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80.2 percent of families had at least one employed member in 2023
June 04, 2024
Of the nation's 83.8 million families, 80.2 percent had at least one employed member in 2023, little changed from the prior year. Families maintained by women with an employed member increased 1.2 percentage points to 79.7 percent in 2023, little different from married-couple families with an employed member, at 79.8 percent. Families maintained by men continued to have a higher rate of employment in 2023, with 85.0 percent having at least one household member employed.
Percent of families with an employed member by family type
Year
Total families
Families maintained by women
Families maintained by men
Total married-couple families
Opposite-sex married-couple families
2009
80.4
72.8
79.8
—
82.4
2010
80.0
71.9
79.3
—
82.1
2011
79.8
71.7
80.2
—
81.9
2012
80.0
72.4
81.1
—
81.9
2013
80.0
73.3
81.7
—
81.5
2014
80.1
74.4
83.0
—
81.4
2015
80.3
75.0
82.9
—
81.4
2016
80.4
76.6
83.6
—
81.1
2017
80.5
76.8
84.6
—
81.0
2018
80.8
77.7
84.3
—
81.2
2019
81.2
78.6
85.5
81.4
81.3
2020
78.2
74.8
81.1
78.7
78.6
2021
78.5
75.7
82.4
78.7
78.7
2022
80.1
78.5
84.8
80.0
79.9
2023
80.2
79.7
85.0
79.8
79.6
Note: Data for 2019 and later reflect a definition change expanding married-couple families to include same-sex married couples. Missing data denoted by a dash.
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 maintained by men without spouses of either sex present. As of 2019, married-couple families refer to opposite-sex and same-sex married couples residing together and any of their family members residing in the household.
The likelihood of having an employed family member increased 1.2 percentage points over the year for Black families (81.2 percent) in 2023. This likelihood was unchanged for White families (79.4 percent) and little changed for Asian (87.4 percent) and Hispanic or Latino (87.2 percent) families. Asian and Hispanic or Latino families remained more likely than White and Black families to have an employed family member.
Percent of families with an employed member by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity
Year
Total families
White
Black
Asian
Hispanic or Latino
2009
80.4
80.7
75.4
88.1
84.4
2010
80.0
80.3
74.8
87.3
84.2
2011
79.8
80.2
74.2
88.0
84.2
2012
80.0
80.1
75.4
88.1
84.6
2013
80.0
80.1
75.7
88.8
85.1
2014
80.1
80.1
76.4
88.5
85.9
2015
80.3
80.1
77.7
88.6
86.4
2016
80.4
80.2
77.8
88.5
86.7
2017
80.5
80.1
78.7
88.6
86.9
2018
80.8
80.4
79.3
88.3
87.5
2019
81.2
80.7
80.2
88.4
88.4
2020
78.2
78.0
75.7
84.7
84.1
2021
78.5
78.1
76.6
86.2
85.0
2022
80.1
79.4
80.0
88.1
87.3
2023
80.2
79.4
81.2
87.4
87.2
Note: Data for 2019 and later reflect a definition change expanding married-couple families to include same-sex married couples.
The race or ethnicity of the family is determined by that of the family reference person in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented. People whose ethnicity is Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. For more information and definitions of employment and family structure, see “Employment Characteristics of Families—2023”.
United States Department of Labor
