Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 02-175 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ For release: 10:00 A.M. EST Media contact: 691-5902 Friday, March 29, 2002 EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES IN 2001 Reflecting the economic downturn that began early in 2001, the proportion of families containing an unemployed member rose by nearly a percentage point to 6.6 percent between 2000 and 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. Of the nation's 72 million families, the share with at least one employed member fell by 0.3 percentage point to 82.9 percent in 2001. These data on employment, unemployment, and family relationships are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 60,000 households. Families include married-couple families, as well as families maintained by a man or a woman with no spouse present. For further information about the CPS, see the Technical Note. Families and Unemployment In an average week in 2001, 4.8 million families had at least one member who was unemployed, a rise of 665,000 families from 2000. The proportion of black families with an unemployed member (11.4 percent) was higher than for either Hispanic (9.9 percent) or white families (5.8 percent); for all three groups, the proportion of families with someone unemployed was higher in 2001 than the year before. (See table 1.) In 2001, about 3 out of 4 of both white and Hispanic families with un- employed members also contained someone who was employed, compared with 3 out of 5 black families with unemployment. Over the year, this proportion edged down among both white and black families, while rising for Hispanic families. While 82.8 percent of the married-couple families with unemployment also contained an employed member in 2001, the proportions were much smaller for families maintained by men (59.6 percent) and those maintained by women (51.4 percent). Families maintained by men were, in relative terms, harder- hit by increasing unemployment in 2001 than were married-couple families and families maintained by women. The number of families maintained by men that contained an unemployed member rose by 31 percent in 2001 to 433,000, compared with increases of 17 percent for married-couple families (to 3.0 million) and 10 percent for families maintained by women (to 1.3 million). (See table 3.) Families and Employment From 2000 to 2001, the percentage of black families with an employed member fell by 1 percentage point to 80.0 percent and that for Hispanic families fell by 0.6 percentage point to 86.9 percent. The proportion of - 2 - white families with someone employed was about unchanged in 2001 at 83.1 percent. (See table 1.) From 1994 (when the series began) to 2001, the proportions of black and Hispanic families with an employed member in- creased by 6.2 and 5.6 percentage points, respectively, compared with a gain of 1.6 percentage points for white families. Overall, 83.9 percent of married-couple families included an employed per- son in 2001, virtually unchanged from the previous year. The proportion of families maintained by women with an employed member fell by 0.8 percentage point over the year to 77.7 percent; this proportion had been rising steadily since 1994, when the series began. The proportion of families maintained by men with an employed member fell by 0.5 percentage point over the year to 86.0 percent. (See table 2.) The proportion of all married-couple families in which only the husband worked edged up to 19.4 percent in 2001, and the proportion in which only the wife worked increased by 0.4 percentage point to 5.8 percent. The pro- portion of all married-couple families in which both the husband and the wife were employed declined by 0.5 percentage point over the year to 52.7 percent. (See table 2.) Families with Children The percent of families with children under 18 that had an employed parent declined by 0.6 percentage point in 2001 to 91.4 percent. Married- couple families with children--which were the most likely to have an em- ployed parent (97.1 percent)--had the smallest decline, 0.4 percentage point. In contrast, families with children under 18 maintained by un- married mothers--which were the least likely to have an employed parent (74.5 percent)--and those maintained by unmarried fathers had over-the-year declines of 1.0 and 1.3 percentage points, respectively. (See table 4.) Mothers The unemployment rate for unmarried mothers--those who were single, widowed, divorced, or separated--with children under 18 increased by 0.5 percentage point in 2001 to 8.0 percent; the rate for married mothers, at 3.4 percent in 2001, also increased by 0.5 percentage point over the year. (See table 5.) The unemployment rate for mothers with children under age 1 jumped from 6.6 percent in 2000 to 7.7 percent in 2001. The rate for unmarried mothers with children under age 1--which was already very high--increased by 3.1 percentage points over the year to 16.8 percent. (See table 6.) The labor force participation rates for mothers with children under 18 were about unchanged in 2001 for both unmarried and married mothers--78.7 percent and 69.6 percent, respectively. However, the labor force partici- pation rate for unmarried mothers has grown by over 11 percentage points since 1994. (See table 5.) Technical Note The estimates in this release are based on annual average data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of about 60,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The information relates to the labor force status of persons 16 years old and over in the civilian noninstitutional population during an "average" week of the year. