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A Chartbeok

U.S. Department of Labor

Bureau of Labor Statistics

April 1983

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Bulletin 2168

INDUSTRY AMD SCIENCE

MAY 5 1983

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Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis
Women at Worte 

Jk Chartbook

U.S. Department of Labor

Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary

Bureau of Labor Statistics

Janet L. Norwood, Commissioner

April 1983

Bulletin 2168

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F o re w o rd

The dramatic increase in the participation of

women has been the most striking demographic

change in the U.S. labor force in recent decades.

In 1950, women accounted for less than 30 percent of the labor force; by 1982, they accounted

for 43 percent.

Women have obtained jobs in just about

every field of employment, but the majority continue to work in the traditional professional,

clerical, and service jobs. Their earnings continue

to average only 60 percent of the earnings of men.

Women who maintain families on their own face

particularly serious problems.

Publication of this chartbook about women

at work is part of the continuing program of the

Bureau of Labor Statistics to report on the

employment situation of many worker groups. We

hope that the chartbook will enhance the

understanding of women’s contribution to the

economy.

Janet L. Norwood

Commissioner of Labor Statistics

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This chartbook focuses on women’s

economic activity— labor force trends, occupational and industrial employment patterns,

unemployment, and market work of women in a

family context.

The information comes primarily from the

Current Population Survey, conducted monthly

for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Bureau of

the Census. Readers interested in keeping informed

on current developments among women in the

labor force can consult Employment and Earnings

and the Monthly Labor Review, both available

monthly by subscription from the Superintendent

of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office,

Washington, D.C. 20402, and a quarterly report,

Employment in Perspective: Working Women,

available from the Bureau of Labor Statistics,

Washington, D.C. 20212. Special analyses about

the labor force activity of women are published in

the Monthly Labor Review and often are reissued,

with detailed tabulations, as Special Labor Force

Reports, sold through gpo and bls regional offices.

This chartbook was prepared in the Division

of Employment and Unemployment Analysis

under the direction of John E. Bregger, Chief, by

Deborah Pisetzner Klein, Elizabeth Waldman, and

Howard Hayghe. Word processing was done by

Clara Colbert. The graphics were developed under

the direction of John Sinks of the Division of

General Systems by Brian Baker, Cynthia Martin,

and Robert Whitmore. Graphics production was

done in the Division of Production Services under

the direction of Gilbert W. Sturman, Chief, by

Mary Simmons, Dennis Rucker, and Cynthia

Mabry.

Material in this publication is in the public

domain and may, with appropriate credit, be

reproduced without permission.

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Coimtersiis

Page

Chart:

1. Women play an important role in the labor m arket.............................v........................................ 1

2. Women’s participation in the labor force has grown dram atically.............................................. 3

3. A smaller proportion of women fill the traditional full-time housekeeping role........................... 5

4. Three out of four employed adult women work full tim e............................................................... 7

5. Women work in all sectors of the econom y.................................................................................. 9

6. The number of working women has increased sharply in clerical and professional jo b s .............11

7. An average 20-year-old woman can expect to spend a quarter of a century in the labor force ... 13

8. Women’s share of labor force growth is expected to increase in the 1980’s ................................15

9. Until recently, women’s unemployment rates have been higherthan men’s ................................17

10. Unemployment among women varies by race, education, and age............................................... 19

11. The proportion of children with mothers in the labor force has grown to more than h a lf.............21

12. Half of all married women are now in the labor fo rc e ....................................................................23

13. The proportion of families maintained by a woman has increased markedly ..............................25

14. Women who maintain families are more likely to face serious economic difficulties ................ 27

15. Women’s earnings continue to average about 60 percent of men’s ............................................. 29

vi

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W©m@n play an important r@l® in the labor market

W omen a s a proportion of . . .

The civilian noninstitutional 

population 16 years and over

The employed

Persons employed full time

The unemployed

Professional workers

Clerical workers

0 20 40 00 80 100

Chart 1. Summary labor force indicators for women, 1982

1

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© The proportion of women who are in the labor force has

grown from one-third in 1950 to more than half today.

