to 54 years..................  16,345  14,073  1,527    1,303    459    328     76      103    2.8    2.3    5.0     7.9 
55 to 64 years..................   7,734   6,773    620      590    196    165     21       26    2.5    2.4    3.3     4.4 
65 years and older..............   2,647   2,367    180      140     39     39    -         13    1.5    1.7    -       9.6 
                                                                                                                            
    Women, 16 years and older...  62,867  51,358  8,539    6,111  3,450  2,282    977      592    5.5    4.4   11.4     9.7 
16 to 19 years..................   2,617   2,255    280      301    278    194     77       44   10.6    8.6   27.6    14.7 
20 to 24 years..................   6,299   5,050    952      819    651    447    170      101   10.3    8.9   17.8    12.4 
25 to 34 years..................  13,974  10,901  2,296    1,723  1,024    646    321      190    7.3    5.9   14.0    11.0 
35 to 44 years..................  16,869  13,583  2,415    1,622    873    558    261      153    5.2    4.1   10.8     9.4 
45 to 54 years..................  14,710  12,284  1,770    1,141    365    245     96       71    2.5    2.0    5.4     6.2 
55 to 64 years..................   6,627   5,717    662      426    201    148     41       29    3.0    2.6    6.2     6.8 
65 years and older..............   1,770   1,569    165       80     57     43     11        4    3.2    2.8    6.7     5.6 
   1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
  NOTE: Detail for race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not
presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.  Dash represents zero or rounds to zero.
                                                                                
Table 3.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by educational attainment, race, and sex, 2000
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                 Below poverty level                 Rate(1)           
       Educational attainment and race          Total      Men      Women                                                              
                                                                                                                                       
                                                                              Total      Men      Women     Total      Men      Women  
                                                                                                                                       
    Total, 16 years and older................  135,626    72,758    62,867     6,351     2,901     3,450      4.7       4.0       5.5  
Less than a high school diploma..............   16,013     9,674     6,339     2,071     1,086       985     12.9      11.2      15.5  
  Less than 1 year of high school............    4,566     2,978     1,588       685       461       223     15.0      15.5      14.1  
  1-3 years of high school...................    9,832     5,715     4,116     1,234       562       672     12.6       9.8      16.3  
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........    1,616       981       635       152        62        90      9.4       6.3      14.2  
High school graduates, no college............   42,673    23,141    19,531     2,314       961     1,353      5.4       4.2       6.9  
Some college, no degree......................   27,249    13,829    13,421     1,158       473       685      4.2       3.4       5.1  
Associate degree.............................   11,968     5,737     6,230       297       108       189      2.5       1.9       3.0  
College graduates............................   37,723    20,377    17,346       511       274       238      1.4       1.3       1.4  
                                                                                                                                       
      White, 16 years and older..............  113,022    61,664    51,358     4,561     2,279     2,282      4.0       3.7       4.4  
Less than a high school diploma..............   13,058     8,140     4,918     1,518       899       619     11.6      11.1      12.6  
  Less than 1 year of high school............    4,008     2,674     1,335       616       427       189     15.4      16.0      14.2  
  1-3 years of high school...................    7,825     4,680     3,145       792       419       373     10.1       9.0      11.9  
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........    1,225       786       439       111        53        57      9.0       6.8      13.1  
High school graduates, no college............   35,260    19,369    15,891     1,553       703       850      4.4       3.6       5.3  
Some college, no degree......................   22,567    11,654    10,913       853       368       485      3.8       3.2       4.4  
Associate degree.............................   10,065     4,981     5,085       229        90       140      2.3       1.8       2.7  
College graduates............................   32,072    17,520    14,552       408       219       189      1.3       1.2       1.3  
                                                                                                                                       
