Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 01-103 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, April 19, 2001 EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES IN 2000 In 2000, 83.2 percent of U.S. families had at least one employed member, about unchanged from 1999, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Of the nation's 71.7 million families, 5.7 percent reported having an unemployed member, a decline of 0.3 percentage point from the previous year. These data on employment, unemployment, and family relationships are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 50,000 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 2000, 4.1 million families had at least one member who was unemployed. Of these families, 72.3 percent also contained at least one employed family member. The proportion of black families with an unem- ployed member (10.2 percent) was higher than the proportion for either Hispanic (9.0 percent) or white families (5.0 percent). Among the families with unemployment, white and Hispanic families were more likely than black families to have at least one employed member. (See table 1.) Families and Employment From 1999 to 2000, the percentage of Hispanic families with an employed member rose a full percentage point to 87.5 percent, while the proportions for white families and for black families were about unchanged. Since 1994, when the series began, the proportions of black and Hispanic families with an employed member have increased by 7.2 and 6.2 percentage points, respectively, compared with a gain of 1.7 points for white families. (See table 1.) Overall, 84.0 percent of married-couple families included an employed person in 2000, as did 86.5 percent of families maintained by men (no spouse present). Both proportions were essentially unchanged from 1999. In 2000, 78.5 percent of families maintained by women (no spouse present) included an employed person. This proportion was 0.9 percentage point higher than it had been in 1999 and about 9 points higher than in 1994. (See table 2.) The proportion of all married-couple families in which only the husband worked was 19.2 percent in 2000, about the same as the year before. The proportion of married-couple families in which both the husband and wife were employed edged up over the year to 53.2 percent in 2000. (See table 2.) Families with Children In 2000, both parents were employed in 64.2 percent of married-couple families with children under 18, while the father, but not the mother, was employed in 29.2 percent of these families. Both proportions were about unchanged from a year earlier and have shown little change since 1994. The proportion of "traditional" families, that is, families in which the father, but not the mother, is employed, is much larger among couples with preschool children (under 6 years of age) than among families whose youngest child was 6 to 17 years old. (See table 4.) - 2 - Mothers The unemployment rate for unmarried mothers--those who were single, widowed, divorced, or separated--with children under 18 declined by 0.6 percentage point in 2000 to 7.5 percent. The rate for married mothers, at 2.9 percent in 2000, was little changed over the year. (See table 5.) The labor force participation rate for unmarried mothers increased over the year by 0.4 percentage point to 78.9 percent. Since 1994, the labor force participation rate for this group has grown by 11.6 percentage points. The rate for married mothers (who represent nearly three-quarters of all mothers) was unchanged in 2000 at 69.8 percent. (See table 5.) The labor force participation rate for unmarried mothers with children under a year old was unchanged for the second year in a row at 58.8 percent. It had risen by about 13 percentage points between 1994 and 1998. The par- ticipation rate for married mothers with children under a year old (53.3 percent) declined by 2.5 percentage points over the year. This is the third straight decline for this measure. (See table 6.) 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 50,000 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, vacation, on a visit, in a hospital, etc. 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, adopted, and step-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, 1999-2000 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Characteristic 1999 2000 TOTAL Total families................................................... 71,250 71,680 With employed member(s)...................................... 59,185 59,626 As percent of total families........................... 83.1 83.2 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 55,123 55,683 With no employed member...................................... 12,065 12,054 As percent of total families........................... 16.9 16.8 With unemployed member(s).................................... 4,260 4,110 As percent of total families........................... 6.0 5.7 Some member(s) employed.................................... 3,091 2,973 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).... 72.6 72.3 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 2,771 2,675 As percent of families with unemployed member(s). 65.0 65.1 White Total families................................................... 59,661 59,918 With employed member(s)...................................... 