© Since 1970, nearly half of the increase in the female labor

force has been among women age 25 to 34. Today, 1 out of 4

women workers is in this age group.

© Although participation rates for men continue to exceed

those for women, the gap has narrowed considerably. Men were

21/2 times as likely as women to be in the labor force in 1950 but

are only 1 Vz times as likely today.

2

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Woman’s partieipation in th® labor fore© has grown dramatically

Percent 

in labor 

force 

100

80

60

40

20

0

3

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© Sn the early 1960’s, about half the women in the United 

States were keeping house full time while 37 percent were in the 

labor force. By 1982, these proportions were reversed— 53 percent were working or looking for work while 35 percent were 

keeping house.

© This sweeping change in women’s role in our society has 

significantly affected the workplace and the family. For example, 

in 1982 more than 4 out of every 10 workers were women; 

families where both husband and wife worked outside the home 

accounted for 52 percent of all married-couple families; and 

nearly 55 percent of all children had working mothers.

© Of the 32 million women who were full-time homemakers in

1982, 6 out of 10 were 45 years old or older.

4

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A smaller proportion ©f women fill the traditional full-time housekeeping role

1962 1982

Chart 3. Labor force status of women, 1962 and 1982

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© Three-quarters of employed adult women are full-time 

workers, compared with more than 9 out of 10 men and less than 

half of all teenagers.

© Most employed women work year round. In 1981, 3 out of 

every 5 employed adult women worked 50 to 52 weeks.

© Wives were less likely to work year round full time then 

other women, but, even so, 45 percent of the wives were yearround, full-time workers. The presence of children affects the 

amount of time some wives devote to work outside the home; 

about 73 percent of those with no children under 18 worked year 

round full time, compared with 44 percent of those with children.

6

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Thre© out ©f four employed adult women work full time

Women employed

full time

7777777ZW Z/A

Women employed Z

part time

Chart 4. Employed women by full- or part-time status, 1982

7

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© Women are on the payrolls of every major industry group

but are especially concentrated in the service-producing sector

of the economy. Of all employees in the service-producing sector in 1982, half were women. In contrast, women made up a little

over one-fourth of the workers in the goods-producing

industries.

© Three of the service-producing industries— retail trade, services such as health, business, and educational services, and

State and local government— accounted for most of the job

gains for women over the past decade. Of the roughly 13-million

increase in the number of women on nonagricultural payrolls

since 1970, three-fourths occurred in these fast-growing

industries.

© Most women continue to work in the lowest paying industries. Put another way, those industries with low average

hourly earnings have high proportions of female employees.

8

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Women work m all s®et®rs of tk© ©©©nom^

W omen as a proportion of . . .

Goods-producing:

Mining

Construction

Manufacturing durable goods

Manufacturing nondurable goods

Service-producing:

Transportation and public utilities

Wholesale trade

Retail trade

Finance, insurance, and real estate

Services 

Federal government 

State and local government

0 20 40 60 80 100

Chart 5. Employed women as a proportion of workers on nonagricultural payrolls by industry group, 1982

9

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© Between 1972 and 1982, the number of women working in 

clerica! and professional occupations rose by more than 50 percent to 23 million, 52 percent of ail women workers. A substantial increase also occurred in the service occupations, which, in 

1982, accounted for 1 out of 5 employed women.

© Women remain concentrated in the traditionally female occupational fields. Sn 1982, 99 percent of secretaries, 96 percent 

of nurses, and 82 percent of elementary school teachers were 

women.

© On the other hand, women now work in a greater variety of 

professional fields than in the past. A decade ago, about threefifths of all women employed in professional fields were either 

teachers or nurses. By 1982, that proportion had declined to onehalf.

10

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The number of working women has inereased sharply in clerical and 

professional Jobs

Millions

20-

Clerica! Professional Service Managerial 

Chart 6. Employed women by occupational group, 1972 and 1982

Blue co

11

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© The number of years an average 20-year-old woman could 

expect to spend in the labor force nearly doubled between 1950 

and 1977, rising from 141/2 to 26 years. In contrast, the worklsfe 

expectancy of a 20-year-old man drifted down from about 41Vz to 

37 years over the same period.

