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Economic News Release
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Employment Characteristics of Families News Release

For release 10:00 a.m. (ET) Wednesday, April 20, 2022 		                USDL-22-0673

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


		     EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES -- 2021


In 2021, 6.7 percent of families included an unemployed person, down from 9.8 percent in
2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Of the nation's 83.2 million
families, 78.5 percent had at least one employed member in 2021.

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 news 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 fell by 2.5 million to 5.6
million in 2021. The proportion of families with an unemployed person, at 6.7 percent,
fell by 3.1 percentage points from the prior year but remained above its 2019 value of
4.9 percent. In 2021, the proportion of families with an unemployed person declined 
for White (to 6.0 percent of families), Black (10.3 percent), Asian (7.7 percent), and
Hispanic (10.1 percent) families. Black and Hispanic families remained more likely to
have an unemployed member than White or Asian families. (See table 1.)

In 2021, among families with an unemployed member, 67.4 percent also had at least one
family member employed, little changed from the prior year. The proportion of families
with an unemployed member that had at least one family member working full time fell 
by 1.4 percentage points to 58.5 percent in 2021. In 2019, prior to the coronavirus 
(COVID-19) pandemic, 62.4 percent of families with an unemployed member had at least
one family member working full time. Among families with an unemployed member, Black 
families remained less likely to also have at least one family member who was working
in 2021 (56.7 percent of families) than White (69.9 percent), Asian (75.6 percent), 
and Hispanic (68.4 percent) families. (See table 1.)

In 2021, 5.5 percent of married-couple families had an unemployed member, which was 
less than the shares for families maintained by women (9.8 percent) and for families
maintained by men (10.5 percent). Among families with an unemployed member, those 
maintained by women remained less likely to also have an employed family member 
(48.7 percent) than families maintained by men and married-couple families (56.4
percent and 78.5 percent, respectively). (See tables 2 and 3.)

Families and Employment

In 2021, 78.5 percent of families had at least one employed family member, up from 
78.2 percent in 2020 but below the 2019 share of 81.2 percent. From 2020 to 2021, the
likelihood of having an employed family member increased for Black (to 76.6 percent 
of families), Asian (86.2 percent), and Hispanic (85.0 percent) families, but changed
little for White families (78.1 percent). Black families were the least likely to 
have an employed family member in 2021. (See table 1.)

Families maintained by women remained less likely to have an employed member 
(75.7 percent) in 2021 than families maintained by men (82.4 percent) or married-
couple families (78.7 percent). Among married-couple families, both spouses were
employed in 46.8 percent of families, up from 45.5 percent in the prior year. In 
2021, only one spouse was employed in 25.3 percent of married-couple families, down
from 26.7 percent in 2020. (See table 2.)

Families with Children

In 2021, 32.8 million families, or two-fifths of all families, included children
under age 18. (Children are biological, step-, or adopted children living in the 
household who are under age 18. 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 89.1 percent of families with children, up from 
88.5 percent in 2020 but below its 2019 value of 91.4 percent. Among married-couple
families with children, 96.5 percent had at least one employed parent in 2021, and
in 62.3 percent of these families both parents were employed. Among families 
maintained by fathers, 81.7 percent of fathers were employed, a greater share than
the 71.2 percent of mothers who were employed in families maintained by mothers. 
(See tables 1 and 4.)

Parents

The labor force participation rate--the percent of the population working or looking
for work--for all mothers with children under age 18 was 71.2 percent in 2021, 
unchanged from the prior year but down from 72.3 percent in 2019. The participation
rate for fathers with children under age 18, at 92.5 percent in 2021, was little
changed from 2020 (92.3 percent) but down from 2019 (93.3 percent). (See table 5.)

The participation rate for married fathers increased by 0.2 percentage point from the
prior year to 93.5 percent in 2021, while the rates for married mothers (69.3 percent)
and for mothers and fathers with other marital statuses (75.3 percent and 87.0 percent,
respectively) showed little change. Married mothers remained less likely to participate
in the labor force in 2021 than mothers with other marital statuses. By contrast, 
married fathers remained more likely to participate in the labor force than fathers with
other marital statuses. (Other marital status includes persons who are never married; 
widowed; divorced; separated; and married, spouse absent.) (See table 5.)

