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Labor force participation of fathers in 2014

June 19, 2015

In 2014, 92.8 percent of all fathers who lived with their children under age 18 participated in the labor force. That means they either worked or were actively seeking work and available to take a job if offered.

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Chart Data

Employment status of men, by marital status and presence and age of own children under 18, 2014
Employment status	With own children under 18 years			With own children age 6 to 17 years, none younger	With own children under 6 years	With no own children under 18 years
Employment status	Married, spouse present	Other marital status⁽³⁾	Any marital status	Any marital status	Any marital status	Any marital status
Total	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0	100.0
Not in labor force	6.3	12.9	7.2	8.4	5.8	38.3
Labor force	93.7	87.1	92.8	91.6	94.2	61.7
Unemployed	3.0	7.6	3.6	3.3	4.0	4.6
Part-time workers⁽¹⁾	4.0	6.9	4.4	4.0	4.9	9.5
Full-time workers⁽²⁾	86.7	72.6	84.8	84.4	85.3	47.6
Footnotes: ⁽¹⁾ Usually work less than 35 hours per week at all jobs. ⁽²⁾ Usually work 35 hours or more per week at all jobs. ⁽³⁾ Includes never married; married, spouse absent; divorced; separated; and widowed persons. Note: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. The unemployed as a percentage of the population is not the same as the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the unemployed as a percentage of the labor force.

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Among all fathers with children under age 18, 84.8 percent were employed full time and 4.4 percent were employed part time. Another 7.2 percent were not in the labor force, and 3.6 percent were unemployed—that is, not employed but actively seeking work. (The unemployed as a percentage of the population is not the same as the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the unemployed as a percentage of the labor force.)

The labor force participation rate for married fathers with a spouse present was 93.7 percent in 2014, compared with 87.1 percent for fathers with other marital statuses. Married fathers with a spouse present were more likely to work full time than fathers with other marital statuses (86.7 percent and 72.6 percent, respectively).

These data are from the Current Population Survey. For more information, see "Employment Characteristics of Families — 2014" (HTML) (PDF). Other marital statuses include men who never married, married men whose spouse is absent, and men who are separated, divorced, or widowed.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Labor force participation of fathers in 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/labor-force-participation-of-fathers-in-2014.htm (visited October 31, 2024).

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