Internet address: http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 00-172 For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT Media contact: 691-5902 Thursday, June 15, 2000 EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES IN 1999 In 1999, 83.1 percent of U.S. families had at least one employed member, up 0.5 percentage point from 1998, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Of the nation's 71.3 million families, 6.0 percent reported having an unemployed member, a decline of 0.4 percentage point from the previous year. These data on employment, unemployment, and family relationships are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 50,000 households. For further information about the CPS, see the Technical Note. Families In an average week in 1999, 4.3 million families had at least one member who was unemployed. Of these families with unemployment, 72.6 percent also contained at least one employed family member. Black families were more likely to have an unemployed member (10.6 percent) than either Hispanic (9.7 percent) or white families (5.3 percent). Among the families with unemployment, white and Hispanic families also were more likely than black families to have at least one employed member. (See table 1.) The proportion of black families with an employed member increased by 1.8 percentage points in 1999 to 80.6 percent, and the percentage of Hispanic families with an employed member also grew by 1.8 points to 86.5 percent. In contrast, the proportion for white families edged up a modest 0.3 percentage point over the year to 83.2 percent. Since 1994, the proportion of black families with an employed member has increased by 6.8 percentage points, compared with 5.2 percentage points for Hispanic families and 1.7 points for white families. (See table 1.) Overall, 84.1 percent of married-couple families included an employed person in 1999, as did 86.3 percent of families maintained by men. Both proportions were about unchanged over the year. Among families maintained by women, a smaller proportion (77.6 percent) included an employed person; however, this proportion rose by 1.9 percentage points between 1998 and 1999. (See table 2.) Families in which only the husband worked comprised 19.3 percent of all married-couple families in 1999, about the same proportion as the year before. Likewise, the proportion of married-couple families in which both the husband and wife were employed was little changed at 53.0 percent in 1999. (See table 2.) In 1999, both parents were employed in 64.1 percent of married-couple families with children under 18, while the father, but not the mother, was employed in 29.1 percent of these families. Both proportions were about unchanged from a year earlier. The proportion of "traditional" families, that is, families in which the father, but not the mother, is employed, is - 2 - much larger among couples with pre-school children (under 6 years of age) than among families whose youngest child was 6 to 17 years old. (See table 4.) Since 1994, the proportion of married-couple families with children under 18 in which both parents were employed has grown, while the proportion in which only the father was employed has shown little change. Mothers The unemployment rate for married mothers with children under 18--3.0 percent in 1999--was little changed over the year. In contrast, the unemployment rate for unmarried mothers--that is, those who were single, widowed, divorced, or separated--declined by 1.3 percentage points, from 9.3 percent in 1998 to 8.0 percent in 1999. The unemployment rate for mothers with children under 6 declined to 5.6 percent, while the rate for mothers whose youngest child was 6 to 17 years old was about unchanged at 3.7 percent. (See table 5.) The overall labor force participation rate of mothers, at 72.2 percent in 1999, was little changed from the previous year. The participation rate for unmarried mothers, however, increased over the year by 1.8 percentage points to 78.5 percent. The rate for married mothers (who represent nearly three-quarters of mothers) was about unchanged at 69.8 percent. (See table 5.) The labor force participation rate for unmarried mothers with children under a year old was virtually unchanged in 1999 at 58.9 percent. It had risen by about 13 percentage points between 1994 and 1998. The participation rate for married mothers with children under a year old (55.9 percent) was also little changed over the year. (See table 6.) --------------------------------------------------------------------- | Revisions in Household Survey Data | | | | Data for 1999 in this release incorporate revisions to the popu- | |lation controls used in the estimation process that were introduced | |into the household survey in January 1999. The new controls produce | |estimates of families and family members that are generally somewhat | |higher than would have been the case had the controls remained un- | |changed. For example, the number of families with an employed member| |is raised by about 200,000 and the number of mothers in the labor | |force is