Mothers of younger children remained less likely to participate in the labor force than
mothers with older children. In 2021, 65.6 percent of mothers with children under age 6
participated in the labor force compared with 75.5 percent of mothers whose youngest 
child was age 6 to 17. By contrast, fathers with children under age 6 were more likely
to participate in the labor force than those whose youngest child was age 6 to 17 (93.9
percent versus 91.5 percent). (See table 5.)

In 2021, the unemployment rate for mothers decreased by 2.5 percentage points from the 
prior year to 5.0 percent, and the rate for fathers decreased by 1.8 percentage points 
to 3.8 percent. The unemployment rate for married mothers remained considerably lower 
than the rate for mothers with other marital statuses--3.3 percent compared with 8.5
percent in 2021. Married fathers also continued to have a lower unemployment rate, at
3.1 percent, than fathers with other marital statuses, at 8.0 percent. Among mothers 
who had children under age 3, the unemployment rate for those who were married was 
about one-third the rate for mothers with other marital statuses (3.6 percent versus 
11.2 percent). (See tables 5 and 6.)

Employed fathers remained more likely to work full time than employed mothers in 
2021--95.5 percent compared with 79.6 percent. Among employed mothers, those with older
children remained more likely to work full time than those with younger children. In 
2021, 81.2 percent of employed mothers with children ages 6 to 17 worked full time 
compared with 77.2 percent of mothers with children under age 6. Among employed fathers,
95.7 percent of those with older children and 95.3 percent of those with younger 
children worked full time. (See table 5.)




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.

   If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability, please dial 
7-1-1 to access telecommunications relay services.

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 and Hispanic 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 age 18. Families are 
further categorized as follows:

   --Married-couple families refer to opposite-sex and same-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 no spouse of either sex present. Unmarried 
domestic partners of either sex may or may not be present in the household.

   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.

   Total married, spouse present. Married, spouse present, includes persons in
either opposite-sex or same-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. 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 married persons 
living apart because either a 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 biological, step-, 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. Children not living in the household are also not 
included.

   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. Full-time workers are those who usually work 35 hours or
more per week at all jobs.

   Part-time workers. Part-time workers are those 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
number of persons in the labor force as a percent of the population.

   Employment-population ratio. The employment-population ratio is the number
of employed persons as a percent of the population.

   Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the number of unemployed persons
as a percent of the civilian labor force.

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 are available at 
www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

Comparability of the estimates

   Effective with data for 2020, estimates of the number of married persons
refer to those in opposite-sex and same-sex marriages. Prior to 2020, 
estimates of the number of married persons referred to those in opposite-sex
marriages only. The definition of families incorporated this change by 
expanding the definition of married-couple families to include same-sex 
married couples. This new classification resulted in a larger estimate of 
the number of persons who are married with a spouse present. It also resulted
in a larger estimate of the number of married-couple families and the total 
number of families. The 2019 estimates mentioned in this news release are 
revised data that incorporate the new classification of married persons. 
These revised 2019 estimates, as published in the "Employment Characteristics
of Families--2020" news release, do not match those originally published in 
the "Employment Characteristics of Families--2019" news release or in the BLS
online database. Additional information about the classification change is
available from the Census Bureau at 
www.census.gov/content/dam/Census/library/working-papers/2019/demo/SEHSD-WP-2018-30.pdf.

   In addition, 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.




Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2020-2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic 2020 2021

