1

Demographic Programs

U.S. Census Bureau

U S C E N S U S B U R E A U

Helping You Make Informed Decisions

U.S. Department of Commerce

Economics and Statistics Administration

U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

P20-526

Fertility of American Women

Population Characteristics

June

1998

Issued September 2000

Current

Population

Reports

By Amara Bachu and

Martin O’Connell

are from two

questions asked of

women 15 to 44

years old: (1) the

number of children

they have ever had,

and (2) the date of

birth of their last

child. Historical

data from previous

surveys are also

used in this report

to illustrate how

women completing

their childbearing

today differ from an

earlier generation of

women who had

their principal

childbearing years

during the peak of

the Baby Boom in

the 1950s (the Baby

Boom era was from

1946 to 1964).

INTRODUCTION fluctuations, the rates have remained at

approximately 2.0 births per woman over The stability in fertility rates among Ameri- the last 20 years (the level required for the can women at the close of the century is in natural replacement of the population is sharp contrast to the wide swings in fertility about 2.1 births per woman).1

rates that occurred in preceding decades.

Annual total fertility rates fell from almost This report profiles current fertility patterns 4.0 births per woman at the turn of the of American woman and is based on data

century to 2.2 births per woman during the collected in the June 1998 supplement to the Great Depression. They subsequently rose Current Population Survey (CPS). Unlike to a postwar peak of 3.7 births per woman annual fertility statistics compiled from birth

in 1957, but fell again by half to 1.8 births certificates by the National Center for Health

per woman in the mid-1980s. With minor Statistics (NCHS), data collected in the CPS

1 The total fertility rate for a given year is a hypothetical estimate of completed fertility. It indicates how

many births a woman would have by the end of her

reproductive life, if, for all of her childbearing years,

she was to experience the age-specific birth rates for

that given year. Historical data on the total fertility

rate are found in Ansley J. Coale and Melvin Zelnik.

New Estimates of Fertility and Population in the United

States. Princeton University Press: Princeton, 1963,

Table 2, and Robert L. Heuser. Fertility Tables for Birth

Cohorts by Color: United States, 1917-73. DHEW Publication (HRA)76-1152. U.S. Government Printing Office,

Washington, DC, 1976, Table 1A.

0

Figure 1.

Childlessness Among Women 40 to 44 Years 

Old: Selected Years, June 1976 to June 1998

(Percent)

10

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Surveys, 1976 to 1998.

1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1998

10

11

15

16

19
2 U.S. Census Bureau

CURRENT FERTILITY

Overall patterns of fertility

Table A shows fertility indicators

for women in June 1998 by their

age and race and Hispanic origin.

The fertility rate in this report is defined as the number of women who

reported having a child in the 12-

month period prior to the June

1998 survey per 1,000 women in

the specified age and/or characteristic group at the time of the survey. Of the estimated 60.5 million

women who were 15 to 44 years

old in June 1998, 3.7 million gave

birth in the preceding 12 months.2

This produced an estimated fertility

rate of 60.7 births per 1,000

women 15 to 44 years old and a

corresponding first birth rate of

24.6 births per 1,000 women

(1.5 million births or 41 percent

of all births).

Fertility differences by race

and ethnicity

Hispanic3 women had the highest

fertility rate among all race and

origin groups shown in Table A

(84.0 births per 1,000 women 15

to 44 years old). Overall, 618,000

Hispanic women had a birth in the

year prior to the survey, representing 17 percent of all births in 1998.

The fertility rate for White non-Hispanic women was considerably

lower (57.2 births per 1,000

women).

2 Vital statistics estimates for this same time

period indicate that there were 3.9 million

births. Taking into account the incomplete

data from the CPS for June 1998 (the survey

misses the last 10 days of the month) and twin

deliveries (women with twin births are only

counted once in the CPS), comparable Vital

statistics estimates would be about 3,725,000

births (Betty Smith, et al. Births and Deaths:

Preliminary Data for July 1997-June 1998.

National Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 47, No. 22.

National Center for Health Statistics,

Hyattsville, MD, 1999, Table 1).