increased by about 120,000. The change had virtually no im-| |pact on estimates of labor force participation rates and unemployment| |rates. Detailed information on the effect of these changes on data | |from the Current Population Survey can be found in the article, "Re- | |visions in the Current Population Survey Effective January 1999," in | |the February 1999 issue of Employment and Earnings. | --------------------------------------------------------------------- Technical Note The estimates in this release are based on annual average data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national sample survey of about 50,000 households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. The information relates to the labor force status of persons 16 years old and over in the civilian noninstitutional population during an "average" week of the year. Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request. Voice phone: 202-691-5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339. 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. For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and information on estimating standard errors, see the "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error" section of Employment and Earnings. Definitions The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly below. Family. A family is a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. The count of families is for "primary" families only, that is, the householder and all other persons related to and residing with the householder. Families are classified either as married-couple families or as families maintained by women or men without spouses. 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 relationship to the householder. Married, spouse present; other marital status. These terms denote the marital status of individuals at the time of interview. Married, spouse present, refers to husbands and wives living together in the same household, even though one may be temporarily absent on business, vacation, on a visit, in a hospital, etc. Other marital status includes persons who are never-married; married, spouse absent; widowed; or divorced. Married, spouse absent relates to persons who are separated due to marital problems, as well as husbands and wives who are living apart because one or the other was employed elsewhere, on duty with the Armed Forces, or any other reasons. Children. Data on children refer to own children and include sons, daughters, adopted, and step-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. Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic origin, 1998-99 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Characteristic 1998 1999 TOTAL Total families.............................................. 70,218 71,250 With employed member(s)................................. 57,986 59,185 As percent of total families...................... 82.6 83.1 Some usually work full time(1)................. 53,945 55,123 With no employed member................................. 12,232 12,065 As percent of total families...................... 17.4 16.9 With unemployed member(s)............................... 4,503 4,260 As percent of total families...................... 6.4 6.0 Some member(s) employed............................... 3,177 3,091 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).................................... 70.6 72.6 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 2,830 2,771 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)................................. 62.8 65.0 White Total families.............................................. 58,930 59,661 With employed member(s)................................. 48,850 49,632 As percent of total families...................... 82.9 83.2 Some usually work full time(1)................. 45,567 46,333 With no employed member................................. 10,080 10,029 As percent of total families...................... 17.1 16.8 With unemployed member(s)............................... 3,299 3,134 As percent of total families...................... 5.6 5.3 Some member(s) employed............................... 2,463 2,374 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).................................... 74.7 75.7 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 2,204 2,132 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)................................. 66.8 68.0 Black Total families.............................................. 8,317 8,498 With employed member(s)................................. 6,554 6,847 As percent of total families...................... 78.8 80.6 Some usually work full time(1)................. 5,953 6,249 With no employed member................................. 1,763 1,652 As percent of total families...................... 21.2 19.4 With unemployed member(s)............................... 984 905 As percent of total families...................... 11.8 10.6 Some member(s) employed............................... 555 551 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).................................... 