© Among women, worklsfe expectancy has increased faster 

than life expectancy, and in 1977 a 20-year-old woman could expect to spend 45 percent of her life in the labor market, up from 

27 percent in 1950.

© The longer life span for men has been channeled into nonwork activities. Thus, in 1977, a 20-year-old man could expect to 

spend 72 percent of his life in the labor force, down from an 

85-percent expectancy in 1950.

12

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A n

aqj

Year

70

60

50

40

30

20

10

0

swerag® 20=f®ar=@ld woman earn exp®©! t® spend 

sairter ©f a eentury in the labor for©®

5281 Worklife expectancy at age 20 

EZ3 Total life expectancy at age 20

1950 1960 1970 1977

7. Life expectancy and worklife expectancy of women, selected years, 1950-77

13

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© Women have constituted the major share of labor force 

growth since the 1960’s, and are projected to account for 7 out 

of 10 additions to the labor force in the 1980’s.

© in the past, the entrance of young people accounted for 

much of the increase in the labor force. Because of the 

slowdown in births beginning about 1980, there will be fewer 

young persons reaching labor force age in the 1980’s, and 

overall labor force growth is likely to slacken.

© Adult women returning to the labor force have provided a 

large share of labor force growth and are expected to constitute 

an even larger share in the future.

14

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Women's share of labor foroe growth Is expected to increase dp the 11 §8©'s

1970-80

1980-90

projected

1Z2 Men 

WM Women

-----------------------------1-----------------------------1-----------------------------1----------------------------

0 25 50 75 100

Percent of labor force change

Chart 8. Labor force growth by sex, 197Q’s and projected 1980’s

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q The unemployment rate for women typically has been 

higher than the rate for men. The gap has narrowed during recessions, as joblessness rises most sharply in the cyclically sensitive goods-producing industries in which relatively few women 

work.

© During 1982, the unemployment rate for men actually exceeded the rate for women. The largest differential occurred in 

September, when the rate for adult men was 9.6 percent, 1.2 

percentage points above the rate for adult women.

© For both men and women, unemployment has shown an 

upward trend; each recession has begun with a higher rate of 

unemployment than the previous one.

16

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Until r®e@ntSys women’s ynemplofment rates haw© b©en higher than men’s

Percent

10.0

9.0

8.0

7.0

6.0

5.0

4.0

3.0

2.0 

1.0 

0.0

17

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© As is the case among all workers, unemployment rates of

women are higher for black and Hispanic workers than for

whites. The rate for black women in 1982 was about twice the

rate for white women.

© For women, as for men, unemployment rates decline with

increasing education and work experience.

© Black teenagers have the highest unemployment rate of all

worker groups. In 1982, the rate for black teenage women was 47

percent.

18

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Unemployment among women waries by raee, ©dueation, and age

19

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q In 1982, 32 million children, or 55 percent of all children 

under 18 years of age, had a mother in the labor force,

o The mothers of more than 45 percent of all youngsters 

below age 6 and of nearly 60 percent of those 8 to 17 years were 

in the labor force.

• These proportions have grown rapidly in the last decade

as it has become more acceptable for mothers to work.

20

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The proportion of children with mothers in the labor Sore© has grown to mor® 

than half

Percent of 

all children 

100

1972 

SS 1982

Children 

under 18 years

Children 

6 to 17 years

Children 

under 6 years

Chart 11. Children with mothers in the labor force as a proportion of all children by age of children,

1972 and 1982

21

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© In March 1982, 26 million wives, or 51 percent of all married 

women, were working or looking for work. Twenty years earlier, 

only a third were in the labor force.

© Over half the growth in married women’s labor force par 

ticipation occurred during the 1970’s, largely among those with 

school-age children. Between 1970 and 1980, the labor force participation rate of wives whose only children were 6 to 17 years 

old rose from 49 percent to 62 percent. However, since 1980, 

most of the increase has been among those with pre-school 

children.