      Black, 16 years and older..............   15,974     7,435     8,539     1,397       420       977      8.7       5.6      11.4  
Less than a high school diploma..............    2,273     1,154     1,119       463       142       321     20.4      12.3      28.7  
  Less than 1 year of high school............      314       190       124        38        19        19     12.1      10.1      15.2  
  1-3 years of high school...................    1,636       811       825       387       114       273     23.7      14.1      33.1  
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........      323       153       170        37         8        29     11.5       5.4      17.1  
High school graduates, no college............    5,868     2,960     2,908       639       194       445     10.9       6.6      15.3  
Some college, no degree......................    3,608     1,565     2,043       220        58       162      6.1       3.7       7.9  
Associate degree.............................    1,382       513       869        34         7        27      2.5       1.5       3.1  
College graduates............................    2,843     1,242     1,600        41        19        22      1.4       1.5       1.4  
   1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
                                                                               
Table 4.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more who worked during the year: Poverty status by occupation of longest job held,
race, and sex, 2000
 (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                   Below poverty level                 Rate(1)           
              Occupation and race                 Total      Men      Women                                                              
                                                                                                                                         
                                                                                Total      Men      Women     Total      Men      Women  
                                                                                                                                         
    Total, 16 years and older(2)...............  134,986    72,400    62,586     6,089     2,756     3,333      4.5       3.8       5.3  
                                                                                                                                         
Managerial and professional specialty..........   41,510    20,821    20,689       579       256       323      1.4       1.2       1.6  
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....   20,654    11,065     9,589       291       144       147      1.4       1.3       1.5  
  Professional specialty.......................   20,856     9,756    11,100       287       111       176      1.4       1.1       1.6  
Technical, sales, and administrative support...   39,088    14,078    25,010     1,566       406     1,160      4.0       2.9       4.6  
  Technicians and related support..............    4,617     2,125     2,492        34        11        24       .7        .5        .9  
  Sales occupations............................   15,801     8,065     7,736       900       252       649      5.7       3.1       8.4  
  Administrative support, including clerical...   18,670     3,888    14,782       632       143       488      3.4       3.7       3.3  
Service occupations............................   17,599     6,940    10,660     1,868       491     1,376     10.6       7.1      12.9  
  Private household............................      710        32       677       142        11       131     20.0      (3)       19.3  
  Protective service...........................    2,372     1,928       444        66        42        24      2.8       2.2       5.4  
  Service, except private household and                                                                                                  
   protective..................................   14,517     4,979     9,539     1,660       438     1,222     11.4       8.8      12.8  
Precision production, craft, and repair........   15,045    13,803     1,242       475       424        51      3.2       3.1       4.1  
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........   18,451    14,078     4,373     1,155       818       338      6.3       5.8       7.7  
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    7,388     4,632     2,755       391       211       180      5.3       4.6       6.5  
  Transportation and material moving                                                                                                     
   occupations.................................    5,763     5,146       617       264       218        47      4.6       4.2       7.5  
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                             
   laborers....................................    5,301     4,299     1,001       500       389       111      9.4       9.1      11.1  
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................    3,236     2,632       604       444       359        85     13.7      13.7      14.0  
                                                                                                                                         
      White, 16 years and older(2).............  112,655    61,454    51,201     4,417     2,185     2,232      3.9       3.6       4.4  
                                                                                                                                         