56.4 60.9 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 485 486 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)................................. 49.3 53.7 Hispanic origin Total families.............................................. 7,025 7,403 With employed member(s)................................. 5,947 6,405 As percent of total families...................... 84.7 86.5 Some usually work full time(1)................. 5,545 6,017 With no employed member................................. 1,078 998 As percent of total families...................... 15.3 13.5 With unemployed member(s)............................... 744 715 As percent of total families...................... 10.6 9.7 Some member(s) employed............................... 522 518 As percent of families with unemployed member(s).................................... 70.2 72.4 Some usually work full time(1)...................... 467 467 As percent of families with unemployed member(s)................................. 62.8 65.3 1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum to totals because data for the 'other races' group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups. Data for 1999 are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 1999. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 2. Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 1998-99 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 1998 1999 1998 1999 MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES Total.................................... 53,689 54,468 100.0 100.0 Member(s) employed, total.................... 45,061 45,800 83.9 84.1 Husband only............................... 10,285 10,533 19.2 19.3 Wife only.................................. 2,843 2,980 5.3 5.5 Husband and wife........................... 28,531 28,882 53.1 53.0 Other employment combinations.............. 3,402 3,404 6.3 6.2 No member(s) employed........................ 8,628 8,669 16.1 15.9 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1) Total.................................... 12,447 12,625 100.0 100.0 Members(s) employed, total................... 9,417 9,797 75.7 77.6 Householder only........................... 5,322 5,566 42.8 44.1 Householder and other member(s)............ 2,582 2,663 20.7 21.1 Other member(s), not householder........... 1,513 1,568 12.2 12.4 No member(s) employed........................ 3,029 2,827 24.3 22.4 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1) Total.................................... 4,083 4,158 100.0 100.0 Members(s) employed, total................... 3,509 3,588 85.9 86.3 Householder only........................... 1,746 1,718 42.8 41.3 Householder and other member(s)............ 1,283 1,353 31.4 32.5 Other member(s), not householder........... 480 517 11.8 12.4 No member(s) employed........................ 574 569 14.1 13.7 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Data for 1999 are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 1999. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 3. Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 1998-99 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 1998 1999 1998 1999 MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES With unemployed member(s), total............. 2,815 2,705 100.0 100.0 No member employed......................... 471 440 16.7 16.3 Some member(s) employed.................... 2,343 2,265 83.2 83.7 Husband unemployed....................... 948 924 33.7 34.2 Wife employed.......................... 594 589 21.1 21.8 Wife unemployed.......................... 844 790 30.0 29.2 Husband employed....................... 745 696 26.5 25.7 Other family member unemployed........... 1,023 991 36.3 36.6 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1) With unemployed member(s), total............. 1,301 1,222 100.0 100.0 No member employed......................... 696 613 53.5 50.2 Some member(s) employed.................... 605 609 46.5 49.8 Householder unemployed................... 612 560 47.0 45.8 Other member(s) employed............... 99 110 7.6 9.0 Other member(s) unemployed............... 689 662 53.0 54.2 FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1) With unemployed member(s), total............. 388 333 100.0 100.0 No member employed......................... 158 115 40.7 34.5 Some member(s) employed.................... 229 218 59.0 65.5 Householder unemployed................... 186 154 47.9 46.2 Other member(s) employed............... 69 71 17.8 21.3 Other member(s) unemployed............... 202 178 52.1 53.5 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Data for 1999 are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 1999. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 1998-99 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Number Percent distribution Characteristic 1998 1999 1998 1999 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Total.................................... 34,232 34,340 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed......................... 31,100 31,493 90.9 91.7 No parent employed......................... 