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. 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. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings. Definitions The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below. Family. A family is a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. The count of families is for "primary" families only, that is, the householder and all other persons related to and residing with the householder. Families are classified either as married-couple families or as families maintained by women or men without spouses. 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 relationship to the householder. Married, spouse present; other marital status. These terms denote the marital status of individuals at the time of interview. Married, spouse present, refers to husbands and wives 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 includes persons who are never-married; married, spouse absent; widowed; or divorced. Married, spouse absent relates to persons who are separated due to marital problems, as well as husbands and wives who are living apart because one or the other was employed elsewhere, on duty with the Armed Forces, or any other reasons. Children. Data on children refer to own children and include sons, daughters, stepchildren, 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. Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic origin, 2000-01 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Characteristic 2000 2001 TOTAL Total families........................................................ 71,680 71,980 With employed member(s)........................................... 59,626 59,699 As percent of total families................................ 83.2 82.9 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 55,683 55,599 With no employed member........................................... 12,054 12,281 As percent of total families................................ 16.8 17.1 With unemployed member(s)......................................... 4,110 4,775 As percent of total families................................ 5.7 6.6 Some member(s) employed......................................... 2,973 3,441 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)......... 72.3 72.1 Some usually work full time(1)................................ 2,675 3,076 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)...... 65.1 64.4 White Total families........................................................ 59,918 59,943 With employed member(s)........................................... 49,877 49,804 As percent of total families................................ 83.2 83.1 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 46,639 46,429 With no employed member........................................... 10,042 10,140 As percent of total families................................ 16.8 16.9 With unemployed member(s)......................................... 3,010 3,506 As percent of total families................................ 5.0 5.8 Some member(s) employed......................................... 2,276 2,629 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)......... 75.6 75.0 Some usually work full time(1)................................ 2,052 2,351 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)...... 68.2 67.1 Black Total families........................................................ 8,600 8,737 With employed member(s)........................................... 6,964 6,988 As percent of total families................................ 81.0 80.0 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 6,401 6,425 With no employed member........................................... 1,636 1,749 As percent of total families................................ 19.0 20.0 With unemployed member(s)......................................... 881 1,000 As percent of total families................................ 10.2 11.4 Some member(s) employed......................................... 535 601 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)......... 60.8 60.1 Some usually work full time(1)................................ 476 538 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)...... 54.1 53.8 Hispanic origin Total families........................................................ 