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80.1 percent of families had at least one employed family member in 2014
April 29, 2015
The share of families with at least one employed family member was 80.1 percent in 2014. Families maintained by men without a spouse (83.0 percent) were more likely to have an employed member than families maintained by women without a spouse (74.4 percent). The share of married-couple families with at least one member employed was 81.4 percent.
Families with at least one member employed, by family type, 2014 annual averages
Characteristic
Percent
Total families
80.1
Married-couple families, total
81.4
Married-couple families, husband only
19.9
Married-couple families, wife only
7.5
Married-couple families, husband and wife
47.7
Married-couple families, other employment combination
6.3
Families maintained by women, no spouse present
74.4
Families maintained by men, no spouse present
83.0
Families with children under 18 years
Total families, at least one parent employed
88.7
Married-couple families, at least one parent employed
96.6
Married-couple families, both parents employed
60.2
Married-couple families, mother employed, not father
5.6
Married-couple families, father employed, not mother
30.8
Families maintained by mother without spouse, mother employed
69.4
Families maintained by father without spouse, father employed
81.9
Both the husband and wife were employed in 47.7 percent of married-couple families in 2014. The husband was the only worker in 19.9 percent of married-couple families. The wife was the only worker in 7.5 percent of these families.
Among families with children, 88.7 percent had at least one employed parent in 2014. At least one parent was employed in 96.6 percent of married-couple families with children; both parents worked in 60.2 percent. The mother was employed in 69.4 percent of families with children maintained by women without a spouse present in 2014. The father was employed in 81.9 percent of families with children maintained by men without a spouse present.
In 2014, 8.0 percent of families included an unemployed person, down from 9.6 percent in 2013. Black and Hispanic families remained more likely to have an unemployed member in 2014 (14.1 percent and 10.8 percent, respectively) than White and Asian families (7.0 percent and 7.5 percent, respectively).
Percent of total families with at least one family member unemployed, by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2004–2014 annual averages
Characteristic
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
Total
7.4
7.0
6.4
6.3
7.8
12.0
12.4
11.5
10.5
9.6
8.0
White
6.6
6.1
5.6
5.6
7.1
11.1
11.3
10.4
9.5
8.5
7.0
Black or African American
12.7
12.7
11.4
10.8
12.8
17.4
19.2
18.9
16.8
16.0
14.1
Asian
6.7
6.2
5.2
5.4
6.3
11.4
11.3
10.9
9.2
7.8
7.5
Hispanic or Latino
10.2
9.0
8.0
8.5
11.0
16.9
17.4
16.3
14.5
12.9
10.8
These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "Employment Characteristics of Families — 2014" (HTML) (PDF). A family is a group of two or more people living together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. Families are classified as married-couple families or as families maintained by women or men without spouses present. Unless otherwise noted, families include those without children as well as those with children under age 18. The race or ethnicity of the family is that of the householder (the person who owns or rents the housing unit). People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.
United States Department of Labor
