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Economic News Release
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Employment Characteristics of Families News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, April 19, 2018 	                       USDL-18-0589

Technical information:	(202) 691-6378  *  cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:	        (202) 691-5902  *  PressOffice@bls.gov


		EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES -- 2017


In 2017, 5.8 percent of families included an unemployed person, down from 6.5 percent
in 2016, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Of the nation's 82.0 million
families, 80.5 percent had at least one employed member in 2017.

These data on employment, unemployment, and family relationships are collected as part
of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey of about 60,000 households.
Data in this release are annual averages. Families are classified either as married-
couple families or as families maintained by women or men without spouses present.
Unless otherwise noted, families include those with and without children under age 18.
For further information, see the Technical Note in this news release.

Families and Unemployment

The number of families with at least one member unemployed decreased by 557,000 to
4.7 million in 2017. The proportion of families with an unemployed person declined
by 0.7 percentage point to 5.8 percent. In 2017, this proportion was down for White
(5.2 percent), Black (9.5 percent), and Hispanic (7.7 percent) families and was little
changed for Asian families (5.4 percent). Black and Hispanic families remained more
likely to have an unemployed member in 2017 than White or Asian families. (See table 1.) 

Just over two-thirds (or 69.1 percent) of families with an unemployed member also had
at least one family member who was employed in 2017. The proportion of families with
an unemployed member that had at least one family member working full time grew to 60.5
percent in 2017. Black families with an unemployed member remained less likely to also
have an employed family member (58.1 percent) than White (71.3 percent), Asian
(84.0 percent), and Hispanic families (71.9 percent). (See table 1.)

In 2017, 4.6 percent of married-couple families had an unemployed member, less than
the corresponding percentages of families maintained by women or families maintained by
men (9.0 percent and 8.6 percent, respectively). Among families with an unemployed family
member, those maintained by women were less likely to also have an employed family member
(49.8 percent) than families maintained by men and married-couple families (59.4 percent
and 80.7 percent, respectively). (See tables 2 and 3.)

Families and Employment

In 2017, 80.5 percent of families had at least one employed family member, little different
from the prior year. Over the year, the likelihood of having an employed family member
was about unchanged among White (80.1 percent), Asian (88.6 percent), and Hispanic
families (86.9 percent). The percentage of Black families having at least one family
member employed increased by 0.9 percentage point to 78.7 percent in 2017, with a large
increase in the share of Black families that had a family member employed full time. 
(See table 1.)

In 2017, families maintained by women remained less likely to have an employed member 
(76.8 percent) than families maintained by men (84.6 percent) or married-couple families
(81.0 percent). Among married-couple families, both the husband and wife were employed in
48.3 percent of families; in 19.1 percent of married-couple families only the husband was 
employed, and in 7.1 percent only the wife was employed. (See table 2.)

Families with Children

In 2017, 33.6 million families included children under age 18, about 41.0 percent of all
families. (Children are sons, daughters, step-children, or adopted children living in
the household who are under 18 years old. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren,
other related and unrelated children, and children not living in the household.) At least
one parent was employed in 90.2 percent of families with children, an increase of
0.5 percentage point from the previous year. Among married-couple families with children,
96.9 percent had at least one employed parent, and 61.9 percent had both parents employed.
Among families with children, 84.7 percent of fathers were employed in those maintained by
fathers, a greater share than the 73.2 percent of mothers who were employed in families
maintained by mothers. (See table 4.)

Parents

The labor force participation rate--the percent of the population working or looking for
work--for all women with children under age 18 was 71.1 percent in 2017, up 0.6 percentage
point from the prior year. Married mothers remained less likely to participate in the
labor force, at 68.6 percent, than mothers with other marital statuses, at 76.5 percent.
(Other marital status includes persons who are never married; widowed; divorced; separated;
and married, spouse absent; as well as persons in same-sex marriages.) The unemployment
rate for married mothers was also considerably lower than for mothers with other marital
statuses--2.8 percent, compared with 7.3 percent. (See table 5.) 

