Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
CPS CPS Program Links
CES CES Program Links

A Profile of the Working Poor, 1999

U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics February 2001 Report 947

In 1999, 32.3 million people, or 11.8 percent of the population, lived at or below the official poverty level-2.2 million fewer than in 1998. While most of these people were children and adults who did not participate in the labor force, some 6.8 million were classified as the "working poor." This was 362,000 fewer than in 1998, continuing a 6-year downtrend. 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 who worked 27 weeks or more, 5.1 percent were classified among the working poor in 1999, down 0.3 percentage point from the previous year. (See tables A and 1.)

Table A.  Poverty status of persons and primary families in the labor force 
for 27 weeks or more, 1996-99
(Numbers in thousands)
    Characteristic
           1996        1997       1998        1999
Total persons 1                 128,320     130,047    131,731     133,651
  In poverty
          7,421       7,453      7,158       6,796
  Poverty rate
            5.8         5.7        5.4         5.1
Unrelated individuals
         25,539      26,158     26,971      27,845
  In poverty
          2,423       2,534      2,281       2,272
  Poverty rate
            9.5         9.7        8.5         8.2
Primary families 2
         58,087      58,815     59,621      60,454
  In poverty
          4,084       4,068      4,019       3,755
  Poverty rate
            7.0         6.9        6.7         6.2
  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.

Working full time substantially lowers a person's probability of being poor. Among persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 3.9 percent of those usually employed full time were in poverty, compared with 10.5 percent for part-time workers. Nonetheless, the majority of the working poor-64.0 percent-were full-time workers. Only a very small proportion of the working poor (3.5 percent) actively sought a job for more than 6 months in 1999 without finding any work, down from 5.1 percent in 1998.

This report presents data on the relationships between labor force activity and poverty in 1999 for individual workers and their families. The data were collected in the work experience and income supplement to the March 2000 Current Population Survey (CPS). 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 earnings thresholds used to determine poverty status are defined in terms of family income, rather than personal income. Thus, for persons living in family situations, earnings from their employment are only one factor in their poverty status. Other important factors include the earnings of others in the family, other sources of income that family members might have, and the size of the family. For persons living alone or with unrelated individuals, personal income data are used in determining poverty status.

Demographic characteristics

Among those who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 1999, the proportion of women classified as working poor (5.9 percent) was higher than that of men (4.4 percent). Both rates have fallen since the early 1990s; they had been as high as 7.3 percent for women and 6.2 percent for men as recently as 1993. As in earlier years, younger workers were most vulnerable to poverty, in part because earnings are lower and unemployment is higher for younger workers than for older workers. Among teenagers who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 10.1 percent were in poverty, as were 10.6 percent of those aged 20 to 24. These rates were roughly double the rate for workers aged 35 to 44 (4.7 percent), and more than triple the rate for workers 45 to 54 years of age (2.8 percent). (See table 2.)

Black and Hispanic workers continued to experience poverty at much higher rates than did whites. In 1999, 4.3 percent of whites who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were classified as working poor, compared with 10.2 percent of blacks and 10.7 percent of Hispanics. Nonetheless, the vast majority of the working poor were white (70 percent) . Among whites and Hispanics, rates for men and women were comparable; however, the rate for black women (13.6 percent) was more than twice the rate for black men (6.2 percent). One explanation for this is that a relatively large proportion of black women maintain families. Nearly 30 percent of black women maintained families in 1999, compared with only about 10 percent of white women. As noted below, women maintaining families are far more likely to be among the working poor than are married women.

Working wives were less likely than working husbands to be poor, primarily because working wives were more likely to be in families with a second earner, usually a husband. (See "Family structure" below.) In 1999, 1.8 percent of married women who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were in poverty, compared with 3.2 percent of married men. In contrast, 19.2 percent of women who maintained families and who were in the labor force for at least 6 months were in poverty. (See table 5.)

Educational attainment

The risk of being among the working poor declines substantially for workers who complete high school. In 1999, 6.0 percent of workers with a high school diploma were in poverty, considerably lower than the proportion of those who had not completed high school (14.3 percent). Moreover, rates for workers with associate's and bachelor's degrees were even lower. At nearly all major educational attainment levels, women were more likely than men and blacks were more likely than whites to be among the working poor. (See table 3.)

Occupation

The likelihood of being among the working poor continued to vary widely by occupation in 1999. 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. Other occupations with relatively high proportions of workers in poverty included farming, forestry, and fishing (15.7 percent), and operators, fabricators, and laborers (6.9 percent). Rates were lowest for executives, administrators, and managers (1.7 percent) and for those employed as professional specialty workers (1.4 percent). These are occupations in which high earnings and full-time employment are typical. (See table 4.)

Family structure

Among families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 3.8 million families, or 6.2 percent, had incomes below the poverty line in 1999, down from 6.7 percent in 1998. The poverty threshold for families reflects 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. The fact that the presence and number of young children can decrease the overall labor supply of a family also contributes to the relatively high incidence of poverty among families with children. In 1999, families with at least one child under age 18 continued to be much more likely to have incomes below the poverty level than did families without children (9.3 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively).

The more workers a family has, the less likely that family is to be living below the poverty line. For example, only 1.8 percent of families with two labor force participants and 1.1 percent of families with three or more participants were among the working poor. In contrast, 12.8 percent of families with only one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were in poverty. (See tables 5 and 6.)

Unrelated individuals

Unrelated individuals are persons who live either alone or with nonrelatives. Of the 27.8 million unrelated individuals who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 1999, 2.3 million, or 8.2 percent, lived below the poverty level. This rate was down slightly from 8.5 percent in 1998. It should be noted that the poverty status of unrelated individuals, unlike that of family members, is determined by their personal incomes.

The living situations of unrelated individuals are characterized in one of two ways: some live by themselves, while some share housing with other, unrelated persons. Of those who were labor force participants for more than 6 months in 1999, persons living with unrelated individuals were twice as likely to be poor (11.3 percent) as were those living alone (5.4 percent). Unrelated individuals with low incomes often live with others in order to share expenses and pool resources. Because their poverty status is not determined by household income, the poverty measure for these unrelated individuals may overstate their actual economic hardship. 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 usually work full time-that is, 35 hours or more per 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. Among those who participated in the labor force for more than half of the year and who usually worked in full-time wage and salary jobs, 3.6 million, or 3.4 percent, were classified as working poor in 1999. The proportion has been on a downward trend since 1994. (See table 8.)

There are three primary labor market problems experienced by these full-time workers: Low earnings, periods of unemployment, and involuntary part-time employment. (See definitions of these problems in the technical note.) About 4 out of 5 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 encountered-68.2 percent faced low earnings, either alone or in conjunction with other labor market problems. Nearly 35 percent of the working poor experienced unemployment, either alone or in conjunction with other problems. Only 4.3 percent experienced all three problems-low earnings, unemployment, and involuntary part-time employment.

Some 606,000, or 16.8 percent, of these working poor did not experience any of the three primary labor market problems in 1999. Their classification as working poor 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.

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 2000 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey of about 50,000 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 Current Population Survey, its sampling variability, and more extensive definitions than those provided below, see "Poverty in the United States: 1999-Current Population Reports," series P-60, no. 210  (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2000).   This publication also is available on the U.S. Census Bureau website (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 1999, the average poverty threshold for a family of four was $17,029; for a family of nine or more persons, the threshold was $34,417; and for an unrelated individual aged 65 or older, it was $7,990. 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: 1999, 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 1999, the low earnings threshold was $245.21 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: 1999, 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 be living 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.