49,632 49,877 As percent of total families........................... 83.2 83.2 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 46,333 46,639 With no employed member...................................... 10,029 10,042 As percent of total families........................... 16.8 16.8 With unemployed member(s).................................... 3,134 3,010 As percent of total families........................... 5.3 5.0 Some member(s) employed.................................... 2,374 2,276 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).... 75.8 75.6 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 2,132 2,052 As percent of families with unemployed member(s). 68.0 68.2 Black Total families................................................... 8,498 8,600 With employed member(s)...................................... 6,847 6,964 As percent of total families........................... 80.6 81.0 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 6,249 6,401 With no employed member...................................... 1,652 1,636 As percent of total families........................... 19.4 19.0 With unemployed member(s).................................... 905 881 As percent of total families........................... 10.6 10.2 Some member(s) employed.................................... 551 535 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).... 60.8 60.8 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 486 476 As percent of families with unemployed member(s). 53.7 54.1 Hispanic origin Total families................................................... 7,403 7,581 With employed member(s)...................................... 6,405 6,633 As percent of total families........................... 86.5 87.5 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 6,017 6,255 With no employed member...................................... 998 947 As percent of total families........................... 13.5 12.5 With unemployed member(s).................................... 715 679 As percent of total families........................... 9.7 9.0 Some member(s) employed.................................... 518 493 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).... 72.5 72.7 Some usually work full time(1)........................... 467 446 As percent of families with unemployed member(s). 65.3 65.8 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. Data for 2000 are not strictly comparable with data for 1999 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 2000. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Due to a change in the way the data were processed, some percents and rates shown for 1999 will differ slightly from previously published data. Table 2. Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 1999-2000 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 1999 2000 1999 2000 MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES Total......................................... 54,468 54,704 100.0 100.0 Member(s) employed, total......................... 45,800 45,967 84.1 84.0 Husband only.................................... 10,533 10,500 19.3 19.2 Wife only....................................... 2,980 2,946 5.5 5.4 Husband and wife................................ 28,882 29,128 53.0 53.2 Other employment combinations................... 3,404 3,394 6.3 6.2 No member(s) employed............................. 8,668 8,737 15.9 16.0 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1) Total......................................... 12,625 12,775 100.0 100.0 Members(s) employed, total........................ 9,797 10,026 77.6 78.5 Householder only................................ 5,566 5,581 44.1 43.7 Householder and other member(s)................. 2,663 2,806 21.1 22.0 Other member(s), not householder................ 1,568 1,639 12.4 12.8 No member(s) employed............................. 2,827 2,749 22.4 21.5 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1) Total......................................... 4,158 4,200 100.0 100.0 Members(s) employed, total........................ 3,588 3,632 86.3 86.5 Householder only................................ 1,718 1,761 41.3 41.9 Householder and other member(s)................. 1,353 1,358 32.5 32.3 Other member(s), not householder................ 517 514 12.4 12.2 No member(s) employed............................. 569 567 13.7 13.5 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Data for 2000 are not strictly comparable with data for 1999 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 2000. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Due to a change in the way the data were processed, some percents and rates shown for 1999 will differ slightly from previously published data. Table 3. Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 1999-2000 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 1999 2000 1999 2000 MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES With unemployed member(s), total.................. 2,705 2,584 100.0 100.0 No member employed.............................. 440 411 16.3 15.9 Some member(s) employed......................... 2,265 2,174 83.7 84.1 Husband unemployed............................ 924 836 34.2 32.3 Wife employed............................... 589 531 21.8 20.5 Wife unemployed............................... 790 789 29.2 30.5 Husband employed............................ 