Mothers with young children are less likely to be in the labor force than those with older
children. In 2017, the labor force participation rate of mothers with children under 6 years
old, at 65.1 percent, was lower than the rate of those whose youngest child was 6 to 17
years old, at 75.7 percent. Among mothers with children under 3 years old, the participation
rate of married mothers was lower than the rate of mothers with other marital statuses--
60.0 percent versus 67.5 percent. The unemployment rate of mothers who were married and had
children under 3 years old, at 2.6 percent, was substantially lower than the rate for their
counterparts with other marital statuses, at 9.9 percent. (See tables 5 and 6.)

In 2017, 92.8 percent of all fathers with children under age 18 participated in the labor
force. The participation rate for married fathers, at 93.5 percent, continued to be higher
than the rate of fathers with other marital statuses (88.1 percent). Married fathers also
continued to have a lower unemployment rate (2.3 percent) than fathers with other marital
statuses (5.8 percent). The jobless rate of fathers with other marital statuses declined by
1.2 percentage points from the previous year, and the jobless rate of married fathers
decreased by 0.3 percentage point. (See table 5.)

Employed fathers remained more likely to work full time than employed mothers in 2017;
95.7 percent of employed fathers worked full time, compared with 77.2 percent of employed
mothers. Among employed mothers, those with older children were somewhat more likely to work
full time than those with younger children. In 2017, 79.0 percent of employed mothers with
children 6 to 17 years old worked full time, compared with 74.5 percent of mothers with
children under 6 years old. Employed fathers with younger and older children were about
equally likely to work full time. (See tables 5 and 6.)




Technical Note

   The estimates in this release are based on annual average data from the Current
Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey of about 60,000 eligible
households that provides information on the labor force status, demographics, and
other characteristics of the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16
and over.

   The data presented in this release are not strictly comparable with data for
earlier years due to the introduction of updated population estimates, or controls,
used in the CPS. The population controls are updated each year in January to reflect
the latest information about population change. Additional information is available
from the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

   Upon request, the information in this release will be made available to individuals
who are sensory impaired: Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service:(800) 877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When
a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the
sample estimates may differ from the true population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and
this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 
90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ
by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the true population value because of sampling
error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.

   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for
many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to
obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of
respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing
of the data.

   Information about the reliability of data from the CPS and guidance on estimating
standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

Definitions
	
   Definitions of the principal terms used in this release are described briefly below.
   
   Householder. The householder is the family reference person. This is the person (or
one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented. The relationship
of other individuals in the household is defined in terms of their relationship to the
householder. The race or ethnicity of the family is determined by that of the householder.
	
   Family. A family is a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by
birth, marriage, or adoption; all such individuals are considered members of one family. The
count of families is for "primary" families only. A primary family consists of a householder
and all other persons related to and residing with the householder. Sub-families are excluded
from the count of families. A sub-family is a family that does not maintain their own household,
such as a married couple living in the home of a friend and their family. In this example,
the report would include only one family (the householder’s or primary family), not two. 
Families include those with and without children under 18 years. Families are further categorized
as follows:

   --Married-couple families refer to opposite-sex married couples residing together and any
     of their family members residing in the household.
   
   --Families maintained by women or men are made up of householders residing with one or
     more family members, but not an opposite-sex spouse. The household may or may not include
     a same-sex spouse or an unmarried domestic partner of either sex.
	
   This release presents data for two marital status categories, defined below. Marital status is
based on a person's status at the time of the survey.
	
   Married, spouse present. Married, spouse present,  includes persons in opposite-sex marriages
living together in the same household, even though one may be temporarily absent on business, on
vacation, on a visit, in a hospital, or for other reasons.
	
   Other marital status. Other marital status includes persons who are never married; widowed;
divorced; separated; and married, spouse absent; as well as persons in same-sex marriages.
Separated includes persons with legal separations, those living apart with intentions of obtaining
a divorce, and other persons permanently or temporarily separated because of marital discord.
Married, spouse absent, includes opposite-sex married persons living apart because either the
husband or wife was employed and living at a considerable distance from home, was serving away
from home in the Armed Forces, had moved to another area, or had a different place of residence
for any other reason except separation as defined above.
	
   Children. Data on children refer to own children under age 18 that live in the household.
Included are sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children of the husband, wife, or person
maintaining the family. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, other related children,
and all unrelated children living in the household.
	