Thomas M. Beers, formerly an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, prepared this report.

Table 1.  Persons in the labor force: Poverty status and work experience by weeks in the labor force, 1999
(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....................................        149,042               133,651               119,376
    Did not work during the year..........................          1,503                   547                   476
    Worked during the year................................        147,539               133,104               118,901
      Usual full-time workers.............................        118,368               111,992               103,620
      Usual part-time workers.............................         29,171                21,111                15,281
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          3,717                 2,956                 2,333
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         25,454                18,155                12,947
                At or above poverty level
  Total in labor force....................................        139,376               126,855               113,989
    Did not work during the year..........................            940                   311                   273
    Worked during the year................................        138,436               126,544               113,716
      Usual full-time workers.............................        112,692               107,644               100,073
      Usual part-time workers.............................         25,744                18,900                13,643
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          2,854                 2,333                 1,830
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         22,890                16,568                11,813
                   Below poverty level
  Total in labor force....................................          9,666                 6,796                 5,387
    Did not work during the year..........................            563                   236                   202
    Worked during the year................................          9,103                 6,559                 5,185
      Usual full-time workers.............................          5,676                 4,348                 3,547
      Usual part-time workers.............................          3,427                 2,211                 1,638
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................            863                   624                   504
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................          2,564                 1,587                 1,134
                     Poverty rate(1)
  Total in labor force....................................           6.5                   5.1                   4.5
    Did not work during the year..........................          37.5                  43.2                  42.5
    Worked during the year................................           6.2                   4.9                   4.4
      Usual full-time workers.............................           4.8                   3.9                   3.4
      Usual part-time workers.............................          11.7                  10.5                  10.7
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          23.2                  21.1                  21.6
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................          10.1                   8.7                   8.8
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force.
  NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the
Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in
January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current
Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
Table 2.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                      Below poverty level             Poverty 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... 133,651 111,714 15,698   13,971  6,796  4,830  1,596    1,496    5.1    4.3   10.2    10.7
16 to 19 years..................   5,207   4,405    596      622    527    365    127       93   10.1    8.3   21.4    15.0
20 to 24 years..................  12,412  10,240  1,675    1,866  1,312    894    367      253   10.6    8.7   21.9    13.6
25 to 34 years..................  30,695  24,839  4,096    4,178  1,835  1,290    433      486    6.0    5.2   10.6    11.6
35 to 44 years..................  36,945  30,612  4,564    3,917  1,726  1,246    387      417    4.7    4.1    8.5    10.7
45 to 54 years..................  29,965  25,468  3,158    2,255    851    631    165      167    2.8    2.5    5.2     7.4
55 to 64 years..................  14,066  12,240  1,271      938    419    313     89       64    3.0    2.6    7.0     6.8
65 years and older..............   4,361   3,909    338      195    127     91     27       15    2.9    2.3    8.0     7.7
    Men, 16 years and older.....  71,790  61,163  7,260    8,267  3,165  2,526    447      898    4.4    4.1    6.2    10.9
16 to 19 years..................   2,700   2,312    264      383    234    183     29       60    8.7    7.9   10.9    15.6
20 to 24 years..................   6,488   5,487    741    1,152    575    438    115      156    8.9    8.0   15.5    13.5
25 to 34 years..................  16,728  13,865  1,899    2,558    852    707     93      315    5.1    5.1    4.9    12.3
35 to 44 years..................  19,949  16,877  2,153    2,254    833    674    119      243    4.2    4.0    5.5    10.8
45 to 54 years..................  15,764  13,594  1,455    1,253    402    311     52       91    2.5    2.3    3.5     7.3
55 to 64 years..................   7,595   6,704    582      546    200    159     30       28    2.6    2.4    5.2     5.1
65 years and older..............   2,566   2,325    166      122     69     53     10        6    2.7    2.3    5.8     4.9
    Women, 16 years and older...  61,861  50,551  8,438    5,704  3,631  2,303  1,149      598    5.9    4.6   13.6    10.5
16 to 19 years..................   2,507   2,093    332      239    293    181     99       34   11.7    8.7   29.7    14.1
20 to 24 years..................   5,924   4,753    934      714    737    456    252       98   12.4    9.6   27.0    13.7
25 to 34 years..................  13,967  10,975  2,197    1,620    983    582    340      172    7.0    5.3   15.5    10.6
35 to 44 years..................  16,996  13,735  2,411    1,663    893    571    269      174    5.3    4.2   11.1    10.5
45 to 54 years..................  14,201  11,874  1,703    1,002    450    320    114       76    3.2    2.7    6.7     7.6
55 to 64 years..................   6,472   5,537    689      393    219    154     58       36    3.4    2.8    8.5     9.2
65 years and older..............   1,795   1,584    172       73     57     38     17        9    3.2    2.4   10.1    (2)
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
  2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
  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.  Data for 1999, which were collected in
the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years
because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional information,
see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and
Earnings.
Table 3.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by educational attainment, race, and sex, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
    Below poverty level
    Poverty rate(1)
       Educational attainment and race
Total
 Men
Women
 Total
 Men
 Women
 Total
 Men
 Women
    Total, 16 years and older................
133,651
 71,790
 61,861
 6,796
 3,165
 3,631
 5.1
 4.4
 5.9
Less than a high school diploma..............
 15,991
  9,728
  6,263
 2,287
 1,257
 1,030
14.3
12.9
16.4
  Less than 1 year of high school............
  4,589
  2,999
  1,591
   701
   446
   255
15.3
14.9
16.1
  1-3 years of high school...................
  9,914
  5,861
  4,054
 1,412
   720
   692
14.2
12.3
17.1
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........
  1,487
    868
    619
   174
    91
    83
11.7
10.5
13.3
High school graduates, no college............
 42,601
 22,904
 19,697
 2,535
 1,042
 1,493
 6.0
 4.6
 7.6
Some college, no degree......................
 27,294
 13,840
 13,454
 1,192
   486
   706
 4.4
 3.5
 5.2
Associate degree.............................
 11,146
  5,334
  5,812
   319
   122
   196
 2.9
 2.3
 3.4
College graduates............................
 36,619
 19,984  16,635
   463
   257
   206
 1.3
 1.3
 1.2
      White, 16 years and older..............
111,714
 61,163
 50,551
 4,830
 2,526
 2,303
 4.3
 4.1
 4.6
Less than a high school diploma..............
 13,046
  8,160
  4,887
 1,650
 1,019
   632
12.6
12.5
12.9
  Less than 1 year of high school............
  3,967
  2,660
  1,307
   592
   410
   182
14.9
15.4
13.9
  1-3 years of high school...................
  7,954
  4,822
  3,132
   944
   545
   399
11.9
11.3
12.8
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........
  1,126
    678
    448
   114
    64
    50
10.1
 9.4
11.3
High school graduates, no college............
 35,536
 19,448
 16,088
 1,758
   816
   942
 4.9
 4.2
 5.9
Some college, no degree......................
 22,412
 11,605
 10,807
   844
   377
   467
 3.8
 3.2
 4.3
Associate degree.............................
  9,507
  4,646
  4,861
   213
    93
   119
 2.2
 2.0
 2.5
College graduates............................
 31,213
 17,304
 13,908
   365
   222
   143
 1.2
 1.3
 1.0
      Black, 16 years and older..............
 15,698
  7,260
  8,438
 1,596
   447
 1,149
10.2
 6.2
13.6
Less than a high school diploma..............
  2,206
  1,126
  1,080
   517
   168
   349
23.4
14.9
32.3
  Less than 1 year of high school............
    365
    213
    151
    74
    17
    57
20.2
 7.8
37.7
  1-3 years of high school...................
  1,585
    785
    800
   399
   134
   264
25.2
17.1
33.0
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........
    257
    128
    128
    44
    17
    27
17.3
13.5
21.1
High school graduates, no college............
  5,632
  2,733
  2,899
   668
   177
   491
11.9
 6.5
17.0
Some college, no degree......................
  3,790
  1,644
  2,146
   276
    71
   205
 7.3
 4.3
 9.6
Associate degree.............................
  1,172
    457
    715
    81
    14
    67
 6.9
 3.1
 9.4
College graduates............................
  2,898
  1,299
  1,598
    54
    17
    37
 1.9
 1.3
 2.3
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
  NOTE: Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not 
strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised 
population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population 
Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
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, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
    Below poverty level
    Poverty rate(1)
       Occupation and race
Total
 Men
 Women
 
