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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.

SUGGESTED CITATION

Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor, The Economics Daily, 80.1 percent of families had at least one employed family member in 2014 at https://www.bls.gov/opub/ted/2015/employment-and-unemployment-among-families-2014.htm (visited March 29, 2024).

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