Managerial and professional specialty..........   35,633    18,204    17,429       450       214       237      1.3       1.2       1.4  
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....   17,869     9,852     8,018       224       123       101      1.3       1.3       1.3  
  Professional specialty.......................   17,763     8,352     9,411       226        90       136      1.3       1.1       1.4  
Technical, sales, and administrative support...   32,786    12,004    20,782     1,044       310       734      3.2       2.6       3.5  
  Technicians and related support..............    3,792     1,801     1,991        30         8        22       .8        .4       1.1  
  Sales occupations............................   13,672     7,140     6,533       610       205       405      4.5       2.9       6.2  
  Administrative support, including clerical...   15,322     3,063    12,258       404        97       308      2.6       3.2       2.5  
Service occupations............................   13,315     5,227     8,088     1,237       339       897      9.3       6.5      11.1  
  Private household............................      543        18       525       100         6        94     18.5      (3)       17.9  
  Protective service...........................    1,809     1,506       303        35        22        13      1.9       1.5       4.3  
  Service, except private household and                                                                                                  
   protective..................................   10,963     3,703     7,260     1,102       311       791     10.0       8.4      10.9  
Precision production, craft, and repair........   13,280    12,274     1,006       413       372        41      3.1       3.0       4.0  
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........   14,617    11,297     3,319       859       616       243      5.9       5.5       7.3  
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    5,839     3,800     2,040       291       166       125      5.0       4.4       6.1  
  Transportation and material moving                                                                                                     
   occupations.................................    4,590     4,110       480       195       158        37      4.2       3.8       7.7  
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                             
   laborers....................................    4,187     3,388       799       373       292        80      8.9       8.6      10.1  
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................    2,975     2,406       570       415       334        81     14.0      13.9      14.2  
                                                                                                                                         
      Black, 16 years and older(2).............   15,725     7,298     8,426     1,291       379       912      8.2       5.2      10.8  
                                                                                                                                         
Managerial and professional specialty..........    3,502     1,315     2,187        79        17        61      2.2       1.3       2.8  
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....    1,742       700     1,042        48        11        37      2.8       1.6       3.6  
  Professional specialty.......................    1,760       615     1,146        31         6        24      1.7       1.0       2.1  
Technical, sales, and administrative support...    4,497     1,293     3,204       410        52       358      9.1       4.1      11.2  
  Technicians and related support..............      536       172       365      -         -         -         -         -         -    
  Sales occupations............................    1,412       561       851       237        27       210     16.8       4.9      24.7  
  Administrative support, including clerical...    2,548       560     1,988       172        25       147      6.8       4.5       7.4  
Service occupations............................    3,348     1,281     2,067       524       114       409     15.6       8.9      19.8  
  Private household............................      138        10       128        38         3        36     27.7      (3)       27.8  
  Protective service...........................      496       367       129        25        15        11      5.1       4.0       8.4  
  Service, except private household and                                                                                                  
   protective..................................    2,714       904     1,810       460        97       363     17.0      10.8      20.1  
Precision production, craft, and repair........    1,229     1,068       162        39        35         5      3.2       3.2       2.9  
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........    2,969     2,175       794       214       138        76      7.2       6.3       9.6  
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors    1,109       594       515        73        32        42      6.6       5.4       8.1  
  Transportation and material moving                                                                                                     
   occupations.................................      958       841       117        41        31         9      4.3       3.7       8.1  
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and                                                                                             
   laborers....................................      901       740       161        99        74        25     11.0      10.1      15.5  
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................      174       161        13        23        20         3     13.4      12.7      (3)   
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more who worked during the year.
  2 Includes a small number of persons whose last job was in the Armed Forces.
  3 Data not shown where base is less than 80,000.
  NOTE: Dash represents zero or rounds to zero.
                                                                                
Table 5.  Persons in families and unrelated individuals: Poverty status and work experience, 2000
 (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                           
                                              In married-couple families      In families maintained by  In families maintained by         
                                                                                        women                       men              Unre- 
    Poverty status and work       Total                                                                                              lated 
          experience             persons                                                                                             indi- 
                                           Hus-             Related   Other   House-   Related   Other   House-   Related   Other   viduals
                                           bands    Wives  children   rela-   holder  children   rela-   holder  children   rela-          
                                                           under 18   tives           under 18   tives           under 18   tives          
                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                           
             TOTAL                                                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                           
      All persons(1)...........  211,180   54,973   55,563    5,424   17,106   12,507    1,685    9,502    4,213      482    4,072   45,652
  With labor force activity....  150,002   44,016   36,783    2,425   12,329    9,281      721    6,555    3,439      197    2,840   31,417
    1 to 26 weeks..............   14,376    1,492    3,640    1,362    2,666      848      415      940      208      119      311    2,376
    27 weeks or more...........  135,626   42,524   33,143    1,063    9,663    8,433      307    5,615    3,231       78    2,528   29,041
  With no labor force activity.   61,179   10,957   18,780    2,999    4,777    3,226      963    2,947      775      285    1,232   14,236
                                                                                                                                           