7,581 7,766 With employed member(s)........................................... 6,633 6,746 As percent of total families................................ 87.5 86.9 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 6,255 6,355 With no employed member........................................... 947 1,020 As percent of total families................................ 12.5 13.1 With unemployed member(s)......................................... 679 771 As percent of total families................................ 9.0 9.9 Some member(s) employed......................................... 493 567 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)......... 72.7 73.5 Some usually work full time(1)................................ 446 514 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)...... 65.8 66.7 1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. NOTE: Detail for the above 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. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 2. Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2000-01 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 2000 2001 2000 2001 MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES Total......................................... 54,704 54,665 100.0 100.0 Member(s) employed, total......................... 45,967 45,868 84.0 83.9 Husband only.................................... 10,500 10,598 19.2 19.4 Wife only....................................... 2,946 3,183 5.4 5.8 Husband and wife................................ 29,128 28,801 53.2 52.7 Other employment combinations................... 3,394 3,287 6.2 6.0 No member(s) employed............................. 8,737 8,796 16.0 16.1 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1) Total......................................... 12,775 12,880 100.0 100.0 Members(s) employed, total........................ 10,026 10,014 78.5 77.7 Householder only................................ 5,581 5,623 43.7 43.7 Householder and other member(s)................. 2,806 2,741 22.0 21.3 Other member(s), not householder................ 1,639 1,650 12.8 12.8 No member(s) employed............................. 2,749 2,865 21.5 22.2 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1) Total......................................... 4,200 4,435 100.0 100.0 Members(s) employed, total........................ 3,632 3,816 86.5 86.0 Householder only................................ 1,761 1,854 41.9 41.8 Householder and other member(s)................. 1,358 1,400 32.3 31.6 Other member(s), not householder................ 514 563 12.2 12.7 No member(s) employed............................. 567 619 13.5 14.0 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 3. Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2000-01 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 2000 2001 2000 2001 MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES With unemployed member(s), total.................. 2,584 3,028 100.0 100.0 No member employed.............................. 411 520 15.9 17.2 Some member(s) employed......................... 2,174 2,507 84.1 82.8 Husband unemployed............................ 836 1,137 32.3 37.5 Wife employed............................... 531 722 20.5 23.8 Wife unemployed............................... 789 899 30.5 29.7 Husband employed............................ 694 792 26.8 26.2 Other family member unemployed................ 959 992 37.1 32.8 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1) With unemployed member(s), total.................. 1,194 1,315 100.0 100.0 No member employed.............................. 587 638 49.1 48.5 Some member(s) employed......................... 607 676 50.9 51.4 Householder unemployed........................ 522 590 43.7 44.9 Other member(s) employed.................... 102 127 8.5 9.7 Other member(s) unemployed.................... 672 725 56.3 55.1 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1) With unemployed member(s), total.................. 331 433 100.0 100.0 No member employed.............................. 139 175 42.0 40.4 Some member(s) employed......................... 192 258 58.0 59.6 Householder unemployed........................ 173 229 52.2 52.9 Other member(s) employed.................... 67 93 20.4 21.5 Other member(s) unemployed.................... 158 204 47.8 47.1 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2000-01 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 2000 2001 2000 2001 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Total......................................... 34,340 34,365 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed.............................. 31,601 31,412 92.0 91.4 No parent employed.............................. 2,739 2,953 8.0 8.6 Married-couple families......................... 24,915 24,810 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed............................ 24,282 24,092 97.5 97.1 Mother employed............................. 