© The proportions of divorced, separated, and never-married 

women in the labor force in 1982 also were greater than they had 

been 20 years earlier. Although the increase was smallest 

among divorced women, they remained far more likely to be in 

the labor force than women of any other marital status.

22

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Percent in the 

labor force

100 -i—

women are

111 March 1962 

M i March 1982

7 5 -

Divorced Separated Widowed Never

married

Chart 12. Labor force participation rates of women by marital status, 1962 and 1982

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© One of every six families was maintained by a woman in 

March 1982. During the past decade, the number of families in 

which no husband was present climbed steadily, reflecting the 

increased frequency of marital breakups and children born outside of marriage.

© The growth in the number of families maintained by 

women far outpaced that of other families. From 1972 to 1982, 

their number increased by 57 percent to a total of 9.7 million, 

compared with a 10-percent increase for other families.

© Three out of five women maintaining families were in the 

labor force in 1982. These women had, on average, completed 

fewer years of school than wives and were concentrated in lower 

skilled, lower paying jobs.

24

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TGi® proportion! ©f famnSsts maintained by a woman! lias increased martediy

Percent 

of all 

families 

20

15

10

5

0

25

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© Women maintaining families are far more likely to be 

unemployed than husbands or wives, their average (median) 

family income is less than half that of married couples, and they 

are five times as likely to be in poverty.

© Families maintained by a woman are much less likely than 

married-couple families to have more than one earner in the 

home.

© In 1981, about 3.4 million families maintained by 

women— 1 of every 3— were in poverty, compared with 1 out of 

16 married-couple families.

26

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Women who maintain families ar® more likely t© fae® serious eeonomie 

difficulties

15%

Women

who

maintain

families

10% -

Unemployment rates

$30,000

$20,000

$10,000

$0

Husbandwife

families

Family income

50%

40% -

30% -

20% -

10% -

0%

Husbandwife

families

Percent

Chart 14. Unemployment, income, and poverty status of families by type of family, 1981

Families

maintained

by a

woman

in poverty

27

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o Working women are in the same relative earnings position 

compared to men as they were in the past, averaging about $6 

for every $10 earned by men.

o In some occupations, women’s wages are closer to parity 

with men’s wages. For example, in elementary school teaching, 

women earn roughly 85 percent as much as men. But in other 

areas, such as sales, women average only a little more than half 

of men’s earnings.

o Occupations ranking high in terms of women’s earnings 

typically do not rank among those with the highest concentrations of female workers. The very highly paid professional and 

managerial occupations are still predominantly male.

28

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Women’s earnings continue to average about 60 percent of men’s

Weekly 

earnings 

(log scale) 

$370

320

270

220

170

120

70

Percent

100

80

60

40

20

0

Chart 15. Usual weekly earnings by sex, 1967-82

29

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Bureau of Labor Statistics

Regional Offices

Region I

1603 JFK Federal Building 

Government Center 

Boston, Mass. 02203 

Phone: (617) 223-6761

Region II

Suite 3400 

1515 Broadway 

New York, N Y. 10036 

Phone: (212) 944-3121

Region III

3535 Market Street 

P.O. Box 13309 

Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 

Phone: (215) 596-1154

Region IV

1371 Peachtree Street, NE. 

Atlanta, Ga. 30367 

Phone: (404) 881-4418

Region V

9th Floor

Federal Office Building 

230 S. Dearborn Street 

Chicago, III 60604 

Phone: (312) 353-1880

Region VI

Second Floor

555 Griffin Square Building 

Dallas. Tex. 75202 

Phone: (214) 767-6971

AMERICAN SAM

Regions VII and VIII*

911 Walnut Street

Kansas City, Mo. 64106 * Regions VII and VII are serviced

Phone: (816) 374-2481 by Kansas City

Regions IX and X**

450 Golden Gate Avenue 

Box 36017

San Francisco, Calif. 94102 “ Regions IX and X are serviced 

Phone: (415) 556-4678 by San Francisco

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