3 Hispanics may be of any race.

Table A.

Fertility Indicators for Women 15 to 44 Years Old by Age

and Race and Hispanic Origin: June 1998

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number

of

women

Percent

childless

Women who had a child

in the last year

Children

ever

born per

1,000

women

Number

with a

birth

Births

per

1,000

women

First

births

per

1,000

women

AGE

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60,519 42.2 3,671 60.7 24.6 1,227

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,575 90.1 460 48.0 29.3 138

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,800 64.0 864 98.2 50.4 555

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,451 43.5 950 100.5 41.8 1,063

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,229 27.4 843 82.4 23.8 1,546

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,351 19.8 437 38.5 8.7 1,877

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . .

RACE AND ETHNICITY

White

11,113 19.0 117 10.5 2.6 1,877

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48,487 43.1 2,947 60.8 24.2 1,196

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,557 91.5 325 43.0 25.9 123

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,962 66.3 651 93.5 48.4 513

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,512 45.6 765 101.9 44.2 990

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,151 28.2 729 89.4 25.7 1,509

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,250 20.2 384 41.5 8.7 1,852

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . .

White non-Hispanic

9,056 19.5 93 10.3 2.3 1,838

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41,525 44.5 2,374 57.2 22.3 1,142

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,320 93.3 232 36.7 20.0 104

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,700 71.0 433 75.9 39.2 431

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,390 47.9 665 104.0 46.8 922

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,949 30.2 616 88.6 26.7 1,406

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,126 21.5 342 42.1 9.1 1,772

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Black

8,040 20.1 88 10.9 2.5 1,769

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,809 36.0 554 62.9 27.8 1,412

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,554 82.5 118 75.7 50.1 220

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,376 47.8 170 123.9 57.9 838

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,422 29.4 141 99.3 29.2 1,531

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,467 21.0 66 44.8 17.0 1,788

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,547 17.2 40 25.9 8.0 2,065

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Asian and Pacific Islander

1,443 17.0 19 13.5 5.8 2,042

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,635 47.3 138 52.4 22.6 1,105

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364 94.3 14 37.4 13.2 100

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 81.5 30 80.0 56.9 305

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 435 55.9 39 90.6 44.8 749

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 496 33.9 38 76.8 17.2 1,275

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 446 21.7 13 28.4 11.9 1,665

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Hispanic (of any race)

518 17.0 4 8.1 - 2,047

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,359 34.8 618 84.0 36.1 1,521

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,314 82.4 102 77.2 59.2 227

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,324 43.7 239 180.7 91.3 908

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,184 31.9 109 92.4 27.5 1,377

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,269 17.3 116 91.4 21.4 2,096

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,184 12.1 47 39.5 6.0 2,393

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,085 14.5 5 4.8 - 2,373

- Represents zero or rounds to zero.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Survey, 1998.
U.S. Census Bureau 3

Nearly all women end their childbearing by age 45. Among women

40 to 44 years old in 1998, only

Hispanic women, with an average

of 2.4 births each, had exceeded

the level required for the natural replacement of the population (about

2.1 births per woman).4 Black

women and Asian and Pacific Islander women had fertility levels

not different from the replacement

level, while White non-Hispanic

women were significantly below replacement level and averaged only

1.8 births each. These fertility patterns will have a significant impact

on the growth of the population—

the most recent series of population projections indicates that by

2005, Hispanics may become the

second largest race/ethnic group in

the United States.5 Corresponding

to their relatively high levels of

completed fertility, only 15 percent

of Hispanic women 40 to 44 years

old were childless compared with

20 percent of White non-Hispanic

women.

FERTILITY BETWEEN

GENERATIONS

The fertility characteristics of

women 40 to 44 years old provide

an accurate demographic summary

of women at the completion of

their childbearing years (see Table

B). Women in this age group in

June 1998 were born during the

peak of the Baby Boom in the mid1950s and will end their childbearing years with an average of 1.9

children. This contrasts sharply

with their mothers who were born

during the Great Depression of the

1930s–when they were 40 to 44

years old in 1976, they averaged

3.1 births.