EMPLOYMENT IN FAMILIES

Total families

83,144 83,179

With at least one family member employed

64,995 65,286

As a percent of total families

78.2 78.5

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

59,683 59,839

With no family member employed

18,148 17,894

As a percent of total families

21.8 21.5

White

Total families

65,324 65,279

With at least one family member employed

50,925 50,967

As a percent of total families

78.0 78.1

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

46,762 46,757

With no family member employed

14,399 14,312

As a percent of total families

22.0 21.9

Black or African American

Total families

10,183 10,248

With at least one family member employed

7,713 7,851

As a percent of total families

75.7 76.6

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

6,975 7,063

With no family member employed

2,470 2,397

As a percent of total families

24.3 23.4

Asian

Total families

5,153 5,141

With at least one family member employed

4,365 4,432

As a percent of total families

84.7 86.2

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

4,131 4,149

With no family member employed

788 709

As a percent of total families

15.3 13.8

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total families

13,369 13,734

With at least one family member employed

11,245 11,671

As a percent of total families

84.1 85.0

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

10,367 10,744

With no family member employed

2,124 2,063

As a percent of total families

15.9 15.0

UNEMPLOYMENT IN FAMILIES

Total families

83,144 83,179

With at least one family member unemployed

8,124 5,594

As a percent of total families

9.8 6.7

Some family member(s) employed

5,492 3,771

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

67.6 67.4

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

4,869 3,272

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

59.9 58.5

White

Total families

65,324 65,279

With at least one family member unemployed

5,858 3,894

As a percent of total families

9.0 6.0

Some family member(s) employed

4,097 2,723

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

69.9 69.9

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

3,644 2,368

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

62.2 60.8

Black or African American

Total families

10,183 10,248

With at least one family member unemployed

1,360 1,050

As a percent of total families

13.4 10.3

Some family member(s) employed

776 595

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

57.1 56.7

Some family member employed full time(1)

676 513

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

49.7 48.8

Asian

Total families

5,153 5,141

With at least one family member unemployed

560 395

As a percent of total families

10.9 7.7

Some family member(s) employed

401 299

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

71.6 75.6

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

358 258

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

63.9 65.2

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total families

13,369 13,734

With at least one family member unemployed

1,906 1,391

As a percent of total families

14.3 10.1

Some family member(s) employed

1,290 951

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

67.7 68.4

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

1,150 821

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

60.3 59.0

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. Beginning in 2020, family estimates reflect a change in the classification of marital status. This change expanded the definition of married-couple families to include same-sex married couples. As a result, data under the new definition are not strictly comparable with data prior to 2020.


Table 2. Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2020-2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Number Percent distribution
2020 2021 2020 2021

TOTAL MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES(1)

Total

61,375 60,471 100.0 100.0

With at least one family member employed

48,279 47,612 78.7 78.7

With only one spouse employed

16,408 15,300 26.7 25.3

With both spouses employed

27,921 28,275 45.5 46.8

Other employment combinations

3,950 4,037 6.4 6.7

With no family member employed

13,096 12,859 21.3 21.3

Opposite-sex married-couple families

Total

60,804 59,843 100.0 100.0

With at least one family member employed

47,785 47,067 78.6 78.7

Husband only

11,644 10,897 19.1 18.2

Wife only

4,614 4,250 7.6 7.1

Husband and wife

27,591 27,900 45.4 46.6

Other employment combinations

3,937 4,019 6.5 6.7

With no family member employed

13,018 12,776 21.4 21.3

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(2)

Total

14,826 15,515 100.0 100.0

With at least one family member employed

11,089 11,748 74.8 75.7

Householder only

5,879 6,065 39.7 39.1

Householder and other member(s)

3,108 3,520 21.0 22.7

Other member(s), not householder

2,102 2,163 14.2 13.9

With no family member employed

3,737 3,767 25.2 24.3

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(2)

Total

6,943 7,194 100.0 100.0

With at least one family member employed

5,627 5,926 81.1 82.4

Householder only

2,706 2,784 39.0 38.7

Householder and other member(s)

1,959 2,161 28.2 30.0

Other member(s), not householder

963 982 13.9 13.6

With no family member employed

1,315 1,268 18.9 17.6

Footnotes
(1) Includes both opposite-sex and same-sex married-couple families.
(2) Includes families with no spouse of either sex present.

NOTE: In families maintained by women or men with no spouse present, householder refers to the woman or man maintaining the family. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Beginning in 2020, family estimates reflect a change in the classification of marital status. This change expanded the definition of married-couple families to include same-sex married couples. As a result, data under the new definition are not strictly comparable with data prior to 2020.


Table 3. Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2020-2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Number Percent distribution
2020 2021 2020 2021

TOTAL MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES(1)

With at least one family member unemployed, total

5,292 3,313 100.0 100.0

Employment of family members

Some family member(s) employed

4,031 2,602 76.2 78.5

No family member employed

1,261 711 23.8 21.5

Unemployment of family members

At least one spouse unemployed(2)

3,920 2,340 74.1 70.6

One spouse employed

2,632 1,633 49.7 49.3

Other family member(s) unemployed

1,371 972 25.9 29.4

Opposite-sex married-couple families

With at least one family member unemployed, total

5,237 3,279 100.0 100.0

Employment of family members

Some family member(s) employed

3,990 2,574 76.2 78.5

No family member employed

1,247 705 23.8 21.5

Unemployment of family members

Husband unemployed(3)