 Total
 Men
 Women
 Total
 Men
 Women
    Total, 16 years and older(2)...............
133,104
 71,451
 61,652
 6,559
 3,017
 3,543
 4.9
 4.2
 5.7
Managerial and professional specialty..........
 39,908
 20,235
 19,674
   611
   289
   322
 1.5
 1.4
 1.6
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....
 19,857
 10,917
  8,940
   339
   182
   157
 1.7
 1.7
 1.8
  Professional specialty.......................
 20,051
  9,318
 10,734
   272
   107
   165
 1.4
 1.1
 1.5
Technical, sales, and administrative support...
 38,875
 13,879
 24,996
 1,610
   387
 1,222
 4.1
 2.8
 4.9
  Technicians and related support..............
  4,495
  2,076
  2,419
    79
    43
    36
 1.8
 2.1
 1.5
  Sales occupations............................
 15,969
  8,069
  7,900
   955
   249
   705
 6.0
 3.1
 8.9
  Administrative support, including clerical...
 18,411
  3,735
 14,676
   576
    95
   482
 3.1
 2.5
 3.3
Service occupations............................
 17,928
  7,335
 10,593
 1,937
   570
 1,367
10.8
 7.8
12.9
  Private household............................
    848
     46
    803
   199
     9
   190
23.4
  (3)
23.6
  Protective service...........................
  2,381
  1,964
    417
    76
    47
    29
 3.2
 2.4
 6.9
  Service, except private household and
   protective..................................
 14,699
  5,325
  9,374
 1,662
   514
 1,148
11.3
 9.6
12.3
Precision production, craft, and repair........
 14,543
 13,155
  1,388
   621
   537
    85
 4.3
 4.1
 6.1
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........
 18,418
 14,090
  4,328
 1,263
   830
   432
 6.9
 5.9
10.0
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors
  7,524
  4,811
  2,714
   483
   235
   248
 6.4
 4.9
 9.1
  Transportation and material moving
   occupations.................................
  5,638
  5,059
    579
   278
   228
    50
 4.9
 4.5
 8.6
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
   laborers....................................
  5,256
  4,221
  1,036
   502
   367
   135
 9.5
 8.7
13.0
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................
  3,294
  2,642
    652
   518
   404
   114
15.7
15.3
17.4
      White, 16 years and older(2).............
111,384
 60,949
 50,435
 4,705
 2,438
 2,267
 4.2
 4.0
 4.5
Managerial and professional specialty..........
 34,291
 17,754
 16,537
   494
   257
   236
 1.4
 1.4
 1.4
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....
 17,311
  9,805
  7,505
   283
   164
   118
 1.6
 1.7
 1.6
  Professional specialty.......................
 16,980
  7,948
  9,032
   211
    93
   118
 1.2
 1.2
 1.3
Technical, sales, and administrative support...
 32,774
 11,922
 20,852
 1,061
   318
   743
 3.2
 2.7
 3.6
  Technicians and related support..............
  3,738
  1,743
  1,995
    63
    43
    20
 1.7
 2.5
 1.0
  Sales occupations............................
 13,892
  7,241
  6,651
   618
   206
   412
 4.4
 2.8
 6.2
  Administrative support, including clerical...
 15,144
  2,939
 12,206
   380
    68
   311
 2.5
 2.3
 2.6
Service occupations............................
 13,613
  5,636
  7,977
 1,266
   403
   863
 9.3
 7.1
10.8
  Private household............................
    634
     29
    605
   133
     3
   130
21.0
  (3)
21.5
  Protective service...........................
  1,805
  1,544
    261
    34
    20
    14
 1.9
 1.3
 5.5
  Service, except private household and
   protective..................................
 11,173
  4,062
  7,112
 1,098
    380
   719
 9.8
 9.4
10.1
Precision production, craft, and repair........
 12,845
 11,689
  1,157
   522
    460
    62
 4.1
 3.9
 5.4
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........
 14,654
 11,381
  3,274
   888
    634
   254
 6.1
 5.6
 7.8
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors
  5,971
  3,919
  2,052
   325
    174
   151
 5.4
 4.4
 7.4
  Transportation and material moving
   occupations.................................
  4,551
  4,108
    443
   209
    180
    29
 4.6
 4.4
 6.5
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
   laborers....................................
  4,132
  3,353
    779
   354
    280
    74
 8.6
 8.3
 9.5
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................
  3,098
  2,475
    623
   473
    365
   108
15.3
14.8
17.3
      Black, 16 years and older(2).............
 15,528
  7,165
  8,363
 1,502
    402
 1,100
 9.7
 5.6
13.1
Managerial and professional specialty..........
  3,352
  1,270
  2,082
    76
     17
    59
 2.3
 1.4
 2.8
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....
  1,547
    620
    927
    35
      7
    28
 2.3
 1.1
 3.1
  Professional specialty.......................
  1,805
    650
  1,155
    40
     10
    30
 2.2
 1.6
 2.6
Technical, sales, and administrative support...
  4,401
  1,219
  3,182
   457
     39
   419
10.4
 3.2
13.2
  Technicians and related support..............
    495
    181
    314
    12
      0
    12
 2.3
 0.0
 3.7
  Sales occupations............................
  1,374
    484
    889
   282
     19
   263
20.5
 4.0
29.5
  Administrative support, including clerical...
  2,532
    553
  1,979
   164
     20
   145
 6.5
 3.5
 7.3
Service occupations............................
  3,415
  1,280
  2,135
   577
    126
   451
16.9
 9.8
21.1
  Private household............................
    156
      8
    147
    58
      6
    52
37.2
  (3)
35.2
  Protective service...........................
    508
    360
    148
    38
     24
    14
 7.4
 6.5
 9.5
  Service, except private household and
   protective..................................
  2,751
    912
  1,839
   481
     96
   385
17.5
10.6
20.9
Precision production, craft, and repair........
  1,273
  1,116
    157
    65
     46
    19
 5.1
 4.1
11.9
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........
  2,930
  2,144
    785
   292
    144
   147
10.0
 6.7
18.8
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors
  1,113
    648
    465
   126
     48
    79
11.3
 7.3
16.9
  Transportation and material moving
   occupations.................................
    925
    802
    122
    54
     33
    21
 5.9
 4.1
17.3
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
   laborers....................................
    892
    694
    198
   111
     64
    48
12.5
 9.2
24.0
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................
    132
    117
     15
    35
     30
     5
26.9
25.6
  (3)
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force 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 75,000.
  NOTE:  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not 
strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised 
population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population 
Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
Table 5.  Persons in families and unrelated individuals: Poverty status and work experience, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
  In married-couple families
 In families maintained  In families maintained
by women
by men
       Unre-
  Poverty status and work
Total
       lated
    experience
persons
       indi-
 Hus-
Related  Other   House- Related  Other  House- Related  Other  vi-
 bands
 Wives  children rela-   holder children rela-  holder children rela-  duals
under 18 tives          under 18 tives         under 18 tives
             TOTAL
      All persons(1)........... 209,067  54,714  55,247  5,475   17,180  12,669  1,760   9,763  4,003   429     3,832  43,996
  With labor force activity.... 149,042  43,850  36,715  2,576   12,719   9,370    767   6,712  3,224   168     2,740  30,200
    1 to 26 weeks..............  15,391   1,574   3,774  1,560    3,001     941    498   1,104    194    82       308   2,355
    27 weeks or more........... 133,651  42,276  32,941  1,016    9,718   8,429    269   5,607  3,030    87     2,432  27,845
  With no labor force activity.  60,025  10,864  18,532  2,900    4,461   3,298    993   3,051    779   261     1,091  13,796
   At or above poverty level
      All persons(1)........... 187,707  52,059  52,575  5,063   16,402   9,144  1,218   8,289  3,531   371     3,548  35,508
  With labor force activity.... 139,376  42,304  35,842  2,488   12,414   7,153    608   6,087  2,944   152     2,614  26,770
    1 to 26 weeks..............  12,521   1,396   3,493  1,513    2,896     342    380     856    124    73       252   1,197
    27 weeks or more........... 126,855  40,909  32,349    975    9,519   6,811    228   5,231  2,820    79     2,362  25,573
  With no labor force activity.  48,331   9,754  16,733  2,575    3,987   1,991    610   2,202    588   219       934   8,738
      Below poverty level
      All persons(1)...........  21,360   2,655   2,672    413      778   3,525    542   1,474    472    58       284   8,488
  With labor force activity....   9,666   1,546     873     88      305   2,218    159     625    280    16       126   3,430
    1 to 26 weeks..............   2,871     179     282     47      105     599    118     248     70     9        56   1,159
    27 weeks or more...........   6,796   1,367     592     41      200   1,618     41     377    211     7        69   2,272
  With no labor force activity.  11,694   1,110   1,798    325      474   1,307    383     849    191    42       158   5,058
        Poverty rate(2)