   Employed. Employed persons are all those who, during the survey reference week, (a) did any
work at all as paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm;
or (c) worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family.
Persons who were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, vacation, labor disputes,
or another reason also are counted as employed.
	
   Full-time workers. Workers who usually work 35 hours or more per week at all jobs.
	
   Part-time workers. Workers who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week at all jobs.
	
   Unemployed. The unemployed are persons who had no employment during the reference week, were
available for work at that time, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during
the 4-week period ending with the reference week. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a
job from which they had been laid off need not be looking for work to be classified as unemployed.
	
   Civilian labor force. The civilian labor force comprises all persons classified as employed or
unemployed. 
	
   Labor force participation rate. The labor force participation rate is the labor force as a
percent of the population.
	
   Employment-population ratio. The employment-population ratio is the employed as a percent of
the population.
	
   Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent of the civilian
labor force.




Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2016-2017 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic 2016 2017

EMPLOYMENT IN FAMILIES

Total families

82,092 82,015

With at least one family member employed

66,023 66,027

As a percent of total families

80.4 80.5

With at least one family member employed full time(1)

60,065 60,395

With no family member employed

16,069 15,988

As a percent of total families

19.6 19.5

White

Total families

65,083 64,910

With at least one family member employed

52,209 52,016

As a percent of total families

80.2 80.1

With at least one family member employed full time(1)

47,611 47,621

With no family member employed

12,873 12,894

As a percent of total families

19.8 19.9

Black or African American

Total families

9,976 10,017

With at least one family member employed

7,764 7,886

As a percent of total families

77.8 78.7

With at least one family member employed full time(1)

6,835 7,053

With no family member employed

2,212 2,131

As a percent of total families

22.2 21.3

Asian

Total families

4,707 4,735

With at least one family member employed

4,166 4,195

As a percent of total families

88.5 88.6

With at least one family member employed full time(1)

3,933 3,978

With no family member employed

541 539

As a percent of total families

11.5 11.4

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total families

12,900 12,936

With at least one family member employed

11,182 11,244

As a percent of total families

86.7 86.9

With at least one family member employed full time(1)

10,217 10,383

With no family member employed

1,718 1,692

As a percent of total families

13.3 13.1

UNEMPLOYMENT IN FAMILIES

Total families

82,092 82,015

With at least one family member unemployed

5,301 4,744

As a percent of total families

6.5 5.8

Some family member(s) employed

3,656 3,277

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

69.0 69.1

Some family member(s) employed full time(1)

3,162 2,870

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

59.7 60.5

White

Total families

65,083 64,910

With at least one family member unemployed

3,711 3,343

As a percent of total families

5.7 5.2

Some family member(s) employed

2,684 2,385

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

72.3 71.3

Some family member(s) employed full time(1)

2,343 2,098

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

63.1 62.8

Black or African American

Total families

9,976 10,017

With at least one family member unemployed

1,086 951

As a percent of total families

10.9 9.5

Some family member(s) employed

628 553

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

57.8 58.1

Some family member employed full time(1)

524 469

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

48.2 49.4

Asian

Total families

4,707 4,735

With at least one family member unemployed

265 255

As a percent of total families

5.6 5.4

Some family member(s) employed

204 214

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

76.9 84.0

Some family member(s) employed full time(1)

185 194

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

69.8 76.1

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total families

12,900 12,936

With at least one family member unemployed

1,117 994

As a percent of total families

8.7 7.7

Some family member(s) employed

811 715

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

72.6 71.9

Some family member(s) employed full time(1)

702 634

As a percent of families with at least one family member unemployed

62.9 63.8

Footnotes
(1) Usually work 35 hours or more per week at all jobs.

NOTE: The race or ethnicity of the family is determined by that of the householder, the family reference person in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented. Estimates for the above race groups (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.