Accompanying this decline in

completed fertility since 1976 has

been an increase in the proportion of

women 40 to 44 years old who will

end their reproductive life childless

(see Figure 1). Currently, 19 percent

of women in their early forties are

childless. By comparison, the earlier

generation of women 40 to 44 years

old in 1976 completed their childbearing years with about 10 percent

never having a child. While the

current level of childlessness is high

compared with the generation of

women 40 to 44 years old in 1976,

it is not different from the level for

4 The level required for the natural replacement

of the population is the average number of

children a woman must have to replace herself

with a female living to the average age of childbearing. Taking into account that slightly more

boy than girl babies are born and that not all

children survive to the childbearing ages, this

level is about 2.1 births per woman.

5 U.S. Census Bureau, “Projections of the Total

Resident Population by 5-Year Age Groups,

Race, and Hispanic Origin with Special Age

Categories: Middle Series, 2001 to 2005”

published 13 January 2000; <http://

www.census.gov/population/projections/

nation/summary/np-t4-b.txt>.

Table B.

Fertility Indicators Among Different Generations,

Women 40 to 44 Years Old: June 1976 and June 1998

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 1976 1998

ALL WOMEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Children ever born (percent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Three . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Four or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Children ever born per 1,000 women . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NEVER-MARRIED WOMEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Children ever born (percent) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

None . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Two or more . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Children ever born per 1,000 women . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

5,684

100.0

10.2

9.6

21.7

22.7

35.9

3,091

228

100.0

75.5

8.7

15.8

724

11,113

100.0

19.0

17.3

35.8

18.2

9.6

1,877

1,118

100.0

66.8

10.9

22.3

758

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Surveys, 1976 and 1998.

achelor's degree and above

Some college, no degree

High school graduate

Not a high school graduate

Hispanic (of any race)

Asian and Pacific Islander

Black

White non-Hispanic

30 to 44 years old

25 to 29 years old

20 to 24 years old

15 to 19 years old

All women 31

86

47

20

11

22

67

Figure 2.

Births Out of Wedlock: June 1998

(Percent)

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Survey, 1998.

19

38

60

38

26

B 3
4 U.S. Census Bureau

women born in 1900 (about

20 percent).6 While childless levels

are approximately the same now

as they were a century ago, in

contrast, a higher percentage of

women who were born at the turn

of the century had four or more

children (26 percent) compared with

women today (about 10 percent).

Smaller size families are also more

typical today than in the previous

generation (see Table B). Only

10 percent of women 40 to 44

years old in 1998 will have four or

more children compared with

36 percent of women in this same

age group in 1976. In addition to

smaller families, a higher proportion of Baby Boom children will not

marry by the end of their childbearing years—10 percent have never

been married by age 40 to 44

years compared with 4 percent for

the earlier generation of women.

OUT-OF-WEDLOCK

CHILDBEARING

Annual estimates for 1998

Estimates from the June 1998 Current Population Survey indicate that

approximately 1.1 million women

gave birth out of wedlock in the

12-month period preceding the survey, which represented 31 percent

of all births during this period. One

million births were to never-married women, while 143,000 were to

women widowed or divorced at the

time of the survey (see Table C).

These estimates may vary slightly

from those reported by the National Center for Health Statistics,

because marital status in the CPS is

recorded at the time of the survey

6 Robert L. Heuser. Fertility Tables for Birth

Cohorts by Color: United States, 1917-73.

DHEW Publication (HRA)76-1152. U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 1976,

Table 6A.

Table C.