      All persons(1)...........    10.2     4.9     4.8    7.5      4.5    27.8   30.8    15.1   11.8  13.5       7.4    19.3
  With labor force activity....     6.5     3.5     2.4    3.4      2.4    23.7   20.7     9.3    8.7   9.5       4.6    11.4
    1 to 26 weeks..............    18.7    11.3     7.5    3.0      3.5    63.7   23.7    22.5   35.9  10.6      18.3    49.2
    27 weeks or more...........     5.1     3.2     1.8    4.1      2.1    19.2   15.3     6.7    7.0   8.4       2.9     8.2
  With no labor force activity.    19.5    10.2     9.7   11.2     10.6    39.6   38.6    27.8   24.6  16.1      14.5    36.7
  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.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the
Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in 
January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current
Population Survey Effective January in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
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, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                      Characteristic                                        At or above   Below poverty     Poverty
                                                           Total families  poverty level      level         rate(1)
        Total primary families............................      60,454         56,699          3,755           6.2
With related children under 18............................      34,542         31,337          3,205           9.3
Without children..........................................      25,912         25,362            550           2.1
With one member in the labor force........................      24,649         21,506          3,143          12.8
With two or more members in the labor force...............      35,805         35,193            612           1.7
  With two members........................................      29,970         29,421            550           1.8
  With three or more members..............................       5,835          5,772             62           1.1
Married-couple families:
  With related children under 18..........................      25,658         24,314          1,343           5.2
  Without children........................................      21,158         20,845            313           1.5
  With one member in the labor force......................      15,285         14,083          1,202           7.9
    Husband...............................................      11,413         10,476            937           8.2
    Wife..................................................       3,175          2,967            207           6.5
    Relative..............................................         698            639             58           8.4
  With two or more members in the labor force.............      31,530         31,076            454           1.4
    With two members......................................      26,518         26,112            406           1.5
    With three or more members............................       5,012          4,964             48           1.0
Families maintained by women:
  With related children under 18..........................       6,920          5,269          1,651          23.9
  Without children........................................       3,154          2,973            181           5.7
  With one member in the labor force......................       7,189          5,498          1,691          23.5
    Householder...........................................       5,870          4,380          1,490          25.4
    Relative..............................................       1,319          1,118            201          15.2
  With two or more members in the labor force.............       2,885          2,744            141           4.9
Families maintained by men:
  With related children under 18..........................       1,965          1,754            211          10.7
  Without children........................................       1,600          1,543             56           3.5
  With one member in the labor force......................       2,175          1,925            250          11.5
    Householder...........................................       1,795          1,602            193          10.8
    Relative..............................................         380            323             57          14.9
  With two or more members in the labor force.............       1,390          1,372             18           1.3
  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.  Data for
1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable
with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used
in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000 in
the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
Table 7.  Unrelated individuals in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex,
race, Hispanic origin, and living arrangement, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
             Characteristic                   Total       At or above   Below poverty     Poverty
                                                         poverty level      level         rate(1)
              Age and sex
       Total unrelated individuals......      27,845         25,573          2,272           8.2
16 to 19 years..........................         621            400            221          35.6
20 to 24 years..........................       3,608          2,986            622          17.2
25 to 64 years..........................      22,435         21,069          1,367           6.1
65 years and older......................       1,180          1,118             62           5.3
Men.....................................      15,362         14,214          1,148           7.5
Women...................................      12,483         11,360          1,124           9.0
        Race and Hispanic origin
White...................................      23,069         21,258          1,811           7.8
   Men..................................      12,777         11,823            955           7.5
   Women................................      10,291          9,435            856           8.3
Black...................................       3,642          3,262            381          10.5
   Men..................................       1,930          1,775            155           8.0
   Women................................       1,713          1,487            226          13.2
Hispanic origin.........................       2,283          1,998            286          12.5
   Men..................................       1,521          1,349            172          11.3
   Women................................         762            649            113          14.9
           Living arrangement
Living alone............................      14,765         13,969            796           5.4
Living with others......................      13,080         11,604          1,476          11.3
  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.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current
Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the
introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional
information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February
2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
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, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                             At or above     Below       Poverty
           Poverty status and labor market problems                Total       poverty      poverty      rate(1)
                                                                                level        level
     Total, full-time wage and salary workers.................    104,968      101,369        3,599         3.4
No unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, or low
   earnings(2)................................................     86,868       86,262          606          .7
Unemployment only.............................................      5,320        4,907          413         7.8
Involuntary part-time employment only.........................      2,025        1,983           42         2.1
Low earnings only.............................................      7,444        5,939        1,505        20.2
Unemployment and involuntary part-time employment.............        883          800           83         9.4
Unemployment and low earnings.................................      1,426          820          606        42.5
Involuntary part-time employment and low earnings.............        623          435          189        30.3
Unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, and low
   earnings...................................................        377          222          155        41.1
  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 1999 was $245.21 per week.
  NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000
supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years
because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional
information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of
Employment and Earnings.