Table 2. Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2016-2017 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Number Percent distribution
2016 2017 2016 2017

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES(1)

Total

59,747 59,910 100.0 100.0

With at least one family member employed

48,440 48,525 81.1 81.0

Husband only

11,649 11,425 19.5 19.1

Wife only

4,253 4,265 7.1 7.1

Husband and wife

28,693 28,944 48.0 48.3

Other employment combinations

3,845 3,891 6.4 6.5

With no family member employed

11,307 11,386 18.9 19.0

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(2)

Total

15,669 15,438 100.0 100.0

With at least one family member employed

12,001 11,861 76.6 76.8

Householder only

6,502 6,333 41.5 41.0

Householder and other member(s)

3,293 3,372 21.0 21.8

Other member(s), not householder

2,205 2,156 14.1 14.0

With no family member employed

3,668 3,577 23.4 23.2

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(2)

Total

6,676 6,666 100.0 100.0

With at least one family member employed

5,582 5,641 83.6 84.6

Householder only

2,577 2,564 38.6 38.5

Householder and other member(s)

2,050 2,101 30.7 31.5

Other member(s), not householder

955 976 14.3 14.6

With no family member employed

1,094 1,025 16.4 15.4

Footnotes
(1) Refers to opposite-sex married-couple families only.
(2) No opposite-sex spouse present.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.


Table 3. Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2016-2017 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Number Percent distribution
2016 2017 2016 2017

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES(1)

With at least one family member unemployed, total

3,122 2,783 100.0 100.0

Employment of family members

Some family member(s) employed

2,511 2,245 80.4 80.7

No family member employed

612 537 19.6 19.3

Unemployment of family members

Husband unemployed(2)

1,149 1,009 36.8 36.3

Wife employed

702 632 22.5 22.7

Wife unemployed, husband employed or not in labor force

913 850 29.2 30.6

Husband employed

775 700 24.8 25.1

Other family member(s) unemployed

1,060 923 34.0 33.2

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(3)

With at least one family member unemployed, total

1,543 1,389 100.0 100.0

Employment of family members

Some family member(s) employed

774 691 50.1 49.8

No family member employed

770 697 49.9 50.2

Unemployment of family members

Householder unemployed

710 644 46.0 46.4

Other member(s) employed

174 165 11.3 11.9

Other family member(s) unemployed

833 744 54.0 53.6

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(3)

With at least one family member unemployed, total

635 573 100.0 100.0

Employment of family members

Some family member(s) employed

372 340 58.5 59.4

No family member employed

264 233 41.5 40.6

Unemployment of family members

Householder unemployed

354 312 55.6 54.5

Other member(s) employed

153 132 24.0 23.1

Other family member(s) unemployed

282 260 44.4 45.5

Footnotes
(1) Refers to opposite-sex married-couple families only.
(2) Total families with unemployed husbands, including those with unemployed wives.
(3) No opposite-sex spouse present.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.


Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2016-2017 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Number Percent distribution
2016 2017 2016 2017

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Total families

34,206 33,615 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

30,671 30,318 89.7 90.2

No parent employed

3,534 3,297 10.3 9.8

Married-couple families(1)

Total

23,125 22,855 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

22,379 22,158 96.8 96.9

Mother employed

15,377 15,389 66.5 67.3

Both parents employed

14,123 14,151 61.1 61.9

Mother employed, not father

1,254 1,238 5.4 5.4

Father employed, not mother

7,001 6,769 30.3 29.6

Neither parent employed

746 697 3.2 3.1

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

8,538 8,259 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

6,191 6,043 72.5 73.2

Mother not employed

2,347 2,216 27.5 26.8

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

2,544 2,500 100.0 100.0

Father employed

2,102 2,117 82.6 84.7

Father not employed

442 383 17.4 15.3

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Total families

19,774 19,621 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

17,814 17,742 90.1 90.4

No parent employed

1,960 1,879 9.9 9.6

Married-couple families(1)

Total

13,105 13,032 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,649 12,595 96.5 96.6

Mother employed

9,284 9,362 70.8 71.8

Both parents employed

8,483 8,553 64.7 65.6

Mother employed, not father

801 810 6.1 6.2

Father employed, not mother

3,365 3,233 25.7 24.8

Neither parent employed

456 437 3.5 3.4

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

5,189 5,093 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

3,955 3,890 76.2 76.4

Mother not employed

1,234 1,204 23.8 23.6

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

1,481 1,496 100.0 100.0

Father employed

1,211 1,257 81.8 84.1

Father not employed

270 239 18.2 15.9

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Total families

14,432 13,994 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,857 12,576 89.1 89.9