2,041 1,314 39.0 40.1

Wife employed

1,096 784 20.9 23.9

Wife unemployed, husband employed or not in labor force

1,835 994 35.0 30.3

Husband employed

1,506 824 28.8 25.1

Other family member(s) unemployed

1,361 971 26.0 29.6

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(4)

With at least one family member unemployed, total

1,890 1,528 100.0 100.0

Employment of family members

Some family member(s) employed

943 745 49.9 48.7

No family member employed

947 783 50.1 51.3

Unemployment of family members

Householder unemployed

942 749 49.8 49.0

Other member(s) employed

266 185 14.1 12.1

Other family member(s) unemployed

948 780 50.2 51.0

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(4)

With at least one family member unemployed, total

942 753 100.0 100.0

Employment of family members

Some family member(s) employed

518 425 55.0 56.4

No family member employed

424 328 45.0 43.6

Unemployment of family members

Householder unemployed

559 456 59.4 60.6

Other member(s) employed

218 187 23.2 24.8

Other family member(s) unemployed

383 296 40.6 39.4

Footnotes
(1) Includes both opposite-sex and same-sex married-couple families.
(2) Includes families with both spouses unemployed.
(3) Total opposite-sex married couple families with unemployed husbands, including those with unemployed wives.
(4) Includes families with no spouse of either sex present.

NOTE: In families maintained by women or men with no spouse present, householder refers to the woman or man maintaining the family. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data. Beginning in 2020, family estimates reflect a change in the classification of marital status. This change expanded the definition of married-couple families to include same-sex married couples. As a result, data under the new definition are not strictly comparable with data prior to 2020.


Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2020-2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Number Percent distribution
2020 2021 2020 2021

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Total families

33,047 32,756 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

29,259 29,198 88.5 89.1

No parent employed

3,788 3,558 11.5 10.9

Total married-couple families(1)

Total

22,921 22,156 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

21,846 21,372 95.3 96.5

Both parents employed

13,705 13,794 59.8 62.3

Only one parent employed

8,141 7,577 35.5 34.2

Neither parent employed

1,075 784 4.7 3.5

Opposite-sex married couple families

Total

22,826 22,050 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

21,755 21,269 95.3 96.5

Mother employed

15,044 14,955 65.9 67.8

Both parents employed

13,642 13,720 59.8 62.2

Mother employed, not father

1,402 1,234 6.1 5.6

Father employed, not mother

6,711 6,315 29.4 28.6

Neither parent employed

1,071 780 4.7 3.5

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

7,526 7,904 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

5,344 5,624 71.0 71.2

Mother not employed

2,181 2,280 29.0 28.8

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

2,601 2,696 100.0 100.0

Father employed

2,069 2,202 79.6 81.7

Father not employed

531 494 20.4 18.3

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Total families

19,246 19,029 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

17,109 17,058 88.9 89.6

No parent employed

2,137 1,971 11.1 10.4

Total married-couple families(1)

Total

12,939 12,553 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,315 12,085 95.2 96.3

Both parents employed

8,090 8,140 62.5 64.9

Only one parent employed

4,224 3,945 32.6 31.4

Neither parent employed

624 467 4.8 3.7

Opposite-sex married couple families

Total

12,887 12,491 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,266 12,026 95.2 96.3

Mother employed

8,944 8,908 69.4 71.3

Both parents employed

8,058 8,098 62.5 64.8

Mother employed, not father

886 810 6.9 6.5

Father employed, not mother

3,322 3,118 25.8 25.0

Neither parent employed

621 464 4.8 3.7

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

4,731 4,881 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

3,538 3,687 74.8 75.5

Mother not employed

1,193 1,194 25.2 24.5

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

1,576 1,595 100.0 100.0

Father employed

1,256 1,286 79.7 80.6

Father not employed

320 309 20.3 19.4

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Total families

13,801 13,727 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,150 12,140 88.0 88.4

No parent employed

1,651 1,587 12.0 11.6

Total married-couple families(1)