696 694 25.8 26.8 Other family member unemployed................ 991 959 36.6 37.1 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1) With unemployed member(s), total.................. 1,222 1,194 100.0 100.0 No member employed.............................. 613 587 50.2 49.1 Some member(s) employed......................... 609 607 49.8 50.9 Householder unemployed........................ 560 522 45.8 43.7 Other member(s) employed.................... 110 102 9.0 8.5 Other member(s) unemployed.................... 662 672 54.2 56.3 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1) With unemployed member(s), total.................. 333 331 100.0 100.0 No member employed.............................. 115 139 34.6 42.0 Some member(s) employed......................... 218 192 65.4 58.0 Householder unemployed........................ 154 173 46.4 52.2 Other member(s) employed.................... 71 67 21.4 20.4 Other member(s) unemployed.................... 178 158 53.6 47.8 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Data for 2000 are not strictly comparable with data for 1999 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 2000. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Due to a change in the way the data were processed, some percents and rates shown for 1999 will differ slightly from previously published data. Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 1999-2000 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 1999 2000 1999 2000 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Total......................................... 34,340 34,340 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed.............................. 31,493 31,601 91.7 92.0 No parent employed.............................. 2,847 2,739 8.3 8.0 Married-couple families......................... 24,904 24,915 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed............................ 24,243 24,282 97.3 97.5 Mother employed............................. 16,995 17,012 68.2 68.3 Both parents employed..................... 15,958 15,996 64.1 64.2 Mother employed, not father............... 1,037 1,016 4.2 4.1 Father employed, not mother................. 7,249 7,270 29.1 29.2 Neither parent employed....................... 661 633 2.7 2.5 Families maintained by women(1)................. 7,653 7,613 100.0 100.0 Mother employed............................... 5,713 5,751 74.6 75.5 Mother not employed........................... 1,940 1,862 25.4 24.5 Families maintained by men(1)................... 1,782 1,812 100.0 100.0 Father employed............................... 1,537 1,568 86.3 86.5 Father not employed........................... 245 244 13.7 13.5 WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER Total......................................... 19,364 19,382 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed.............................. 17,824 17,892 92.0 92.3 No parent employed.............................. 1,540 1,490 8.0 7.7 Married-couple families......................... 13,565 13,628 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed............................ 13,174 13,248 97.1 97.2 Mother employed............................. 10,113 10,247 74.6 75.2 Both parents employed..................... 9,446 9,575 69.6 70.3 Mother employed, not father............... 667 672 4.9 4.9 Father employed, not mother................. 3,061 3,001 22.6 22.0 Neither parent employed....................... 391 380 2.9 2.8 Families maintained by women(1)................. 4,722 4,668 100.0 100.0 Mother employed............................... 3,737 3,715 79.1 79.6 Mother not employed........................... 985 954 20.9 20.4 Families maintained by men(1)................... 1,077 1,086 100.0 100.0 Father employed............................... 913 929 84.8 85.6 Father not employed........................... 164 157 15.2 14.4 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS Total......................................... 14,976 14,958 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed.............................. 13,669 13,708 91.3 91.6 No parent employed.............................. 1,307 1,249 8.7 8.4 Married-couple families......................... 11,340 11,287 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed............................ 11,069 11,034 97.6 97.8 Mother employed............................. 6,882 6,765 60.7 59.9 Both parents employed..................... 6,512 6,421 57.4 56.9 Mother employed, not father............... 370 344 3.3 3.0 Father employed, not mother................. 4,187 4,269 36.9 37.8 Neither parent employed....................... 270 254 2.4 2.2 Families maintained by women(1)................. 2,931 2,945 100.0 100.0 Mother employed............................... 1,976 2,036 67.4 69.1 Mother not employed........................... 956 909 32.6 30.9 Families maintained by men(1)................... 705 726 100.0 100.0 Father employed............................... 624 639 88.5 88.0 Father not employed........................... 81 87 11.5 12.0 1 No 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. Data for 2000 are not strictly comparable with data for 1999 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 2000. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Due to a change in the way the data were processed, some percents and rates shown for 1999 will differ slightly from previously published data. Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 1999-2000 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) 1999 2000 Characteristic Total Men Women Total Men Women WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 63,158 27,573 35,585 63,267 27,673 35,595 Civilian labor force................. 51,778 26,092 25,686 51,944 26,202 25,742 Participation rate............... 82.0 94.6 72.2 82.1 94.7 72.3 Employed........................... 50,010 25,472 24,538 50,259 25,622 24,637 Employment-population ratio.... 79.2 92.4 69.0 79.4 92.6 69.2 Full-time workers(1)............. 43,033 24,712 18,321 43,365 24,922 18,443 Part-time workers(2)............. 6,977 761 6,216 6,894 699 6,195 Unemployed......................... 1,768 620 1,149 1,685 581 1,104 Unemployment rate................ 3.4 2.4 4.5 3.2 2.2 4.3 Married, spouse present Civilian noninstitutional population... 51,302 25,462 25,840 51,415 25,540 25,874 Civilian labor force................. 42,260 24,222 18,038 42,361 24,290 18,072 Participation rate............... 82.4 95.1 69.8 82.4 95.1 69.8 Employed........................... 41,193 23,688 17,505 41,357 23,816 17,541 Employment-population ratio.... 80.3 93.0 67.7 80.4 93.2 67.8 Full-time workers(1)............. 35,568 23,024 12,544 35,793 23,212 12,581 Part-time workers(2)............. 5,625 664 4,961 5,564 604 4,960 Unemployed......................... 1,067 534 533 1,004 474 531 Unemployment rate................ 2.5 2.2 3.0 2.4 2.0 2.9 Other marital status(3) Civilian noninstitutional population... 11,856 2,110 9,746 11,853 2,132 9,720 Civilian labor force................. 9,518 1,870 7,648 9,583 1,913 7,670 Participation rate............... 80.3 88.6 78.5 80.8 89.7 78.9 Employed........................... 8,817 1,784 7,032 8,902 1,806 7,096 Employment-population ratio.... 74.4 84.6 72.2 75.1 84.7 73.0 Full-time workers(1)............. 7,465 1,687 5,777 7,572 1,710 5,862 Part-time workers(2)............. 1,352 97 1,255 1,330 96 1,234 Unemployed......................... 702 86 616 681 107 574 Unemployment rate................ 7.4 4.6 8.1 7.1 5.6 7.5 WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER Civilian noninstitutional population... 34,662 15,090 19,572 34,737 15,165 19,572 Civilian labor force................. 29,403 14,092 15,311 29,576 14,178 15,398 Participation rate............... 84.8 93.4 78.2 85.1 93.5 78.7 Employed........................... 28,528 13,782 14,747 28,744 13,877 14,868 Employment-population ratio.... 82.3 91.3 75.3 82.7 91.5 76.0 Full-time workers(1)............. 24,807 13,385 11,422 25,042 13,513 11,529 Part-time workers(2)............. 3,722 397 3,325 3,703 364 3,339 Unemployed......................... 875 310 564 832 302 530 Unemployment rate................ 3.0 2.2 3.7 2.8 2.1 3.4 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 28,496 12,482 16,014 28,530 12,508 16,022 Civilian labor force................. 22,375 12,000 10,375 22,368 12,024 10,344 Participation rate............... 78.5 96.1 64.8 78.4 96.1 64.6 Employed........................... 21,482 11,691 9,791 21,515 11,745 9,770 Employment-population ratio.... 75.4 93.7 61.1 75.4 93.9 61.0 Full-time workers(1)............. 18,227 11,327 6,900 18,323 11,410 6,914 Part-time workers(2)............. 3,255 364 2,891 3,191 335 2,856 Unemployed......................... 894 310 584 853 279 574 Unemployment rate................ 4.0 2.6 5.6 3.8 2.3 5.6 WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 143,160 70,714 72,446 145,199 71,825 73,374 Civilian labor force................. 86,424 47,255 39,169 88,014 48,140 39,874 Participation rate............... 60.4 66.8 54.1 60.6 67.0 54.3 Employed........................... 82,333 44,828 37,504 84,058 45,781 38,278 Employment-population ratio.... 57.5 63.4 51.8 57.9 63.7 52.2 Full-time workers(1)............. 66,136 38,086 28,051 68,046 39,136 28,910 Part-time workers(2)............. 16,196 6,743 9,454 16,012 6,645 9,367 Unemployed......................... 4,091 2,426 1,665 3,956 2,359 1,596 Unemployment rate................ 4.7 5.1 4.3 4.5 4.9 4.0 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 by marital status, 1999-2000 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 1999 TOTAL MOTHERS With own children under 3 years old. 9,339 5,742 61.5 5,389 57.7 3,692 1,697 353 6.1 2 years........................... 2,890 1,888 65.3 1,788 61.9 1,257 530 101 5.3 1 year............................ 3,283 2,062 62.8 1,934 58.9 1,298 635 128 6.2 Under 1 year...................... 3,166 1,792 56.6 1,668 52.7 1,137 531 124 6.9 Married, spouse present With own children under 3 years old. 7,089 4,224 59.6 4,078 57.5 2,744 1,334 147 3.5 2 years........................... 2,175 1,356 62.4 1,316 60.5 898 419 40 2.9 1 year............................ 2,522 1,532 60.8 1,477 58.6 964 513 56 3.6 Under 1 year...................... 2,392 1,336 55.8 1,285 53.7 882 403 51 3.8 Other marital status(3) With own children under 3 years old. 2,251 1,517 67.4 1,311 58.3 949 362 206 13.6 2 years........................... 715 532 74.4 472 65.9 360 112 61 11.4 1 year............................ 761 529 69.5 457 60.0 334 123 72 13.7 Under 1 year...................... 774 456 58.8 383 49.5 255 128 73 16.0 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 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.