No parent employed

1,575 1,418 10.9 10.1

Married-couple families(1)

Total

10,020 9,823 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

9,730 9,562 97.1 97.3

Mother employed

6,093 6,027 60.8 61.4

Both parents employed

5,640 5,598 56.3 57.0

Mother employed, not father

453 428 4.5 4.4

Father employed, not mother

3,637 3,536 36.3 36.0

Neither parent employed

290 261 2.9 2.7

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

3,349 3,166 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

2,236 2,154 66.8 68.0

Mother not employed

1,113 1,013 33.2 32.0

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

1,063 1,005 100.0 100.0

Father employed

891 860 83.8 85.6

Father not employed

172 145 16.2 14.4

Footnotes
(1) Refers to opposite-sex married-couple families only.
(2) No opposite-sex spouse present.

NOTE: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.


Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 2016-2017 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic 2016 2017
Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population

65,055 28,992 36,063 64,188 28,740 35,448

Civilian labor force

52,321 26,902 25,419 51,875 26,662 25,213

Participation rate

80.4 92.8 70.5 80.8 92.8 71.1

Employed

50,240 26,039 24,201 50,036 25,920 24,117

Full-time workers(1)

43,352 24,896 18,456 43,433 24,807 18,626

Part-time workers(2)

6,887 1,143 5,744 6,604 1,113 5,491

Employment-population ratio

77.2 89.8 67.1 78.0 90.2 68.0

Unemployed

2,082 864 1,218 1,838 742 1,096

Unemployment rate

4.0 3.2 4.8 3.5 2.8 4.3

Married, spouse present(3)

Civilian noninstitutional population

49,472 25,007 24,465 48,974 24,779 24,195

Civilian labor force

40,016 23,409 16,607 39,781 23,172 16,609

Participation rate

80.9 93.6 67.9 81.2 93.5 68.6

Employed

38,866 22,791 16,075 38,775 22,633 16,142

Full-time workers(1)

34,112 21,899 12,214 34,081 21,746 12,334

Part-time workers(2)

4,754 892 3,861 4,695 887 3,808

Employment-population ratio

78.6 91.1 65.7 79.2 91.3 66.7

Unemployed

1,150 618 532 1,006 539 467

Unemployment rate

2.9 2.6 3.2 2.5 2.3 2.8

Other marital status(4)

Civilian noninstitutional population

15,583 3,985 11,598 15,213 3,961 11,253

Civilian labor force

12,305 3,494 8,811 12,093 3,490 8,603

Participation rate

79.0 87.7 76.0 79.5 88.1 76.5

Employed

11,374 3,248 8,125 11,261 3,287 7,975

Full-time workers(1)

9,240 2,997 6,243 9,352 3,061 6,291

Part-time workers(2)

2,134 251 1,883 1,909 226 1,683

Employment-population ratio

73.0 81.5 70.1 74.0 83.0 70.9

Unemployed

931 246 686 832 203 629

Unemployment rate

7.6 7.0 7.8 6.9 5.8 7.3

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Civilian noninstitutional population

36,491 16,152 20,338 36,286 16,153 20,133

Civilian labor force

30,088 14,836 15,252 30,060 14,812 15,248

Participation rate

82.5 91.9 75.0 82.8 91.7 75.7

Employed

28,998 14,393 14,605 29,063 14,428 14,635

Full-time workers(1)

25,166 13,785 11,381 25,391 13,830 11,561

Part-time workers(2)

3,831 607 3,224 3,672 598 3,074

Employment-population ratio

79.5 89.1 71.8 80.1 89.3 72.7

Unemployed

1,090 444 646 997 384 612

Unemployment rate

3.6 3.0 4.2 3.3 2.6 4.0

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population

28,565 12,840 15,724 27,902 12,587 15,315

Civilian labor force

22,233 12,066 10,167 21,815 11,849 9,965

Participation rate

77.8 94.0 64.7 78.2 94.1 65.1

Employed

21,242 11,646 9,596 20,973 11,492 9,481

Full-time workers(1)

18,186 11,110 7,076 18,041 10,977 7,064

Part-time workers(2)

