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Economic News Release
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Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2021-2022 annual averages

Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2021-2022 annual averages [Numbers in thousands]
Characteristic Number Percent distribution
2021 2022 2021 2022

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Total families

32,756 33,253 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

29,198 30,318 89.1 91.2

No parent employed

3,558 2,934 10.9 8.8

Total married-couple families(1)

Total

22,156 22,672 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

21,372 22,088 96.5 97.4

Both parents employed

13,794 14,746 62.3 65.0

Only one parent employed

7,577 7,342 34.2 32.4

Neither parent employed

784 584 3.5 2.6

Opposite-sex married couple families

Total

22,050 22,528 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

21,269 21,946 96.5 97.4

Mother employed

14,955 15,808 67.8 70.2

Both parents employed

13,720 14,648 62.2 65.0

Mother employed, not father

1,234 1,160 5.6 5.1

Father employed, not mother

6,315 6,139 28.6 27.2

Neither parent employed

780 581 3.5 2.6

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

7,904 7,852 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

5,624 5,892 71.2 75.0

Mother not employed

2,280 1,960 28.8 25.0

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

2,696 2,729 100.0 100.0

Father employed

2,202 2,338 81.7 85.7

Father not employed

494 391 18.3 14.3

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Total families

19,029 19,379 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

17,058 17,722 89.6 91.5

No parent employed

1,971 1,657 10.4 8.5

Total married-couple families(1)

Total

12,553 12,848 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,085 12,472 96.3 97.1

Both parents employed

8,140 8,679 64.9 67.6

Only one parent employed

3,945 3,793 31.4 29.5

Neither parent employed

467 376 3.7 2.9

Opposite-sex married couple families

Total

12,491 12,763 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,026 12,389 96.3 97.1

Mother employed

8,908 9,377 71.3 73.5

Both parents employed

8,098 8,622 64.8 67.6

Mother employed, not father

810 755 6.5 5.9

Father employed, not mother

3,118 3,011 25.0 23.6

Neither parent employed

464 374 3.7 2.9

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

4,881 4,846 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

3,687 3,818 75.5 78.8

Mother not employed

1,194 1,028 24.5 21.2

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

1,595 1,684 100.0 100.0

Father employed

1,286 1,432 80.6 85.0

Father not employed

309 253 19.4 15.0

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Total families

13,727 13,874 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

12,140 12,596 88.4 90.8

No parent employed

1,587 1,278 11.6 9.2

Total married-couple families(1)

Total

9,603 9,824 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

9,286 9,616 96.7 97.9

Both parents employed

5,654 6,066 58.9 61.8

Only one parent employed

3,632 3,549 37.8 36.1

Neither parent employed

317 208 3.3 2.1

Opposite-sex married couple families

Total

9,559 9,765 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed

9,243 9,558 96.7 97.9

Mother employed

6,046 6,430 63.3 65.9

Both parents employed

5,622 6,026 58.8 61.7

Mother employed, not father

424 404 4.4 4.1

Father employed, not mother

3,197 3,127 33.4 32.0

Neither parent employed

316 207 3.3 2.1

Families maintained by mother(2)

Total

3,023 3,005 100.0 100.0

Mother employed

1,937 2,074 64.1 69.0

Mother not employed

1,086 931 35.9 31.0

Families maintained by father(2)

Total

1,101 1,045 100.0 100.0

Father employed

916 906 83.2 86.7

Father not employed

185 139 16.8 13.3

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.

Last Modified Date: April 19, 2023