  At or above poverty level                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                           
      All persons(1)...........  190,610   52,349   52,927    5,064   16,464    9,413    1,208    8,288    3,731      422    3,792   36,952
  With labor force activity....  141,132   42,523   35,914    2,349   12,082    7,391      594    6,039    3,152      181    2,720   28,187
    1 to 26 weeks..............   11,858    1,271    3,367    1,308    2,585      366      340      769      130      110      267    1,345
    27 weeks or more...........  129,275   41,251   32,547    1,040    9,497    7,025      254    5,270    3,022       71    2,454   26,842
  With no labor force activity.   49,477    9,826   17,013    2,715    4,382    2,022      613    2,249      579      241    1,071    8,765
                                                                                                                                           
      Below poverty level                                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                           
      All persons(1)...........   20,571    2,623    2,636      360      642    3,095      477    1,214      483       60      280    8,700
  With labor force activity....    8,869    1,493      869       76      247    1,890      127      516      287       16      119    3,229
    1 to 26 weeks..............    2,518      220      273       53       81      483       74      172       78        9       45    1,031
    27 weeks or more...........    6,351    1,273      596       23      166    1,408       53      345      209        7       75    2,198
  With no labor force activity.   11,701    1,131    1,767      284      395    1,204      350      697      196       44      161    5,471
                                                                                                                                           
            Rate(2)                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                           
       All persons(1)...........     9.7      4.8      4.7      6.6      3.8     24.7     28.3     12.8     11.5     12.4      6.9     19.1 
   With labor force activity....     5.9      3.4      2.4      3.1      2.0     20.4     17.6      7.9      8.3      7.9      4.2     10.3 
     1 to 26 weeks..............    17.5     14.8      7.5      3.9      3.0     56.9     17.9     18.2     37.3      7.2     14.4     43.4 
     27 weeks or more...........     4.7      3.0      1.8      2.2      1.7     16.7     17.1      6.1      6.5      9.0      3.0      7.6 
   With no labor force activity.    19.1     10.3      9.4      9.5      8.3     37.3     36.3     23.7     25.3     15.6     13.1     38.4 
  1 Data on families include persons in primary families and unrelated subfamilies.
  2 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total.
  NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  
                                                                                
     Table 6.  Primary families: Poverty status, presence of related children, and work experience of family members in the
     labor force for 27 weeks or more, 2000
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                           Characteristic                                        At or above   Below poverty     Rate(1)   
                                                                Total families  poverty level      level                   
                                                                                                                           
             Total primary families............................      60,870         57,453          3,417           5.6    
                                                                                                                           
     With related children under 18............................      34,734         31,772          2,962           8.5    
     Without children..........................................      26,136         25,681            455           1.7    
                                                                                                                           
     With one member in the labor force........................      24,836         22,014          2,822          11.4    
     With two or more members in the labor force...............      36,034         35,439            595           1.7    
       With two members........................................      30,013         29,483            531           1.8    
       With three or more members..............................       6,021          5,956             64           1.1    
                                                                                                                           
     Married-couple families:                                                                                              
                                                                                                                           
       With related children under 18..........................      25,793         24,530          1,264           4.9    
       Without children........................................      21,169         20,869            300           1.4    
                                                                                                                           
       With one member in the labor force......................      15,201         14,066          1,134           7.5    
         Husband...............................................      11,456         10,593            863           7.5    
         Wife..................................................       3,116          2,886            230           7.4    
         Relative..............................................         628            587             42           6.7    
       With two or more members in the labor force.............      31,761         31,332            429           1.4    
         With two members......................................      26,662         26,275            386           1.4    
         With three or more members............................       5,099          5,057             43            .8    
                                                                                                                           
