For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Tuesday, April 21, 2020 	             USDL-20-0670

Technical information:	cpsinfo@bls.gov  *  www.bls.gov/cps
Media contact:	        (202) 691-5902   *  PressOffice@bls.gov


              EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES -- 2019


In 2019, 4.9 percent of families included an unemployed person, down from
5.2 percent in 2018, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Of
the nation's 82.6 million families, 81.1 percent had at least one employed
member in 2019.

These data on employment, unemployment, and family relationships are
collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly survey
of about 60,000 households. Data in this news release are annual averages.
Families are classified either as married-couple families or as families
maintained by women or men without spouses present. Unless otherwise noted,
families include those with and without children under age 18. For further
information, see the Technical Note in this news release.

Families and Unemployment

The number of families with at least one member unemployed decreased by
224,000 to 4.1 million in 2019. The proportion of families with an unemployed
person declined by 0.3 percentage point to 4.9 percent. (This is the lowest
proportion since 1994, the first year for which comparable data are available.)
In 2019, the proportion of families with an unemployed person was down for
White (4.5 percent), Black (7.9 percent), Asian (4.1 percent), and Hispanic
(6.6 percent) families. Black and Hispanic families remained more likely
to have an unemployed member than White or Asian families. (See table 1.) 

In 2019, among families with an unemployed member, 71.2 percent also had at
least one family member employed, up from 70.0 percent in the prior year.
The proportion of families with an unemployed member that had at least one
family member working full time grew to 62.4 percent in 2019. 

Among families with an unemployed member, Black families remained less likely
to also have at least one family member who was working (60.2 percent) than
White (73.7 percent), Asian (82.4 percent), and Hispanic (73.9 percent)
families. In 2019, the likelihood of families with an unemployed member also
having an employed family member increased for White and Hispanic families,
but changed little for Black and Asian families. 

In 2019, 3.9 percent of married-couple families had an unemployed member,
less than the corresponding percentages of families maintained by men or
families maintained by women (7.8 percent and 7.6 percent, respectively).
Among families with an unemployed member, those maintained by women were
less likely to also have an employed family member (53.7 percent) than 
families maintained by men and married-couple families (61.4 percent and
82.1 percent, respectively). (See table 3.)

Families and Employment

In 2019, 81.1 percent of families had at least one employed family member,
up from the prior year (80.8 percent). From 2018 to 2019, the likelihood
of having an employed family member increased for White (80.6 percent),
Black (80.0 percent), and Hispanic (88.3 percent) families and was little
different for Asian (88.4 percent) families. (See table 1.)

Families maintained by women remained less likely to have an employed
member (78.5 percent) in 2019 than families maintained by men (85.5 percent)
or married-couple families (81.2 percent). Among married-couple families,
both the husband and wife were employed in 49.4 percent of families. In
18.5 percent of married-couple families only the husband was employed,
and in 6.8 percent only the wife was employed. (See table 2.)

Families with Children

In 2019, 33.4 million families, or two-fifths of all families, included
children under age 18. (Children are sons, daughters, step-children, or
adopted children living in the household who are under age 18. Not included
are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, other related and unrelated children,
and children not living in the household.) At least one parent was employed
in 91.3 percent of families with children, an increase of 0.5 percentage
point from the previous year. Among married-couple families with children,
97.5 percent had at least one employed parent in 2019, and 64.2 percent had
both parents employed. Among families maintained by fathers, 85.2 percent
of fathers were employed, a greater share than the 75.4 percent of employed
mothers in families maintained by mothers. (See tables 1 and 4.)

Parents

The labor force participation rate--the percent of the population working
or looking for work--for all women with children under age 18 was 72.3 percent
in 2019, up from 71.5 percent in the prior year. Married mothers remained
less likely to participate in the labor force, at 69.9 percent, than mothers
with other marital statuses, at 77.6 percent. (Other marital status includes
persons who are never married; widowed; divorced; separated; and married,
spouse absent; as well as persons in same-sex marriages.) The unemployment
rate for married mothers was also considerably lower than for mothers with
other marital statuses--2.3 percent, compared with 5.9 percent. (See table 5.) 

Mothers with young children are less likely to be in the labor force than
those with older children. In 2019, the labor force participation rate of
mothers with children under age 6, at 66.4 percent, was lower than the rate
of those whose youngest child was age 6 to 17, at 76.8 percent. Among mothers
with children under age 3, the participation rate of married mothers was lower
than the rate of mothers with other marital statuses (62.2 percent versus 66.6
percent). The unemployment rate of mothers who were married and had children
under age 3, at 2.3 percent, was substantially lower than the rate for their
counterparts with other marital statuses, at 8.3 percent. (See tables 5 and 6.)

The labor force participation rate for all fathers with children under age 18
changed little at 93.4 percent in 2019. The participation rate for married
fathers, at 94.2 percent, continued to be higher than the rate of fathers
with other marital statuses (88.5 percent). Married fathers also continued
to have a lower unemployment rate (1.7 percent) than fathers with other marital
statuses (5.3 percent). (See table 5.)