 

Last Modified Date: August 1, 2008

Department of Labor Logo United States Department of Labor
Dot gov

The .gov means it's official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you're on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Economic News Release
PRINT:Print
CPS CPS Program Links
CES CES Program Links

A Profile of the Working Poor, 1999

U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics February 2001 Report 947

In 1999, 32.3 million people, or 11.8 percent of the population, lived at or below the official poverty level-2.2 million fewer than in 1998. While most of these people were children and adults who did not participate in the labor force, some 6.8 million were classified as the "working poor." This was 362,000 fewer than in 1998, continuing a 6-year downtrend. 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 who worked 27 weeks or more, 5.1 percent were classified among the working poor in 1999, down 0.3 percentage point from the previous year. (See tables A and 1.)

Table A.  Poverty status of persons and primary families in the labor force 
for 27 weeks or more, 1996-99
(Numbers in thousands)
    Characteristic             1996        1997       1998        1999
Total persons 1                 128,320     130,047    131,731     133,651
  In poverty                  7,421       7,453      7,158       6,796
  Poverty rate                  5.8         5.7        5.4         5.1
Unrelated individuals            25,539      26,158     26,971      27,845
  In poverty                  2,423       2,534      2,281       2,272
  Poverty rate                  9.5         9.7        8.5         8.2
Primary families 2           58,087      58,815     59,621      60,454
  In poverty                  4,084       4,068      4,019       3,755
  Poverty rate                  7.0         6.9        6.7         6.2
  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.

Working full time substantially lowers a person's probability of being poor. Among persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 3.9 percent of those usually employed full time were in poverty, compared with 10.5 percent for part-time workers. Nonetheless, the majority of the working poor-64.0 percent-were full-time workers. Only a very small proportion of the working poor (3.5 percent) actively sought a job for more than 6 months in 1999 without finding any work, down from 5.1 percent in 1998.

This report presents data on the relationships between labor force activity and poverty in 1999 for individual workers and their families. The data were collected in the work experience and income supplement to the March 2000 Current Population Survey (CPS). 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 earnings thresholds used to determine poverty status are defined in terms of family income, rather than personal income. Thus, for persons living in family situations, earnings from their employment are only one factor in their poverty status. Other important factors include the earnings of others in the family, other sources of income that family members might have, and the size of the family. For persons living alone or with unrelated individuals, personal income data are used in determining poverty status.

Demographic characteristics

Among those who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 1999, the proportion of women classified as working poor (5.9 percent) was higher than that of men (4.4 percent). Both rates have fallen since the early 1990s; they had been as high as 7.3 percent for women and 6.2 percent for men as recently as 1993. As in earlier years, younger workers were most vulnerable to poverty, in part because earnings are lower and unemployment is higher for younger workers than for older workers. Among teenagers who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 10.1 percent were in poverty, as were 10.6 percent of those aged 20 to 24. These rates were roughly double the rate for workers aged 35 to 44 (4.7 percent), and more than triple the rate for workers 45 to 54 years of age (2.8 percent). (See table 2.)

Black and Hispanic workers continued to experience poverty at much higher rates than did whites. In 1999, 4.3 percent of whites who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were classified as working poor, compared with 10.2 percent of blacks and 10.7 percent of Hispanics. Nonetheless, the vast majority of the working poor were white (70 percent) . Among whites and Hispanics, rates for men and women were comparable; however, the rate for black women (13.6 percent) was more than twice the rate for black men (6.2 percent). One explanation for this is that a relatively large proportion of black women maintain families. Nearly 30 percent of black women maintained families in 1999, compared with only about 10 percent of white women. As noted below, women maintaining families are far more likely to be among the working poor than are married women.

Working wives were less likely than working husbands to be poor, primarily because working wives were more likely to be in families with a second earner, usually a husband. (See "Family structure" below.) In 1999, 1.8 percent of married women who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were in poverty, compared with 3.2 percent of married men. In contrast, 19.2 percent of women who maintained families and who were in the labor force for at least 6 months were in poverty. (See table 5.)

Educational attainment

The risk of being among the working poor declines substantially for workers who complete high school. In 1999, 6.0 percent of workers with a high school diploma were in poverty, considerably lower than the proportion of those who had not completed high school (14.3 percent). Moreover, rates for workers with associate's and bachelor's degrees were even lower. At nearly all major educational attainment levels, women were more likely than men and blacks were more likely than whites to be among the working poor. (See table 3.)

Occupation

The likelihood of being among the working poor continued to vary widely by occupation in 1999. 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. Other occupations with relatively high proportions of workers in poverty included farming, forestry, and fishing (15.7 percent), and operators, fabricators, and laborers (6.9 percent). Rates were lowest for executives, administrators, and managers (1.7 percent) and for those employed as professional specialty workers (1.4 percent). These are occupations in which high earnings and full-time employment are typical. (See table 4.)

Family structure

Among families with at least one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, 3.8 million families, or 6.2 percent, had incomes below the poverty line in 1999, down from 6.7 percent in 1998. The poverty threshold for families reflects 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. The fact that the presence and number of young children can decrease the overall labor supply of a family also contributes to the relatively high incidence of poverty among families with children. In 1999, families with at least one child under age 18 continued to be much more likely to have incomes below the poverty level than did families without children (9.3 percent and 2.1 percent, respectively).

The more workers a family has, the less likely that family is to be living below the poverty line. For example, only 1.8 percent of families with two labor force participants and 1.1 percent of families with three or more participants were among the working poor. In contrast, 12.8 percent of families with only one member in the labor force for 27 weeks or more were in poverty. (See tables 5 and 6.)

Unrelated individuals

Unrelated individuals are persons who live either alone or with nonrelatives. Of the 27.8 million unrelated individuals who were in the labor force for 27 weeks or more in 1999, 2.3 million, or 8.2 percent, lived below the poverty level. This rate was down slightly from 8.5 percent in 1998. It should be noted that the poverty status of unrelated individuals, unlike that of family members, is determined by their personal incomes.

The living situations of unrelated individuals are characterized in one of two ways: some live by themselves, while some share housing with other, unrelated persons. Of those who were labor force participants for more than 6 months in 1999, persons living with unrelated individuals were twice as likely to be poor (11.3 percent) as were those living alone (5.4 percent). Unrelated individuals with low incomes often live with others in order to share expenses and pool resources. Because their poverty status is not determined by household income, the poverty measure for these unrelated individuals may overstate their actual economic hardship. 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 usually work full time-that is, 35 hours or more per 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. Among those who participated in the labor force for more than half of the year and who usually worked in full-time wage and salary jobs, 3.6 million, or 3.4 percent, were classified as working poor in 1999. The proportion has been on a downward trend since 1994. (See table 8.)

There are three primary labor market problems experienced by these full-time workers: Low earnings, periods of unemployment, and involuntary part-time employment. (See definitions of these problems in the technical note.) About 4 out of 5 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 encountered-68.2 percent faced low earnings, either alone or in conjunction with other labor market problems. Nearly 35 percent of the working poor experienced unemployment, either alone or in conjunction with other problems. Only 4.3 percent experienced all three problems-low earnings, unemployment, and involuntary part-time employment.