Total

9,983 9,603 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

9,531 9,286 95.5 96.7

Both parents employed

5,614 5,654 56.2 58.9

Only one parent employed

3,917 3,632 39.2 37.8

Neither parent employed

451 317 4.5 3.3

Opposite-sex married couple families

Total

9,939 9,559 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

9,490 9,243 95.5 96.7

Mother employed

6,100 6,046 61.4 63.3

Both parents employed

5,584 5,622 56.2 58.8

Mother employed, not father

516 424 5.2 4.4

Father employed, not mother

3,390 3,197 34.1 33.4

Neither parent employed

450 316 4.5 3.3

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

2,795 3,023 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

1,807 1,937 64.6 64.1

Mother not employed

988 1,086 35.4 35.9

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

1,024 1,101 100.0 100.0

Father employed

813 916 79.4 83.2

Father not employed

211 185 20.6 16.8

Footnotes
(1) Includes both opposite-sex and same-sex married-couple families.
(2) Includes families with no spouse of either sex present.

NOTE: Own children include biological, step-, and adopted children of the husband, wife, or person maintaining the family. 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. Beginning in 2020, family estimates reflect a change in the classification of marital status. This change expanded the definition of married-couple families to include same-sex married couples. As a result, data under the new definition are not strictly comparable with data prior to 2020.


Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 2020-2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic 2020 2021
Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population

63,242 28,569 34,673 62,258 27,990 34,269

Civilian labor force

51,063 26,361 24,702 50,308 25,902 24,406

Participation rate

80.7 92.3 71.2 80.8 92.5 71.2

Employed

47,742 24,892 22,850 48,091 24,912 23,179

Full-time workers(1)

42,008 23,796 18,212 42,253 23,802 18,451

Part-time workers(2)

5,734 1,097 4,638 5,838 1,110 4,728

Employment-population ratio

75.5 87.1 65.9 77.2 89.0 67.6

Unemployed

3,321 1,469 1,852 2,217 989 1,228

Unemployment rate

6.5 5.6 7.5 4.4 3.8 5.0

Total married, spouse present(3)

Civilian noninstitutional population

48,799 24,511 24,287 47,140 23,645 23,495

Civilian labor force

39,673 22,858 16,816 38,413 22,120 16,293

Participation rate

81.3 93.3 69.2 81.5 93.5 69.3

Employed

37,542 21,760 15,782 37,188 21,432 15,756

Full-time workers(1)

33,329 20,878 12,451 33,073 20,561 12,512

Part-time workers(2)

4,213 882 3,331 4,115 871 3,244

Employment-population ratio

76.9 88.8 65.0 78.9 90.6 67.1

Unemployed

2,131 1,097 1,034 1,225 688 537

Unemployment rate

5.4 4.8 6.1 3.2 3.1 3.3

Other marital status(4)

Civilian noninstitutional population

14,443 4,057 10,385 15,118 4,344 10,774

Civilian labor force

11,389 3,504 7,886 11,895 3,782 8,113

Participation rate

78.9 86.3 75.9 78.7 87.0 75.3

Employed

10,200 3,132 7,068 10,903 3,480 7,423

Full-time workers(1)

8,679 2,918 5,762 9,180 3,241 5,939

Part-time workers(2)

1,521 215 1,306 1,723 240 1,484

Employment-population ratio

70.6 77.2 68.1 72.1 80.1 68.9

Unemployed

1,189 371 818 992 301 690

Unemployment rate

10.4 10.6 10.4 8.3 8.0 8.5

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Civilian noninstitutional population

35,666 15,967 19,699 35,127 15,644 19,483

Civilian labor force

29,437 14,588 14,848 29,019 14,310 14,710

Participation rate

82.5 91.4 75.4 82.6 91.5 75.5

Employed

27,621 13,825 13,797 27,823 13,791 14,032

Full-time workers(1)

24,433 13,233 11,200 24,588 13,199 11,390

Part-time workers(2)

3,189 592 2,597 3,234 592 2,642

Employment-population ratio

77.4 86.6 70.0 79.2 88.2 72.0

Unemployed

1,815 764 1,052 1,197 519 678

Unemployment rate

6.2 5.2 7.1 4.1 3.6 4.6

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population

27,575 12,602 14,973 27,131 12,345 14,786

Civilian labor force

21,626 11,773 9,853 21,289 11,592 9,697

Participation rate

78.4 93.4 65.8 78.5 93.9 65.6

Employed

20,121 11,068 9,053 20,268 11,121 9,147

Full-time workers(1)

17,575 10,563 7,012 17,665 10,603 7,061

Part-time workers(2)