Fertility Indicators for Women 15 to 44 Years Old by

Selected Characteristics: June 1998

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number of

women

Percent

childless

Women who had a child

in the last year

Children

ever

born per

1,000

women

Number

with a

birth

Births

per

1,000

women

First

births

per

1,000

women

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

MARITAL STATUS

60,519 42.2 3,671 60.7 24.6 1,227

Currently married . . . . . . . . . . . . 30,904 18.4 2,528 81.8 29.8 1,782

Married, husband present. . . 28,344 18.4 2,424 85.5 31.4 1,770

Married, husband absent1

. . . 2,559 18.7 104 40.7 11.8 1,910

Divorced or widowed . . . . . . . . . 5,430 20.4 143 26.4 6.4 1,701

Never married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT

24,185 77.5 1,000 41.3 22.1 410

Not a high school graduate . . . 13,048 56.6 793 60.8 23.5 1,076

High school graduate. . . . . . . . . 17,536 28.5 1,034 59.0 21.9 1,514

College, 1 or more years . . . . . 29,935 44.0 1,844 61.6 26.7 1,123

No degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,626 44.4 690 54.6 21.7 1,138

Associate degree . . . . . . . . 4,413 33.1 288 65.3 28.6 1,339

Bachelor’s degree . . . . . . .

Graduate or professional

9,762 47.4 627 64.2 29.1 1,048

degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

LABOR FORCE STATUS

3,134 47.1 239 76.2 36.6 998

In labor force . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43,765 43.0 2,155 49.2 20.7 1,177

Employed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40,957 42.6 1,948 47.6 19.8 1,183

Unemployed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,808 48.4 207 73.6 33.5 1,091

Not in labor force . . . . . . . . . . . .

FAMILY INCOME

16,754 40.1 1,516 90.5 34.8 1,356

Under $10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,631 36.2 413 73.3 29.5 1,504

$10,000 to $19,999 . . . . . . . . . . 6,917 38.2 514 74.3 30.6 1,378

$20,000 to $24,999 . . . . . . . . . . 3,902 40.4 301 77.3 36.4 1,228

$25,000 to $29,999 . . . . . . . . . . 3,848 41.6 236 61.4 20.8 1,195

$30,000 to $34,999 . . . . . . . . . . 3,928 43.1 230 58.6 21.6 1,210

$35,000 to $49,999 . . . . . . . . . . 9,478 40.9 522 55.1 21.9 1,250

$50,000 to $74,999 . . . . . . . . . . 11,003 42.8 663 60.3 24.4 1,174

$75,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . 9,627 48.0 484 50.2 21.7 1,056

Income not reported. . . . . . . . . .

REGION OF RESIDENCE

6,187 45.3 308 49.7 20.0 1,158

Northeast . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11,397 44.7 667 58.5 23.8 1,161

Midwest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,857 42.0 833 60.1 24.2 1,245

South . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,564 40.1 1,325 61.4 25.1 1,239

West . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

METROPOLITAN

RESIDENCE

13,702 43.7 847 61.8 25.0 1,243

Metropolitan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49,815 43.4 2,968 59.6 25.0 1,194

In central cities . . . . . . . . . . . . 18,860 44.1 1,148 60.9 27.9 1,209

Outside central cities . . . . . . . 30,955 43.0 1,821 58.8 23.2 1,184

Nonmetropolitan . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10,704 36.4 703 65.6 22.9 1,379

1

Includes separated women.

Note: Since the number of women who have had a birth during the 12-month period was

tabulated and not the actual numbers of births themselves, a small underestimation of

fertility for this period may exist because of the omission of: (1) Multiple births; (2) more than

one live birth occurring to a woman in a 12-month period ( the woman is counted only once);

(3) women who had births in the period and who died by the survey date; (4) women who

were in institutions and therefore not in the survey universe; and (5) 2 percent of births in

a 12-month period (only 51 weeks of data are tabulated in the CPS due to the interview

schedule). These losses may be somewhat offset by the inclusion in the CPS of births to

immigrants who did not have their children born in the United States and births to

nonresident women who had their children born in the United States. These births would

have not been recorded in the vital registration system. The ages of the women in this table

and similar tables in this report refer to the age of women at the time of the survey and not

at the birth of child.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Survey, 1998.
U.S. Census Bureau 5

and not at the time of the actual

birth.7 Hence, the CPS estimates

of out-of-wedlock births may differ

from NCHS estimates by the degree

that some women who had a birth

in the last year may have subsequently married or divorced by the

time of the survey.