Some 606,000, or 16.8 percent, of these working poor did not experience any of the three primary labor market problems in 1999. Their classification as working poor 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.

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 2000 Current Population Survey (CPS). The CPS is a monthly survey of about 50,000 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 Current Population Survey, its sampling variability, and more extensive definitions than those provided below, see "Poverty in the United States: 1999-Current Population Reports," series P-60, no. 210  (U.S. Census Bureau, September 2000).   This publication also is available on the U.S. Census Bureau website (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 1999, the average poverty threshold for a family of four was $17,029; for a family of nine or more persons, the threshold was $34,417; and for an unrelated individual aged 65 or older, it was $7,990. 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: 1999, 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 1999, the low earnings threshold was $245.21 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: 1999, 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 be living 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.

Thomas M. Beers, formerly an economist in the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics, prepared this report.

Table 1.  Persons in the labor force: Poverty status and work experience by weeks in the labor force, 1999
(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....................................        149,042               133,651               119,376
    Did not work during the year..........................          1,503                   547                   476
    Worked during the year................................        147,539               133,104               118,901
      Usual full-time workers.............................        118,368               111,992               103,620
      Usual part-time workers.............................         29,171                21,111                15,281
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          3,717                 2,956                 2,333
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         25,454                18,155                12,947
                At or above poverty level
  Total in labor force....................................        139,376               126,855               113,989
    Did not work during the year..........................            940                   311                   273
    Worked during the year................................        138,436               126,544               113,716
      Usual full-time workers.............................        112,692               107,644               100,073
      Usual part-time workers.............................         25,744                18,900                13,643
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          2,854                 2,333                 1,830
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................         22,890                16,568                11,813
                   Below poverty level
  Total in labor force....................................          9,666                 6,796                 5,387
    Did not work during the year..........................            563                   236                   202
    Worked during the year................................          9,103                 6,559                 5,185
      Usual full-time workers.............................          5,676                 4,348                 3,547
      Usual part-time workers.............................          3,427                 2,211                 1,638
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................            863                   624                   504
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................          2,564                 1,587                 1,134
                     Poverty rate(1)
  Total in labor force....................................           6.5                   5.1                   4.5
    Did not work during the year..........................          37.5                  43.2                  42.5
    Worked during the year................................           6.2                   4.9                   4.4
      Usual full-time workers.............................           4.8                   3.9                   3.4
      Usual part-time workers.............................          11.7                  10.5                  10.7
        Involuntary part-time workers.....................          23.2                  21.1                  21.6
        Voluntary part-time workers.......................          10.1                   8.7                   8.8
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force.
  NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the
Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in
January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current
Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
Table 2.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                      Below poverty level             Poverty 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... 133,651 111,714 15,698   13,971  6,796  4,830  1,596    1,496    5.1    4.3   10.2    10.7
16 to 19 years..................   5,207   4,405    596      622    527    365    127       93   10.1    8.3   21.4    15.0
20 to 24 years..................  12,412  10,240  1,675    1,866  1,312    894    367      253   10.6    8.7   21.9    13.6
25 to 34 years..................  30,695  24,839  4,096    4,178  1,835  1,290    433      486    6.0    5.2   10.6    11.6
35 to 44 years..................  36,945  30,612  4,564    3,917  1,726  1,246    387      417    4.7    4.1    8.5    10.7
45 to 54 years..................  29,965  25,468  3,158    2,255    851    631    165      167    2.8    2.5    5.2     7.4
55 to 64 years..................  14,066  12,240  1,271      938    419    313     89       64    3.0    2.6    7.0     6.8
65 years and older..............   4,361   3,909    338      195    127     91     27       15    2.9    2.3    8.0     7.7
    Men, 16 years and older.....  71,790  61,163  7,260    8,267  3,165  2,526    447      898    4.4    4.1    6.2    10.9
16 to 19 years..................   2,700   2,312    264      383    234    183     29       60    8.7    7.9   10.9    15.6
20 to 24 years..................   6,488   5,487    741    1,152    575    438    115      156    8.9    8.0   15.5    13.5
25 to 34 years..................  16,728  13,865  1,899    2,558    852    707     93      315    5.1    5.1    4.9    12.3
35 to 44 years..................  19,949  16,877  2,153    2,254    833    674    119      243    4.2    4.0    5.5    10.8
45 to 54 years..................  15,764  13,594  1,455    1,253    402    311     52       91    2.5    2.3    3.5     7.3
55 to 64 years..................   7,595   6,704    582      546    200    159     30       28    2.6    2.4    5.2     5.1
65 years and older..............   2,566   2,325    166      122     69     53     10        6    2.7    2.3    5.8     4.9
    Women, 16 years and older...  61,861  50,551  8,438    5,704  3,631  2,303  1,149      598    5.9    4.6   13.6    10.5
16 to 19 years..................   2,507   2,093    332      239    293    181     99       34   11.7    8.7   29.7    14.1
20 to 24 years..................   5,924   4,753    934      714    737    456    252       98   12.4    9.6   27.0    13.7
25 to 34 years..................  13,967  10,975  2,197    1,620    983    582    340      172    7.0    5.3   15.5    10.6
35 to 44 years..................  16,996  13,735  2,411    1,663    893    571    269      174    5.3    4.2   11.1    10.5
45 to 54 years..................  14,201  11,874  1,703    1,002    450    320    114       76    3.2    2.7    6.7     7.6
55 to 64 years..................   6,472   5,537    689      393    219    154     58       36    3.4    2.8    8.5     9.2
65 years and older..............   1,795   1,584    172       73     57     38     17        9    3.2    2.4   10.1    (2)
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
  2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.
  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.  Data for 1999, which were collected in
the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years
because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional information,
see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and
Earnings.
Table 3.  Persons in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by educational attainment, race, and sex, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                                        Below poverty level     Poverty rate(1)
       Educational attainment and race      Total    Men    Women
                                     Total   Men     Women   Total   Men     Women
    Total, 16 years and older................   133,651  71,790  61,861  6,796   3,165   3,631   5.1     4.4     5.9
Less than a high school diploma..............    15,991   9,728   6,263  2,287   1,257   1,030  14.3    12.9    16.4
  Less than 1 year of high school............     4,589   2,999   1,591    701     446     255  15.3    14.9    16.1
  1-3 years of high school...................     9,914   5,861   4,054  1,412     720     692  14.2    12.3    17.1
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........     1,487     868     619    174      91      83  11.7    10.5    13.3
High school graduates, no college............    42,601  22,904  19,697  2,535   1,042   1,493   6.0     4.6     7.6
Some college, no degree......................    27,294  13,840  13,454  1,192     486     706   4.4     3.5     5.2
Associate degree.............................    11,146   5,334   5,812    319     122     196   2.9     2.3     3.4
College graduates............................    36,619  19,984  16,635    463     257     206   1.3     1.3     1.2
      White, 16 years and older..............   111,714  61,163  50,551  4,830   2,526   2,303   4.3     4.1     4.6
Less than a high school diploma..............    13,046   8,160   4,887  1,650   1,019     632  12.6    12.5    12.9
  Less than 1 year of high school............     3,967   2,660   1,307    592     410     182  14.9    15.4    13.9
  1-3 years of high school...................     7,954   4,822   3,132    944     545     399  11.9    11.3    12.8
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........     1,126     678     448    114      64      50  10.1     9.4    11.3
High school graduates, no college............    35,536  19,448  16,088  1,758     816     942   4.9     4.2     5.9
Some college, no degree......................    22,412  11,605  10,807    844     377     467   3.8     3.2     4.3
Associate degree.............................     9,507   4,646   4,861    213      93     119   2.2     2.0     2.5
College graduates............................    31,213  17,304  13,908    365     222     143   1.2     1.3     1.0
      Black, 16 years and older..............    15,698   7,260   8,438  1,596     447   1,149  10.2     6.2    13.6
Less than a high school diploma..............     2,206   1,126   1,080    517     168     349  23.4    14.9    32.3
  Less than 1 year of high school............       365     213     151     74      17      57  20.2     7.8    37.7
  1-3 years of high school...................     1,585     785     800    399     134     264  25.2    17.1    33.0
  4 years of high school, no diploma.........       257     128     128     44      17      27  17.3    13.5    21.1
High school graduates, no college............     5,632   2,733   2,899    668     177     491  11.9     6.5    17.0
Some college, no degree......................     3,790   1,644   2,146    276      71     205   7.3     4.3     9.6
Associate degree.............................     1,172     457     715     81      14      67   6.9     3.1     9.4
College graduates............................     2,898   1,299   1,598     54      17      37   1.9     1.3     2.3
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force for 27 weeks or more.
  NOTE: Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not 
strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised 
population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population 
Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
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, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                                        Below poverty level     Poverty rate(1)
       Occupation and race      Total    Men     Women
 