     Families maintained by women:                                                                                         
                                                                                                                           
       With related children under 18..........................       6,910          5,417          1,493          21.6    
       Without children........................................       3,257          3,146            111           3.4    
                                                                                                                           
       With one member in the labor force......................       7,332          5,867          1,465          20.0    
         Householder...........................................       5,924          4,635          1,290          21.8    
         Relative..............................................       1,408          1,233            175          12.5    
       With two or more members in the labor force.............       2,835          2,696            139           4.9    
                                                                                                                           
     Families maintained by men:                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
       With related children under 18..........................       2,030          1,826            205          10.1    
       Without children........................................       1,711          1,666             45           2.6    
                                                                                                                           
       With one member in the labor force......................       2,303          2,081            223           9.7    
         Householder...........................................       1,931          1,745            186           9.6    
         Relative..............................................         372            336             36           9.8    
       With two or more members in the labor force.............       1,438          1,411             27           1.9    
       1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
       NOTE: Data relate to primary families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
                                                                               
     Table 7.  Unrelated individuals in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex,
     race, Hispanic origin, and living arrangement, 2000
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                         
                  Characteristic                   Total       At or above   Below poverty     Rate(1)   
                                                              poverty level      level                   
                                                                                                         
                                                                                                         
                   Age and sex                                                                           
                                                                                                         
            Total unrelated individuals......      29,041         26,842          2,198           7.6    
     16 to 19 years..........................         574            372            203          35.3    
     20 to 24 years..........................       4,167          3,526            641          15.4    
     25 to 64 years..........................      23,155         21,842          1,313           5.7    
     65 years and older......................       1,145          1,103             42           3.6    
                                                                                                         
     Men.....................................      15,941         14,876          1,065           6.7    
     Women...................................      13,100         11,967          1,133           8.6    
                                                                                                         
             Race and Hispanic origin                                                                    
                                                                                                         
     White...................................      23,883         22,161          1,722           7.2    
        Men..................................      13,108         12,297            811           6.2    
        Women................................      10,775          9,864            911           8.5    
                                                                                                         
     Black...................................       3,921          3,581            340           8.7    
        Men..................................       2,094          1,911            183           8.7    
        Women................................       1,827          1,670            157           8.6    
                                                                                                         
     Hispanic origin.........................       2,495          2,189            306          12.3    
        Men..................................       1,607          1,438            170          10.6    
        Women................................         888            752            136          15.3    
                                                                                                         
                Living arrangement                                                                       
                                                                                                         
     Living alone............................      15,176         14,452            724           4.8    
     Living with others......................      13,865         12,391          1,474          10.6    
       1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or
     more.
       NOTE: Detail for race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the
     "other races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black
     population groups.  
                                                                               
     Table 8.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status and labor market problems of full-time
     wage and salary workers, 2000
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                                                       
                                                                                  At or above     Below                
                Poverty status and labor market problems                Total       poverty      poverty      Rate(1)  
                                                                                     level        level                
                                                                                                                       
          Total, full-time wage and salary workers.................    107,055      103,693        3,362         3.1   
                                                                                                                       
     No unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, or low                                                         
        earnings(2)................................................     89,085       88,571          514          .6   
                                                                                                                       
     Unemployment only.............................................      5,001        4,698          304         6.1   
     Involuntary part-time employment only.........................      2,020        1,984           36         1.8   
     Low earnings only.............................................      7,830        6,191        1,639        20.9   
                                                                                                                       
     Unemployment and involuntary part-time employment.............        861          807           53         6.2   
     Unemployment and low earnings.................................      1,300          765          534        41.1   
     Involuntary part-time employment and low earnings.............        634          475          159        25.1   
                                                                                                                       
     Unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, and low                                                           
        earnings...................................................        324          202          122        37.7   
       1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
       2 The low earnings threshold in 2000 was $253.45 per week.
       NOTE: Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  
                                                                               

 

Last Modified Date: August 1, 2008