3,130 2,847 9.1 8.3 Married-couple families.................... 24,820 24,904 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed....................... 24,088 24,243 97.1 97.3 Mother employed........................ 16,911 16,995 68.1 68.2 Both parents employed................ 15,906 15,958 64.1 64.1 Mother employed, not father.......... 1,005 1,037 4.0 4.2 Father employed, not mother............ 7,178 7,249 28.9 29.1 Neither parent employed.................. 731 662 2.9 2.7 Families maintained by women(1)............ 7,573 7,653 100.0 100.0 Mother employed.......................... 5,440 5,713 71.8 74.7 Mother not employed...................... 2,133 1,940 28.2 25.3 Families maintained by men(1).............. 1,839 1,782 100.0 100.0 Father employed.......................... 1,572 1,537 85.5 86.3 Father not employed...................... 266 245 14.5 13.7 WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER Total.................................... 19,209 19,364 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed......................... 17,551 17,825 91.4 92.1 No parent employed......................... 1,658 1,539 8.6 7.9 Married-couple families.................... 13,496 13,565 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed....................... 13,065 13,175 96.8 97.1 Mother employed........................ 9,991 10,113 74.0 74.6 Both parents employed................ 9,338 9,446 69.2 69.6 Mother employed, not father.......... 653 668 4.8 4.9 Father employed, not mother............ 3,074 3,061 22.8 22.6 Neither parent employed.................. 431 390 3.2 2.9 Families maintained by women(1)............ 4,638 4,722 100.0 100.0 Mother employed.......................... 3,573 3,737 77.0 79.1 Mother not employed...................... 1,065 985 23.0 20.9 Families maintained by men(1).............. 1,075 1,077 100.0 100.0 Father employed.......................... 913 913 84.9 84.8 Father not employed...................... 162 164 15.1 15.2 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS Total.................................... 15,023 14,976 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed......................... 13,550 13,670 90.2 91.3 No parent employed......................... 1,473 1,307 9.8 8.7 Married-couple families.................... 11,324 11,340 100.0 100.0 Parent(s) employed....................... 11,023 11,070 97.3 97.6 Mother employed........................ 6,920 6,882 61.1 60.7 Both parents employed................ 6,567 6,512 58.0 57.4 Mother employed, not father.......... 352 370 3.1 3.3 Father employed, not mother............ 4,103 4,188 36.2 36.9 Neither parent employed.................. 301 270 2.7 2.4 Families maintained by women(1)............ 2,936 2,931 100.0 100.0 Mother employed.......................... 1,867 1,976 63.6 67.4 Mother not employed...................... 1,068 956 36.4 32.6 Families maintained by men(1).............. 763 705 100.0 100.0 Father employed.......................... 660 624 86.5 88.5 Father not employed...................... 104 81 13.6 11.5 1 No spouse present. NOTE: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Data for 1999 are not strictly comparable with data for 1998 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 1999. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 1998-99 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) 1998 1999 Characteristic Total Men Women Total Men Women WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 62,912 27,489 35,423 63,158 27,573 35,585 Civilian labor force................. 51,462 26,018 25,443 51,778 26,092 25,686 Participation rate............... 81.8 94.6 71.8 82.0 94.6 72.2 Employed........................... 49,480 25,333 24,147 50,010 25,472 24,538 Employment-population ratio.... 78.6 92.2 68.2 79.2 92.4 69.0 Full-time workers(1)............. 42,372 24,562 17,811 43,033 24,712 18,321 Part-time workers(2)............. 7,108 771 6,337 6,977 761 6,216 Unemployed......................... 1,981 686 1,296 1,768 620 1,149 Unemployment rate................ 3.8 2.6 5.1 3.4 2.4 4.5 Married, spouse present Civilian noninstitutional population... 51,061 25,325 25,737 51,302 25,462 25,840 Civilian labor force................. 42,088 24,080 18,009 42,260 24,222 18,038 Participation rate............... 82.4 95.1 70.0 82.4 95.1 69.8 Employed........................... 40,914 23,506 17,408 41,193 23,688 17,505 Employment-population ratio.... 80.1 92.8 67.6 80.3 93.0 67.7 Full-time workers(1)............. 35,197 22,839 12,357 35,568 23,024 12,544 Part-time workers(2)............. 5,718 667 5,051 5,625 664 4,961 Unemployed......................... 1,174 573 601 1,067 534 533 Unemployment rate................ 2.8 2.4 3.3 2.5 2.2 3.0 Other marital status(3) Civilian noninstitutional population... 11,851 2,166 9,686 11,856 2,110 9,746 Civilian labor force................. 9,374 1,939 7,434 9,517 1,870 7,648 Participation rate............... 79.1 89.5 76.7 80.3 88.6 78.5 Employed........................... 8,565 1,826 6,739 8,817 1,785 7,033 Employment-population ratio.... 