3,056 536 2,520 2,932 515 2,417

Employment-population ratio

74.4 90.7 61.0 75.2 91.3 61.9

Unemployed

992 420 572 841 358 484

Unemployment rate

4.5 3.5 5.6 3.9 3.0 4.9

WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population

188,482 93,505 94,978 190,891 94,535 96,356

Civilian labor force

106,866 57,852 49,014 108,445 58,483 49,962

Participation rate

56.7 61.9 51.6 56.8 61.9 51.9

Employed

101,196 54,529 46,667 103,301 55,482 47,819

Full-time workers(1)

80,408 45,671 34,738 82,535 46,764 35,770

Part-time workers(2)

20,788 8,858 11,930 20,766 8,718 12,048

Employment-population ratio

53.7 58.3 49.1 54.1 58.7 49.6

Unemployed

5,670 3,323 2,346 5,144 3,001 2,143

Unemployment rate

5.3 5.7 4.8 4.7 5.1 4.3

Footnotes
(1) Usually work 35 hours or more per week at all jobs.
(2) Usually work less than 35 hours per week at all jobs.
(3) Refers to persons in opposite-sex married couples only.
(4) Includes persons who are never married; widowed; divorced; separated; and married, spouse absent; as well as persons in same-sex marriages.

NOTE: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.


Table 6. Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child and marital status, 2016-2017 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic 2016 2017
With own children under 3 years old With own children under 3 years old
Total 2 years 1 year Under 1
year
Total 2 years 1 year Under 1
year

TOTAL MOTHERS

Civilian noninstitutional population

9,158 2,850 3,322 2,985 8,877 2,804 3,208 2,865

Civilian labor force

5,662 1,858 2,055 1,749 5,528 1,835 2,016 1,677

Participation rate

61.8 65.2 61.9 58.6 62.3 65.4 62.8 58.5

Employed

5,343 1,764 1,933 1,645 5,250 1,742 1,923 1,585

Full-time workers(1)

3,870 1,312 1,392 1,165 3,837 1,315 1,385 1,138

Part-time workers(2)

1,473 452 540 480 1,413 427 538 447

Employment-population ratio

58.3 61.9 58.2 55.1 59.1 62.1 59.9 55.3

Unemployed

319 94 123 103 277 93 93 92

Unemployment rate

5.6 5.0 6.0 5.9 5.0 5.1 4.6 5.5

Married, spouse present(3)

Civilian noninstitutional population

6,335 1,964 2,302 2,069 6,193 1,951 2,253 1,989

Civilian labor force

3,768 1,210 1,367 1,191 3,716 1,207 1,354 1,155

Participation rate

59.5 61.6 59.4 57.6 60.0 61.9 60.1 58.1

Employed

3,648 1,171 1,321 1,156 3,618 1,167 1,324 1,128

Full-time workers(1)

2,691 876 966 849 2,660 871 970 819

Part-time workers(2)

957 294 356 307 958 296 353 309

Employment-population ratio

57.6 59.6 57.4 55.9 58.4 59.8 58.8 56.7

Unemployed

120 39 46 35 98 40 30 27

Unemployment rate

3.2 3.3 3.4 3.0 2.6 3.3 2.2 2.4

Other marital status(4)

Civilian noninstitutional population

2,823 886 1,020 917 2,684 853 956 876

Civilian labor force

1,894 648 689 557 1,812 628 662 522

Participation rate

67.1 73.1 67.5 60.8 67.5 73.6 69.3 59.6

Employed

1,695 594 612 489 1,632 575 600 457

Full-time workers(1)

1,179 436 427 316 1,177 443 415 319

Part-time workers(2)

516 158 185 173 455 131 185 138

Employment-population ratio

60.0 67.0 60.0 53.4 60.8 67.4 62.7 52.2

Unemployed

199 54 77 68 180 53 62 64

Unemployment rate

10.5 8.4 11.2 12.2 9.9 8.5 9.4 12.3

Footnotes
(1) Usually work 35 hours or more per week at all jobs.
(2) Usually work less than 35 hours per week at all jobs.
(3) Refers to persons in opposite-sex married couples only.
(4) Includes persons who are never married; widowed; divorced; separated; and married, spouse absent; as well as persons in same-sex marriages.

NOTE: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.


Last Modified Date: April 19, 2018