Out-of-wedlock childbearing predominantly occurs among younger

women–86 percent of births to

teenagers in 1998 were out-ofwedlock (see Figure 2). Forty-seven

percent of births to women in their

early twenties were out of wedlock,

with the proportion declining to

11 percent for women 30 years and

over. The majority (67 percent) of

births to Black women in 1998 were

out of wedlock, compared with

38 percent for Hispanic women and

22 percent for White non-Hispanic

women.

Figure 2 also shows that women

who had not graduated from high

school had the highest level of outof-wedlock childbearing in 1998

(60 percent). About 38 percent of

mothers who had graduated from

high school who had a birth in 1998

had their children born out of

wedlock, compared with 26 percent

of mothers with some college

education and only 3 percent of

women who had a bachelor’s degree

or more education. The above

statistics illustrate that, while sharp

differences occur among different

educational groups, out-of-wedlock

childbearing occurs throughout the

population regardless of their level

of education.

Fertility of never-married

women

The out-of-wedlock childbearing

indicators previously discussed

present a demographic portrait of

women who gave birth in 1998.

Those statistics included births to

women who were unmarried (women

never married, divorced and widowed) in June 1998. Table D looks

more selectively at women who

have entered motherhood but have

yet to marry. This group is especially

important as never-married women

are much younger and are less likely

to be able to support themselves

financially.

Overall, there were 24.2 million

women 15 to 44 years old in June

1998 who had never married. The

large majority were childless, but

5.5 million (23 percent) had borne a

child at some time before the survey

date. Among never-married teenage

women in 1998, 8 percent had borne

a child, compared with 40 percent of

never-married women in their

thirties. One-third of women 40 to

44 years old in 1998 who had never

married had borne at least one child.

In comparison, among never-married

women 40 to 44 years old in 1976,

25 percent had a child out of wedlock (see Table B).

Among never-married women in

1998, 48 percent of Black women

had borne a child, compared with

13 percent of White non-Hispanic

women and 11 percent of Asian and

Pacific Islander women. About one

third of never-married Hispanic

women had borne a child.

Sharp differences also exist by

educational attainment levels.

Since many teenagers have not yet

graduated from high school, the

statistics in Table D by educational

attainment are limited to women

1

2

Age

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Survey, 1998.

7 Vital statistics estimates for calendar year

1998 indicate that there were 1.3 million births

to unmarried women (all ages) or 32.8 percent

of all births. (Stephanie J. Ventura, et al.

Decline in Teenage Birth Rates, 1991-98:

Update of National and State Trends. National

Vital Statistics Report, Vol. 47, No. 26.

National Center for Health Statistics:

Hyattsville, MD, 1999, Table A).

5

5

5

Figure 3.

Children Ever Born by Age and Nativity: 

June 1998

(Births per woman)

Native

Foreign born

15-19

0.1

0.5

1.5

1.7

1.8

2.1

20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44

0.7

1.0

1.1

1.8

2.2

0.1
6 U.S. Census Bureau

21 to 44 years of age in 1998 to permanent disruptions resulting

present a more reasonable repre- from an out-of-wedlock birth.

sentation of out-of-wedlock fertility

differences. About 66 percent of FERTILITY OF FOREIGNwomen who had not completed BORN WOMEN

high school had a birth out of wedlock, compared with 28 percent of Differences by nativity

women with some college educa- status

tion—lower levels of out-of-wed- Beginning in June 1994, informalock childbearing were found for tion on place of birth and citizennever-married women who had ship status was collected in the

graduated college (9 percent). Current Population Survey in recogThese differences in fertility may nition of the growing proportion of

reflect both differential knowledge the population of the United States

and access to contraceptive ser- who are foreign born. In June

vices, but educational outcomes 1998, there were 7.2 million forare probably also the conse- eign-born8 women 15 to 44 years

quences of the temporary or even

old in the United States, representing 12 percent of women in the

childbearing ages (see Table E).

About 527,000 foreign-born

women gave birth in the year prior

to the survey, resulting in a fertility

rate of 73 births per 1,000 women.

Overall, 41 percent of births to foreign-born women were first births.

The fertility rate for native women

was 59 births per 1,000 women

although a similar proportion of

births to these women were first

births.