17,012 16,782 68.3 67.6 Both parents employed..................... 15,996 15,676 64.2 63.2 Mother employed, not father............... 1,016 1,105 4.1 4.5 Father employed, not mother................. 7,270 7,311 29.2 29.5 Neither parent employed....................... 633 718 2.5 2.9 Families maintained by women(1)................. 7,613 7,665 100.0 100.0 Mother employed............................... 5,751 5,710 75.5 74.5 Mother not employed........................... 1,862 1,955 24.5 25.5 Families maintained by men(1)................... 1,812 1,890 100.0 100.0 Father employed............................... 1,568 1,610 86.5 85.2 Father not employed........................... 244 280 13.5 14.8 WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER Total......................................... 19,382 19,608 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed.............................. 17,892 18,026 92.3 91.9 No parent employed.............................. 1,490 1,580 7.7 8.1 Married-couple families......................... 13,628 13,743 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed............................ 13,248 13,339 97.2 97.1 Mother employed............................. 10,247 10,196 75.2 74.2 Both parents employed..................... 9,575 9,488 70.3 69.0 Mother employed, not father............... 672 707 4.9 5.1 Father employed, not mother................. 3,001 3,144 22.0 22.9 Neither parent employed....................... 380 403 2.8 2.9 Families maintained by women(1)................. 4,668 4,750 100.0 100.0 Mother employed............................... 3,715 3,743 79.6 78.8 Mother not employed........................... 954 1,006 20.4 21.2 Families maintained by men(1)................... 1,086 1,114 100.0 100.0 Father employed............................... 929 944 85.6 84.7 Father not employed........................... 157 171 14.4 15.4 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS Total......................................... 14,958 14,758 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed.............................. 13,708 13,386 91.6 90.7 No parent employed.............................. 1,249 1,373 8.4 9.3 Married-couple families......................... 11,287 11,067 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed............................ 11,034 10,753 97.8 97.2 Mother employed............................. 6,765 6,586 59.9 59.5 Both parents employed..................... 6,421 6,188 56.9 55.9 Mother employed, not father............... 344 398 3.0 3.6 Father employed, not mother................. 4,269 4,167 37.8 37.7 Neither parent employed....................... 254 314 2.2 2.8 Families maintained by women(1)................. 2,945 2,916 100.0 100.0 Mother employed............................... 2,036 1,967 69.1 67.5 Mother not employed........................... 909 949 30.9 32.5 Families maintained by men(1)................... 726 775 100.0 100.0 Father employed............................... 639 666 88.0 85.9 Father not employed........................... 87 110 12.0 14.2 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Own children include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 2000-01 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) 2000 2001 Characteristic Total Men Women Total Men Women WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 63,267 27,673 35,595 63,185 27,641 35,543 Civilian labor force................. 51,944 26,202 25,742 51,775 26,142 25,633 Participation rate............... 82.1 94.7 72.3 81.9 94.6 72.1 Employed........................... 50,259 25,622 24,637 49,773 25,358 24,415 Employment-population ratio.... 79.4 92.6 69.2 78.8 91.7 68.7 Full-time workers(1)............. 43,365 24,922 18,443 42,815 24,586 18,229 Part-time workers(2)............. 6,894 699 6,195 6,958 773 6,186 Unemployed......................... 1,685 581 1,104 2,002 784 1,218 Unemployment rate................ 3.2 2.2 4.3 3.9 3.0 4.8 Married, spouse present Civilian noninstitutional population... 51,415 25,540 25,874 51,175 25,390 25,785 Civilian labor force................. 42,361 24,290 18,072 42,083 24,129 17,954 Participation rate............... 82.4 95.1 69.8 82.2 95.0 69.6 Employed........................... 41,357 23,816 17,541 40,828 23,481 17,347 Employment-population ratio.... 80.4 93.2 67.8 79.8 92.5 67.3 Full-time workers(1)............. 35,793 23,212 12,581 35,232 22,813 12,419 Part-time workers(2)............. 5,564 604 4,960 5,597 668 4,928 Unemployed......................... 1,004 474 531 1,255 648 607 Unemployment rate................ 2.4 2.0 2.9 3.0 2.7 3.4 Other marital status(3) Civilian noninstitutional population... 11,853 2,132 9,720 12,010 2,252 9,758 Civilian labor force................. 9,583 1,913 7,670 9,693 2,013 7,679 Participation rate............... 80.8 89.7 78.9 80.7 89.4 78.7 Employed........................... 8,902 1,806 7,096 8,945 1,877 7,068 Employment-population ratio.... 75.1 84.7 73.0 74.5 83.3 72.4 Full-time workers(1)............. 