Employed fathers remained more likely to work full time than employed mothers
in 2019; 96.2 percent of employed fathers worked full time, compared with 78.5
percent of employed mothers. Among employed mothers, those with older children
were more likely to work full time than those with younger children. In 2019,
80.3 percent of employed mothers with children ages 6 to 17 worked full time,
compared with 75.8 percent of mothers with children under age 6. Employed
fathers with younger and older children were about equally likely to work
full time, at 96.1 percent and 96.2 percent, respectively. 

Technical Note

   The estimates in this release are based on annual average data from the Current
Population Survey (CPS). The CPS, which is conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for
the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), is a monthly survey of about 60,000 eligible
households that provides information on the labor force status, demographics, and
other characteristics of the nation's civilian noninstitutional population age 16
and over.

   The data presented in this release are not strictly comparable with data for
earlier years due to the introduction of updated population estimates, or controls,
used in the CPS. The population controls are updated each year in January to reflect
the latest information about population change. Additional information is available
from the BLS website at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

   Upon request, the information in this release will be made available to individuals
who are sensory impaired: Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; Federal Relay Service:(800) 877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

   Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and nonsampling error. When
a sample, rather than the entire population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the
sample estimates may differ from the true population values they represent. The exact
difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and
this variability is measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 
90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based on a sample will differ
by no more than 1.6 standard errors from the true population value because of sampling
error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of confidence.

   The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. Nonsampling error can occur for
many reasons, including the failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to
obtain information for all respondents in the sample, inability or unwillingness of
respondents to provide correct information, and errors made in the collection or processing
of the data.

   Information about the reliability of data from the CPS and guidance on estimating
standard errors is available at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability.

Definitions
	
   Definitions of the principal terms used in this release are described briefly below.
   
   Householder. The householder is the family reference person. This is the person (or
one of the persons) in whose name the housing unit is owned or rented. The relationship
of other individuals in the household is defined in terms of their relationship to the
householder. The race and Hispanic ethnicity of the family is determined by that of the
householder.
	
   Family. A family is a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by
birth, marriage, or adoption; all such individuals are considered members of one family. The
count of families is for "primary" families only. A primary family consists of a householder
and all other persons related to and residing with the householder. Sub-families are excluded
from the count of families. A sub-family is a family that does not maintain their own household,
such as a married couple living in the home of a friend and their family. In this example,
the report would include only one family (the householder's or primary family), not two. 
Families include those with and without children under age 18. Families are further categorized
as follows:

   --Married-couple families refer to opposite-sex married couples residing together and any
     of their family members residing in the household.
   
   --Families maintained by women or men are made up of householders residing with one or
     more family members, but not an opposite-sex spouse. The household may or may not include
     a same-sex spouse or an unmarried domestic partner of either sex.
	
   This release presents data for two marital status categories, defined below. Marital status is
based on a person's status at the time of the survey.
	
   Married, spouse present. Married, spouse present, includes persons in opposite-sex marriages
living together in the same household, even though one may be temporarily absent on business, on
vacation, on a visit, in a hospital, or for other reasons.
	
   Other marital status. Other marital status includes persons who are never married; widowed;
divorced; separated; and married, spouse absent; as well as persons in same-sex marriages.
Separated includes persons with legal separations, those living apart with intentions of obtaining
a divorce, and other persons permanently or temporarily separated because of marital discord.
Married, spouse absent, includes opposite-sex married persons living apart because either the
husband or wife was employed and living at a considerable distance from home, was serving away
from home in the Armed Forces, had moved to another area, or had a different place of residence
for any other reason except separation as defined above.
	
   Children. Data on children refer to own children under age 18 that live in the household.
Included are sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children of the husband, wife, or person
maintaining the family. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, other related children,
and all unrelated children living in the household.
	
   Employed. Employed persons are all those who, during the survey reference week, (a) did any
work at all as paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, profession, or on their own farm;
or (c) worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the family.
Persons who were temporarily absent from their jobs because of illness, vacation, labor disputes,
or another reason also are counted as employed.
	
   Full-time workers. Full-time workers are those who usually work 35 hours or more per week at
all jobs.
	
   Part-time workers. Part-time workers are those who usually work fewer than 35 hours per week
at all jobs.
	
   Unemployed. The unemployed are persons who had no employment during the reference week, were
available for work at that time, and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime during
the 4-week period ending with the reference week. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a
job from which they had been laid off need not be looking for work to be classified as unemployed.
	
   Civilian labor force. The civilian labor force comprises all persons classified as employed or
unemployed. 
	
   Labor force participation rate. The labor force participation rate is the labor force as a
percent of the population.
	
   Employment-population ratio. The employment-population ratio is the employed as a percent of
the population.
	
   Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the number unemployed as a percent of the civilian
labor force.