72.3 84.3 69.6 74.4 84.6 72.2 Full-time workers(1)............. 7,177 1,724 5,453 7,466 1,687 5,778 Part-time workers(2)............. 1,391 104 1,286 1,351 97 1,255 Unemployed......................... 807 113 695 701 86 615 Unemployment rate................ 8.6 5.8 9.3 7.4 4.6 8.0 WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER Civilian noninstitutional population... 34,329 14,947 19,383 34,662 15,090 19,572 Civilian labor force................. 29,003 13,969 15,033 29,403 14,092 15,311 Participation rate............... 84.5 93.5 77.6 84.8 93.4 78.2 Employed........................... 28,046 13,629 14,417 28,528 13,782 14,747 Employment-population ratio.... 81.7 91.2 74.4 82.3 91.3 75.3 Full-time workers(1)............. 24,286 13,238 11,048 24,807 13,385 11,422 Part-time workers(2)............. 3,760 391 3,369 3,722 397 3,325 Unemployed......................... 957 340 617 875 310 564 Unemployment rate................ 3.3 2.4 4.1 3.0 2.2 3.7 WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 28,583 12,543 16,040 28,496 12,482 16,014 Civilian labor force................. 22,459 12,049 10,410 22,375 12,000 10,375 Participation rate............... 78.6 96.1 64.9 78.5 96.1 64.8 Employed........................... 21,434 11,703 9,731 21,482 11,691 9,791 Employment-population ratio.... 75.0 93.3 60.7 75.4 93.7 61.1 Full-time workers(1)............. 18,086 11,323 6,763 18,227 11,327 6,900 Part-time workers(2)............. 3,348 380 2,968 3,255 364 2,891 Unemployed......................... 1,025 346 679 894 310 584 Unemployment rate................ 4.6 2.9 6.5 4.0 2.6 5.6 WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS Civilian noninstitutional population... 140,436 69,396 71,040 143,160 70,714 72,446 Civilian labor force................. 84,735 46,464 38,271 86,424 47,255 39,169 Participation rate............... 60.3 67.0 53.9 60.4 66.8 54.1 Employed........................... 80,545 43,922 36,623 82,333 44,828 37,504 Employment-population ratio.... 57.4 63.3 51.6 57.5 63.4 51.8 Full-time workers(1)............. 64,429 37,226 27,203 66,136 38,086 28,051 Part-time workers(2)............. 16,116 6,696 9,420 16,196 6,743 9,454 Unemployed......................... 4,190 2,542 1,648 4,091 2,426 1,665 Unemployment rate................ 4.9 5.5 4.3 4.7 5.1 4.3 1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. 2 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs. 3 Includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons. NOTE: See NOTE, table 4. Table 6. Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child, and marital status, 1998-99 annual averages (Numbers in thousands) Civilian labor force Civilian Employed Unemployed Characteristic noninsti- Percent tutional of population Total popula- Percent Full-time Part-time Percent tion Total of workers workers Number of labor popula- (1) (2) force tion 1998 TOTAL MOTHERS With own children under 3 years old. 9,333 5,779 61.9 5,384 57.7 3,626 1,758 395 6.8 2 years........................... 2,772 1,786 64.4 1,673 60.4 1,149 524 113 6.3 1 year............................ 3,213 2,055 64.0 1,917 59.7 1,281 636 138 6.7 Under 1 year...................... 3,348 1,938 57.9 1,794 53.6 1,196 598 144 7.4 Married, spouse present With own children under 3 years old. 7,110 4,316 60.7 4,145 58.3 2,765 1,380 171 4.0 2 years........................... 2,073 1,291 62.3 1,244 60.0 831 413 47 3.6 1 year............................ 2,493 1,560 62.6 1,497 60.0 989 508 63 4.0 Under 1 year...................... 2,544 1,465 57.6 1,404 55.2 945 459 61 4.2 Other marital status(3) With own children under 3 years old. 2,225 1,463 65.8 1,238 55.6 860 379 223 15.2 2 years........................... 700 495 70.7 429 61.3 318 111 65 13.1 1 year............................ 721 495 68.7 420 58.3 292 129 75 15.2 Under 1 year...................... 804 473 58.8 389 48.4 250 139 83 17.5 1999 TOTAL MOTHERS With own children under 3 years old. 9,339 5,742 61.5 5,390 57.7 3,692 1,696 353 6.1 2 years........................... 2,890 1,888 65.3 1,788 61.9 1,257 530 101 5.3 1 year............................ 3,283 2,062 62.8 1,934 58.9 1,298 635 128 6.2 Under 1 year...................... 3,166 1,792 56.6 1,668 52.7 1,137 531 124 6.9 Married, spouse present With own children under 3 years old. 7,089 4,224 59.6 4,078 57.5 2,744 1,335 147 3.5 2 years........................... 2,175 1,356 62.3 1,316 60.5 898 419 40 2.9 1 year............................ 2,522 1,532 60.7 1,477 58.6 964 513 56 3.7 Under 1 year...................... 2,392 1,336 55.9 1,285 53.7 882 403 51 3.8 Other marital status(3) With own children under 3 years old. 2,249 1,519 67.5 1,310 58.2 950 363 207 13.6 2 years........................... 714 533 74.6 471 66.0 360 112 62 11.6 1 year............................ 761 530 69.6 457 60.1 335 123 72 13.6 Under 1 year...................... 774 456 58.9 382 49.4 255 128 73 16.0 1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. 2 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs. 3 Includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons. NOTE: See NOTE, table 4.