7,572 1,710 5,862 7,584 1,773 5,811 Part-time workers(2)............. 1,330 96 1,234 1,361 105 1,257 Unemployed......................... 681 107 574 747 136 611 Unemployment rate................ 7.1 5.6 7.5 7.7 6.8 8.0 WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER Civilian noninstitutional population... 34,737 15,165 19,572 35,191 15,341 19,850 Civilian labor force................. 29,576 14,178 15,398 29,908 14,358 15,550 Participation rate............... 85.1 93.5 78.7 85.0 93.6 78.3 Employed........................... 28,744 13,877 14,868 28,912 13,970 14,942 Employment-population ratio.... 82.7 91.5 76.0 82.2 91.1 75.3 Full-time workers(1)............. 25,042 13,513 11,529 25,148 13,568 11,580 Part-time workers(2)............. 3,703 364 3,339 3,764 402 3,362 Unemployed......................... 832 302 530 995 387 608 Unemployment rate................ 2.8 2.1 3.4 3.3 2.7 3.9 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 28,530 12,508 16,022 27,993 12,301 15,693 Civilian labor force................. 22,368 12,024 10,344 21,867 11,784 10,083 Participation rate............... 78.4 96.1 64.6 78.1 95.8 64.3 Employed........................... 21,515 11,745 9,770 20,861 11,388 9,473 Employment-population ratio.... 75.4 93.9 61.0 74.5 92.6 60.4 Full-time workers(1)............. 18,323 11,410 6,914 17,667 11,017 6,649 Part-time workers(2)............. 3,191 335 2,856 3,194 370 2,824 Unemployed......................... 853 279 574 1,006 396 610 Unemployment rate................ 3.8 2.3 5.6 4.6 3.4 6.0 WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 145,199 71,825 73,374 147,196 72,733 74,464 Civilian labor force................. 88,014 48,140 39,874 88,948 48,510 40,438 Participation rate............... 60.6 67.0 54.3 60.4 66.7 54.3 Employed........................... 84,058 45,781 38,278 84,227 45,650 38,577 Employment-population ratio.... 57.9 63.7 52.2 57.2 62.8 51.8 Full-time workers(1)............. 68,046 39,136 28,910 67,977 38,898 29,079 Part-time workers(2)............. 16,012 6,645 9,367 16,250 6,752 9,498 Unemployed......................... 3,956 2,359 1,596 4,721 2,860 1,861 Unemployment rate................ 4.5 4.9 4.0 5.3 5.9 4.6 1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. 2 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs. 3 Includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons. NOTE: See NOTE, table 4. Table 6. Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child, and marital status, 2000-01 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Civilian labor force Civilian Employed Unemployed Characteristic noninsti- Percent tutional of population Total popula- Percent Full-time Part-time Percent tion Total of workers workers Number of labor popula- (1) (2) force tion 2000 TOTAL MOTHERS With own children under 3 years old. 9,356 5,653 60.4 5,311 56.8 3,614 1,697 342 6.0 2 years........................... 2,803 1,807 64.5 1,712 61.1 1,193 519 95 5.3 1 year............................ 3,300 2,069 62.7 1,939 58.8 1,310 629 130 6.3 Under 1 year...................... 3,253 1,777 54.6 1,660 51.0 1,112 548 117 6.6 Married, spouse present With own children under 3 years old. 7,056 4,090 58.0 3,940 55.8 2,613 1,327 150 3.7 2 years........................... 2,096 1,276 60.9 1,233 58.9 823 411 42 3.3 1 year............................ 2,499 1,503 60.1 1,448 57.9 953 495 55 3.6 Under 1 year...................... 2,461 1,312 53.3 1,259 51.1 837 421 53 4.1 Other marital status(3) With own children under 3 years old. 2,300 1,563 67.9 1,371 59.6 1,002 370 191 12.2 2 years........................... 707 531 75.1 478 67.6 370 108 53 9.9 1 year............................ 801 566 70.7 491 61.3 357 134 75 13.2 Under 1 year...................... 792 465 58.8 402 50.7 275 127 64 13.7 2001 TOTAL MOTHERS With own children under 3 years old. 9,177 5,526 60.2 5,142 56.0 3,527 1,616 383 6.9 2 years........................... 2,787 1,834 65.8 1,719 61.7 1,194 525 115 6.3 1 year............................ 3,344 2,020 60.4 1,881 56.2 1,285 597 139 6.9 Under 1 year...................... 3,046 1,672 54.9 1,542 50.6 1,048 494 129 7.7 Married, spouse present With own children under 3 years old. 6,921 3,979 57.5 3,808 55.0 2,546 1,263 171 4.3 2 years........................... 2,069 1,280 61.9 1,229 59.4 818 411 51 4.0 1 year............................ 2,533 1,450 57.2 1,389 54.8 920 469 62 4.3 Under 1 year...................... 2,319 1,249 53.9 1,190 51.3 808 383 58 4.6 Other marital status(3) With own children under 3 years old. 2,256 1,546 68.5 1,335 59.2 982 354 213 13.8 2 years........................... 718 553 77.0 490 68.2 378 114 65 11.8 1 year............................ 812 570 70.2 493 60.7 365 129 77 13.5 Under 1 year...................... 726 423 58.3 352 48.5 239 111 71 16.8 1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. 2 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs. 3 Includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons. NOTE: See NOTE, table 4.