Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2022-2023 annual averages

Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2022-2023 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic	Number		Percent distribution
Characteristic	2022	2023	2022	2023
WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS
Total families	33,253	32,610	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	30,318	29,958	91.2	91.9
No parent employed	2,934	2,652	8.8	8.1
Total married-couple families(1)
Total	22,672	22,605	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	22,088	22,059	97.4	97.6
Both parents employed	14,746	15,156	65.0	67.0
Only one parent employed	7,342	6,903	32.4	30.5
Neither parent employed	584	546	2.6	2.4
Opposite-sex married couple families
Total	22,528	22,469	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	21,946	21,926	97.4	97.6
Mother employed	15,808	16,173	70.2	72.0
Both parents employed	14,648	15,059	65.0	67.0
Mother employed, not father	1,160	1,114	5.1	5.0
Father employed, not mother	6,139	5,753	27.2	25.6
Neither parent employed	581	543	2.6	2.4
Families maintained by mother(2)
Total	7,852	7,364	100.0	100.0
Mother employed	5,892	5,614	75.0	76.2
Mother not employed	1,960	1,750	25.0	23.8
Families maintained by father(2)
Total	2,729	2,641	100.0	100.0
Father employed	2,338	2,285	85.7	86.5
Father not employed	391	356	14.3	13.5

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER
Total families	19,379	19,126	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	17,722	17,615	91.5	92.1
No parent employed	1,657	1,511	8.5	7.9
Total married-couple families(1)
Total	12,848	12,911	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	12,472	12,563	97.1	97.3
Both parents employed	8,679	8,975	67.6	69.5
Only one parent employed	3,793	3,588	29.5	27.8
Neither parent employed	376	348	2.9	2.7
Opposite-sex married couple families
Total	12,763	12,823	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	12,389	12,477	97.1	97.3
Mother employed	9,377	9,637	73.5	75.2
Both parents employed	8,622	8,910	67.6	69.5
Mother employed, not father	755	728	5.9	5.7
Father employed, not mother	3,011	2,840	23.6	22.1
Neither parent employed	374	346	2.9	2.7
Families maintained by mother(2)
Total	4,846	4,581	100.0	100.0
Mother employed	3,818	3,656	78.8	79.8
Mother not employed	1,028	925	21.2	20.2
Families maintained by father(2)
Total	1,684	1,634	100.0	100.0
Father employed	1,432	1,396	85.0	85.4
Father not employed	253	238	15.0	14.6

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS
Total families	13,874	13,484	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	12,596	12,344	90.8	91.5
No parent employed	1,278	1,141	9.2	8.5
Total married-couple families(1)
Total	9,824	9,694	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	9,616	9,496	97.9	98.0
Both parents employed	6,066	6,181	61.8	63.8
Only one parent employed	3,549	3,315	36.1	34.2
Neither parent employed	208	198	2.1	2.0
Opposite-sex married couple families
Total	9,765	9,646	100.0	100.0
Parent(s) employed	9,558	9,449	97.9	98.0
Mother employed	6,430	6,536	65.9	67.8
Both parents employed	6,026	6,149	61.7	63.8
Mother employed, not father	404	386	4.1	4.0
Father employed, not mother	3,127	2,913	32.0	30.2
Neither parent employed	207	197	2.1	2.0
Families maintained by mother(2)
Total	3,005	2,783	100.0	100.0
Mother employed	2,074	1,958	69.0	70.4
Mother not employed	931	825	31.0	29.6
Families maintained by father(2)
Total	1,045	1,007	100.0	100.0
Father employed	906	890	86.7	88.3
Father not employed	139	118	13.3	11.7
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 living in the household who are under age 18. 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.

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Last Modified Date: April 24, 2024