                                     Total   Men     Women   Total   Men     Women
    Total, 16 years and older(2)............... 133,104  71,451  61,652  6,559   3,017   3,543   4.9     4.2     5.7
Managerial and professional specialty..........  39,908  20,235  19,674    611     289     322   1.5     1.4     1.6
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....  19,857  10,917   8,940    339     182     157   1.7     1.7     1.8
  Professional specialty.......................  20,051   9,318  10,734    272     107     165   1.4     1.1     1.5
Technical, sales, and administrative support...  38,875  13,879  24,996  1,610     387   1,222   4.1     2.8     4.9
  Technicians and related support..............   4,495   2,076   2,419     79      43      36   1.8     2.1     1.5
  Sales occupations............................  15,969   8,069   7,900    955     249     705   6.0     3.1     8.9
  Administrative support, including clerical...  18,411   3,735  14,676    576      95     482   3.1     2.5     3.3
Service occupations............................  17,928   7,335  10,593  1,937     570   1,367  10.8     7.8    12.9
  Private household............................     848      46     803    199       9     190  23.4      (3)   23.6
  Protective service...........................   2,381   1,964     417     76      47      29   3.2     2.4     6.9
  Service, except private household and
   protective..................................  14,699   5,325   9,374  1,662     514   1,148  11.3     9.6    12.3
Precision production, craft, and repair........  14,543  13,155   1,388    621     537      85   4.3     4.1     6.1
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........  18,418  14,090   4,328  1,263     830     432   6.9     5.9    10.0
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors   7,524   4,811   2,714    483     235     248   6.4     4.9     9.1
  Transportation and material moving
   occupations.................................   5,638   5,059     579    278     228      50   4.9     4.5     8.6
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
   laborers....................................   5,256   4,221   1,036    502     367     135   9.5     8.7    13.0
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................   3,294   2,642     652    518     404     114  15.7    15.3    17.4
      White, 16 years and older(2)............. 111,384  60,949  50,435  4,705   2,438   2,267   4.2     4.0     4.5
Managerial and professional specialty..........  34,291  17,754  16,537    494     257     236   1.4     1.4     1.4
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....  17,311   9,805   7,505    283     164     118   1.6     1.7     1.6
  Professional specialty.......................  16,980   7,948   9,032    211      93     118   1.2     1.2     1.3
Technical, sales, and administrative support...  32,774  11,922  20,852  1,061     318     743   3.2     2.7     3.6
  Technicians and related support..............   3,738   1,743   1,995     63      43      20   1.7     2.5     1.0
  Sales occupations............................  13,892   7,241   6,651    618     206     412   4.4     2.8     6.2
  Administrative support, including clerical...  15,144   2,939  12,206    380      68     311   2.5     2.3     2.6
Service occupations............................  13,613   5,636   7,977  1,266     403     863   9.3     7.1    10.8
  Private household............................     634      29     605    133       3     130  21.0      (3)   21.5
  Protective service...........................   1,805   1,544     261     34      20      14   1.9     1.3     5.5
  Service, except private household and
   protective..................................  11,173   4,062   7,112  1,098      380    719   9.8     9.4    10.1
Precision production, craft, and repair........  12,845  11,689   1,157    522      460     62   4.1     3.9     5.4
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........  14,654  11,381   3,274    888      634    254   6.1     5.6     7.8
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors   5,971   3,919   2,052    325      174    151   5.4     4.4     7.4
  Transportation and material moving
   occupations.................................   4,551   4,108     443    209      180     29   4.6     4.4     6.5
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
   laborers....................................   4,132   3,353     779    354      280     74   8.6     8.3     9.5
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................   3,098   2,475     623    473      365    108  15.3    14.8    17.3
      Black, 16 years and older(2).............  15,528   7,165   8,363  1,502      402  1,100   9.7     5.6    13.1
Managerial and professional specialty..........   3,352   1,270   2,082     76       17     59   2.3     1.4     2.8
  Executive, administrative, and managerial....   1,547     620     927     35        7     28   2.3     1.1     3.1
  Professional specialty.......................   1,805     650   1,155     40       10     30   2.2     1.6     2.6
Technical, sales, and administrative support...   4,401   1,219   3,182    457       39    419  10.4     3.2    13.2
  Technicians and related support..............     495     181     314     12        0     12   2.3     0.0     3.7
  Sales occupations............................   1,374     484     889    282       19    263  20.5     4.0    29.5
  Administrative support, including clerical...   2,532     553   1,979    164       20    145   6.5     3.5     7.3
Service occupations............................   3,415   1,280   2,135    577      126    451  16.9     9.8    21.1
  Private household............................     156       8     147     58        6     52  37.2      (3)   35.2
  Protective service...........................     508     360     148     38       24     14   7.4     6.5     9.5
  Service, except private household and
   protective..................................   2,751     912   1,839    481       96    385  17.5    10.6    20.9
Precision production, craft, and repair........   1,273   1,116     157     65       46     19   5.1     4.1    11.9
Operators, fabricators, and laborers...........   2,930   2,144     785    292      144    147  10.0     6.7    18.8
  Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors   1,113     648     465    126       48     79  11.3     7.3    16.9
  Transportation and material moving
   occupations.................................     925     802     122     54       33     21   5.9     4.1    17.3
  Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and
   laborers....................................     892     694     198    111       64     48  12.5     9.2    24.0
Farming, forestry, and fishing.................     132     117      15     35       30      5  26.9    25.6      (3)
  1 Number below the poverty level as a percent of the total in the labor force 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 75,000.
  NOTE:  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not 
strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised 
population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population 
Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
Table 5.  Persons in families and unrelated individuals: Poverty status and work experience, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                      In married-couple families     In families maintained  In families maintained
                                        by women        by men         Unre-
  Poverty status and work   Total                                              lated
    experience          persons                                            indi-
                     Hus-       Related  Other   House- Related  Other  House- Related  Other  vi-
                     bands   Wives  children rela-   holder children rela-  holder children rela-  duals
                            under 18 tives          under 18 tives         under 18 tives
             TOTAL
      All persons(1)........... 209,067  54,714  55,247  5,475   17,180  12,669  1,760   9,763  4,003   429     3,832  43,996
  With labor force activity.... 149,042  43,850  36,715  2,576   12,719   9,370    767   6,712  3,224   168     2,740  30,200
    1 to 26 weeks..............  15,391   1,574   3,774  1,560    3,001     941    498   1,104    194    82       308   2,355
    27 weeks or more........... 133,651  42,276  32,941  1,016    9,718   8,429    269   5,607  3,030    87     2,432  27,845
  With no labor force activity.  60,025  10,864  18,532  2,900    4,461   3,298    993   3,051    779   261     1,091  13,796
   At or above poverty level
      All persons(1)........... 187,707  52,059  52,575  5,063   16,402   9,144  1,218   8,289  3,531   371     3,548  35,508
  With labor force activity.... 139,376  42,304  35,842  2,488   12,414   7,153    608   6,087  2,944   152     2,614  26,770
    1 to 26 weeks..............  12,521   1,396   3,493  1,513    2,896     342    380     856    124    73       252   1,197
    27 weeks or more........... 126,855  40,909  32,349    975    9,519   6,811    228   5,231  2,820    79     2,362  25,573
  With no labor force activity.  48,331   9,754  16,733  2,575    3,987   1,991    610   2,202    588   219       934   8,738
      Below poverty level
      All persons(1)...........  21,360   2,655   2,672    413      778   3,525    542   1,474    472    58       284   8,488
  With labor force activity....   9,666   1,546     873     88      305   2,218    159     625    280    16       126   3,430
    1 to 26 weeks..............   2,871     179     282     47      105     599    118     248     70     9        56   1,159
    27 weeks or more...........   6,796   1,367     592     41      200   1,618     41     377    211     7        69   2,272