2,546 505 2,041 2,604 518 2,085

Employment-population ratio

73.0 87.8 60.5 74.7 90.1 61.9

Unemployed

1,505 705 800 1,020 471 550

Unemployment rate

7.0 6.0 8.1 4.8 4.1 5.7

WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population

197,087 97,353 99,734 199,187 98,498 100,689

Civilian labor force

109,680 58,843 50,837 110,896 59,603 51,293

Participation rate

55.7 60.4 51.0 55.7 60.5 50.9

Employed

100,053 53,668 46,385 104,490 55,917 48,573

Full-time workers(1)

81,180 45,666 35,515 84,907 47,709 37,197

Part-time workers(2)

18,872 8,002 10,870 19,583 8,207 11,376

Employment-population ratio

50.8 55.1 46.5 52.5 56.8 48.2

Unemployed

9,627 5,175 4,452 6,406 3,686 2,720

Unemployment rate

8.8 8.8 8.8 5.8 6.2 5.3

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) Includes persons in both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages.
(4) Includes persons who are never married; widowed; divorced; separated; and married, spouse absent.

NOTE: Own children include biological, step-, and adopted children of the husband, wife, or person maintaining the family. 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. Estimates for 2020 introduced a change in the classification of marital status; estimates of married persons refer to those in opposite-sex and same-sex marriages. As a result, data by marital status are not strictly comparable with data prior to 2020.


Table 6. Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child and marital status, 2020-2021 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic 2020 2021
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

8,480 2,698 3,071 2,711 8,224 2,657 2,957 2,609

Civilian labor force

5,371 1,797 1,940 1,634 5,187 1,714 1,878 1,594

Participation rate

63.3 66.6 63.2 60.3 63.1 64.5 63.5 61.1

Employed

4,943 1,653 1,783 1,507 4,883 1,616 1,767 1,500

Full-time workers(1)

3,785 1,298 1,320 1,167 3,700 1,224 1,340 1,136

Part-time workers(2)

1,158 355 463 340 1,183 393 427 364

Employment-population ratio

58.3 61.3 58.1 55.6 59.4 60.8 59.7 57.5

Unemployed

428 144 157 127 304 98 111 94

Unemployment rate

8.0 8.0 8.1 7.8 5.9 5.7 5.9 5.9

Total married, spouse present(3)

Civilian noninstitutional population

6,181 1,971 2,239 1,971 5,794 1,873 2,075 1,847

Civilian labor force

3,887 1,281 1,412 1,194 3,628 1,183 1,295 1,149

Participation rate

62.9 65.0 63.1 60.6 62.6 63.2 62.4 62.2

Employed

3,650 1,201 1,323 1,126 3,499 1,140 1,248 1,110

Full-time workers(1)

2,827 956 985 886 2,673 863 953 857

Part-time workers(2)

823 245 338 240 825 277 295 253

Employment-population ratio

59.0 60.9 59.1 57.1 60.4 60.9 60.2 60.1

Unemployed

238 80 89 69 129 43 47 39

Unemployment rate

6.1 6.3 6.3 5.8 3.6 3.6 3.7 3.4

Other marital status(4)

Civilian noninstitutional population

2,299 727 831 740 2,430 785 883 762

Civilian labor force

1,484 516 528 440 1,559 531 583 445

Participation rate

64.6 70.9 63.5 59.5 64.2 67.7 66.0 58.4

Employed

1,294 452 460 382 1,385 476 519 390

Full-time workers(1)

959 342 336 281 1,027 360 387 280

Part-time workers(2)

335 110 125 100 358 116 132 110

Employment-population ratio

56.3 62.1 55.3 51.6 57.0 60.7 58.8 51.2

Unemployed

190 64 68 58 174 55 64 55

Unemployment rate

12.8 12.4 12.9 13.3 11.2 10.4 11.0 12.4

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) Includes persons in both opposite-sex and same-sex marriages.
(4) Includes persons who are never married; widowed; divorced; separated; and married, spouse absent.

NOTE: Own children include biological, step-, and adopted children of the husband, wife, or person maintaining the family. 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. Estimates for 2020 introduced a change in the classification of marital status; estimates of married persons refer to those in opposite-sex and same-sex marriages. As a result, data by marital status are not strictly comparable with data prior to 2020.


Last Modified Date: April 20, 2022