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Percentage of employed women working full time little changed over past 5 decades

December 01, 2017

In 2016, 75 percent of employed women usually worked full time—that is, 35 or more hours per week. The remaining 25 percent usually worked part time (1 to 34 hours per week).

Percentage of employed people, by full- and part-time status and sex, 1968–2016
Year Total (both women and men) Women Men
Percentage usually working full time Percentage usually working part time Percentage usually working full time Percentage usually working part time Percentage usually working full time Percentage usually working part time

1968

86.0% 14.0% 75.1% 24.9% 92.2% 7.8%

1969

85.5 14.5 74.9 25.1 91.8 8.2

1970

84.8 15.2 73.9 26.1 91.5 8.5

1971

84.4 15.6 73.2 26.8 91.2 8.8

1972

84.3 15.7 73.1 26.9 91.1 8.9

1973

84.4 15.6 73.2 26.8 91.4 8.6

1974

84.2 15.8 73.2 26.8 91.2 8.8

1975

83.4 16.6 72.4 27.6 90.6 9.4

1976

83.3 16.7 72.5 27.5 90.6 9.4

1977

83.3 16.7 72.6 27.4 90.5 9.5

1978

83.5 16.5 73.1 26.9 90.8 9.2

1979

83.6 16.4 73.3 26.7 91.0 9.0

1980

83.1 16.9 73.2 26.8 90.4 9.6

1981

82.9 17.1 72.9 27.1 90.4 9.6

1982

81.8 18.2 71.9 28.1 89.4 10.6

1983

81.6 18.4 71.9 28.1 89.2 10.8

1984

82.4 17.6 72.9 27.1 89.8 10.2

1985

82.6 17.4 73.4 26.6 89.9 10.1

1986

82.6 17.4 73.6 26.4 89.8 10.2

1987

82.7 17.3 73.9 26.1 89.8 10.2

1988

82.8 17.2 74.3 25.7 89.8 10.2

1989

83.0 17.0 74.5 25.5 90.0 10.0

1990

83.1 16.9 74.8 25.2 89.9 10.1

1991

82.6 17.4 74.4 25.6 89.4 10.6

1992

82.4 17.6 74.6 25.4 89.0 11.0

1993

82.4 17.6 74.7 25.3 88.9 11.1

1994

81.1 18.9 72.3 27.7 88.5 11.5

1995

81.4 18.6 72.6 27.4 89.0 11.0

1996

81.7 18.3 73.1 26.9 89.1 10.9

1997

82.1 17.9 73.6 26.4 89.3 10.7

1998

82.3 17.7 74.1 25.9 89.4 10.6

1999

82.6 17.4 74.7 25.3 89.5 10.5

2000

83.2 16.8 75.4 24.6 89.9 10.1

2001

82.9 17.1 75.2 24.8 89.7 10.3

2002

82.6 17.4 74.7 25.3 89.4 10.6

2003

82.3 17.7 74.4 25.6 89.2 10.8

2004

82.2 17.8 74.3 25.7 89.2 10.8

2005

82.6 17.4 74.8 25.2 89.3 10.7

2006

82.9 17.1 75.3 24.7 89.4 10.6

2007

82.9 17.1 75.3 24.7 89.5 10.5

2008

82.6 17.4 75.4 24.6 88.9 11.1

2009

80.5 19.5 73.5 26.5 86.8 13.2

2010

80.3 19.7 73.4 26.6 86.6 13.4

2011

80.5 19.5 73.5 26.5 86.6 13.4

2012

80.6 19.4 73.7 26.3 86.7 13.3

2013

80.8 19.2 74.0 26.0 86.9 13.1

2014

81.1 18.9 74.2 25.8 87.3 12.7

2015

81.6 18.4 74.8 25.2 87.6 12.4

2016

81.7 18.3 75.1 24.9 87.6 12.4

Note: Full time is 35 or more hours per week; part time is 1 to 34 hours per week. Data for 1994 and subsequent years are not directly comparable with data for 1993 and earlier years because of the introduction of a major redesign of the Current Population Survey.

The percentages of employed women working full time and part time have not changed much over the past 5 decades. Since 1968, the percentage of employed women working full time has always been between approximately 72 percent and 75 percent.

In comparison, 88 percent of employed men usually worked full time in 2016 and 12 percent usually worked part time. The percentage of employed men working full time has gradually trended down over the 1968–2016 period. It was above 90 percent until 1982 and above 88 percent through 2008.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see Women in the labor force: a databook (November 2017).

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, Percentage of employed women working full time little changed over past 5 decades at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2017/percentage-of-employed-women-working-full-time-little-changed-over-past-5-decades.htm (visited March 19, 2024).

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