  With no labor force activity.  11,694   1,110   1,798    325      474   1,307    383     849    191    42       158   5,058
        Poverty rate(2)
      All persons(1)...........    10.2     4.9     4.8    7.5      4.5    27.8   30.8    15.1   11.8  13.5       7.4    19.3
  With labor force activity....     6.5     3.5     2.4    3.4      2.4    23.7   20.7     9.3    8.7   9.5       4.6    11.4
    1 to 26 weeks..............    18.7    11.3     7.5    3.0      3.5    63.7   23.7    22.5   35.9  10.6      18.3    49.2
    27 weeks or more...........     5.1     3.2     1.8    4.1      2.1    19.2   15.3     6.7    7.0   8.4       2.9     8.2
  With no labor force activity.    19.5    10.2     9.7   11.2     10.6    39.6   38.6    27.8   24.6  16.1      14.5    36.7
  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.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the
Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in 
January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current
Population Survey Effective January in the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
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, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                      Characteristic                                        At or above   Below poverty     Poverty
                                                           Total families  poverty level      level         rate(1)
        Total primary families............................      60,454         56,699          3,755           6.2
With related children under 18............................      34,542         31,337          3,205           9.3
Without children..........................................      25,912         25,362            550           2.1
With one member in the labor force........................      24,649         21,506          3,143          12.8
With two or more members in the labor force...............      35,805         35,193            612           1.7
  With two members........................................      29,970         29,421            550           1.8
  With three or more members..............................       5,835          5,772             62           1.1
Married-couple families:
  With related children under 18..........................      25,658         24,314          1,343           5.2
  Without children........................................      21,158         20,845            313           1.5
  With one member in the labor force......................      15,285         14,083          1,202           7.9
    Husband...............................................      11,413         10,476            937           8.2
    Wife..................................................       3,175          2,967            207           6.5
    Relative..............................................         698            639             58           8.4
  With two or more members in the labor force.............      31,530         31,076            454           1.4
    With two members......................................      26,518         26,112            406           1.5
    With three or more members............................       5,012          4,964             48           1.0
Families maintained by women:
  With related children under 18..........................       6,920          5,269          1,651          23.9
  Without children........................................       3,154          2,973            181           5.7
  With one member in the labor force......................       7,189          5,498          1,691          23.5
    Householder...........................................       5,870          4,380          1,490          25.4
    Relative..............................................       1,319          1,118            201          15.2
  With two or more members in the labor force.............       2,885          2,744            141           4.9
Families maintained by men:
  With related children under 18..........................       1,965          1,754            211          10.7
  Without children........................................       1,600          1,543             56           3.5
  With one member in the labor force......................       2,175          1,925            250          11.5
    Householder...........................................       1,795          1,602            193          10.8
    Relative..............................................         380            323             57          14.9
  With two or more members in the labor force.............       1,390          1,372             18           1.3
  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.  Data for
1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable
with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used
in the survey. For additional information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000 in
the February 2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
Table 7.  Unrelated individuals in the labor force for 27 weeks or more: Poverty status by age, sex,
race, Hispanic origin, and living arrangement, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
             Characteristic                   Total       At or above   Below poverty     Poverty
                                                         poverty level      level         rate(1)
              Age and sex
       Total unrelated individuals......      27,845         25,573          2,272           8.2
16 to 19 years..........................         621            400            221          35.6
20 to 24 years..........................       3,608          2,986            622          17.2
25 to 64 years..........................      22,435         21,069          1,367           6.1
65 years and older......................       1,180          1,118             62           5.3
Men.....................................      15,362         14,214          1,148           7.5
Women...................................      12,483         11,360          1,124           9.0
        Race and Hispanic origin
White...................................      23,069         21,258          1,811           7.8
   Men..................................      12,777         11,823            955           7.5
   Women................................      10,291          9,435            856           8.3
Black...................................       3,642          3,262            381          10.5
   Men..................................       1,930          1,775            155           8.0
   Women................................       1,713          1,487            226          13.2
Hispanic origin.........................       2,283          1,998            286          12.5
   Men..................................       1,521          1,349            172          11.3
   Women................................         762            649            113          14.9
           Living arrangement
Living alone............................      14,765         13,969            796           5.4
Living with others......................      13,080         11,604          1,476          11.3
  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.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000 supplement to the Current
Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the
introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional
information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February
2000 issue of Employment and Earnings.
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, 1999
(Numbers in thousands)
                                                                             At or above     Below       Poverty
           Poverty status and labor market problems                Total       poverty      poverty      rate(1)
                                                                                level        level
     Total, full-time wage and salary workers.................    104,968      101,369        3,599         3.4
No unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, or low
   earnings(2)................................................     86,868       86,262          606          .7
Unemployment only.............................................      5,320        4,907          413         7.8
Involuntary part-time employment only.........................      2,025        1,983           42         2.1
Low earnings only.............................................      7,444        5,939        1,505        20.2
Unemployment and involuntary part-time employment.............        883          800           83         9.4
Unemployment and low earnings.................................      1,426          820          606        42.5
Involuntary part-time employment and low earnings.............        623          435          189        30.3
Unemployment, involuntary part-time employment, and low
   earnings...................................................        377          222          155        41.1
  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 1999 was $245.21 per week.
  NOTE:  Data refer to persons 16 years and older.  Data for 1999, which were collected in the March 2000
supplement to the Current Population Survey, are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years
because of the introduction in January 2000 of revised population controls used in the survey. For additional
information, see "Revisions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 2000" in the February 2000 issue of
Employment and Earnings.

 

Last Modified Date: August 1, 2008