Higher fertility rates for foreign-born

women are due to higher agespecific fertility rates for women

under age 30. Table E shows that

while fertility rates are higher for

foreign-born than native women

under age 30 by 29 births per

1,000 women, there are no significant differences in the fertility rates

for women 30 to 44 years old by

nativity.

Among women completing their

childbearing years, native women

40 to 44 years old will complete

their reproductive years with an

average of 1.8 children each, which

is below replacement level fertility

(see Figure 3). On the other hand,

foreign-born women will complete

their childbearing years with an

average of 2.2 children each, not

different from replacement level

fertility. In addition, levels of childlessness were lower for foreignborn women in their early forties

(13 percent) than for native women

(20 percent).

8 In this report, “native” is used to designate

people born in the United States, Puerto Rico,

the Virgin Islands or the outlying areas or territories of the United States, or who were born

abroad to parents, at least one of whom was a

U.S. citizen. “Foreign born” refers to all other

people.

Table D.

Fertility Indicators for Never-Married Women 15 to 44

Years Old by Selected Characteristics: June 1998

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number

of

women

Percent

with 1

or more

children

Women who had a child

in the last year

Children

ever

born per

1,000

women

First

Births births

Number per per

with a 1,000 1,000

birth women women

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

AGE

15 to 19 years. . . . . . . . . . . . .

20 to 24 years. . . . . . . . . . . . .

25 to 29 years. . . . . . . . . . . . .

30 to 34 years. . . . . . . . . . . . .

35 to 39 years. . . . . . . . . . . . .

40 to 44 years. . . . . . . . . . . . .

RACE AND ETHNICITY

White. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

White non-Hispanic . . . . . .

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Asian and Pacific Islander . .

Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . .

EDUCATIONAL

ATTAINMENT1

Not a high school graduate .

High school graduate. . . . . . .

Some college, no degree . . .

Bachelor’s degree and

above . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

24,185

9,204

6,315

3,606

2,277

1,666

1,118

17,823

15,131

5,099

998

2,877

1,592

3,553

4,416

3,830

22.5

8.2

24.3

33.9

39.8

39.5

33.2

15.9

13.3

47.6

10.5

31.4

66.0

50.4

27.7

8.8

1,000

392

369

159

49

26

5

605

422

358

26

209

115

212

148

23

41.3

42.5

58.4

44.0

21.7

15.7

4.8

33.9

27.9

70.3

25.8

72.8

72.2

59.6

33.5

6.0

22.1

26.4

33.1

16.1

10.2

1.2

-

19.3

15.3

34.1

13.5

43.6

18.9

21.2

17.9

5.3

410

116

366

642

848

871

758

266

207

948

181

611

1,625

953

444

133

- Represents zero or rounds to zero.

1

Limited to women 21 to 44 years old.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Survey, 1998.
U.S. Census Bureau 7

Variations by world regions of women in 1998 produced a fertility

birth and citizenship rate of 78 births per 1,000 women.

status The majority of the women from

Estimates from the June 1998 CPS Latin America were born in Mexico

(2.1 million). show that the majority of foreignborn women 15 to 44 years old Women from Asia, who made up were from Latin America (about 24 percent of all foreign-born 3.9 million or 54 percent).9 The women, had a fertility rate of estimated 304,000 births to these 57 births per 1,000. The average

number of children born to date to

these women was 1.3 births per

woman compared to 1.8 births per

woman from Latin America. Asianborn women also had childlessness

levels 10 percentage points higher

than women from Latin America.

These statistics reflect actual differences in fertility and are not caused

by differences in the age distribution of women from the two regions–about one-half of women

from both regions who are 15 to

44 years old are in the principal

childbearing ages of 20 to 34

years. European-born women

also had levels of childlessness

(38 percent) and births to date

(1.3 births per woman) that were

similar to those of Asian-born

women.

Table E also shows fertility differences by citizenship status. Thirtyone percent of foreign-born women

in the childbearing ages in 1998

were naturalized citizens. The annual fertility rate in 1998 for naturalized citizens was no different

from that for native women

(59 births per 1,000) although two

other fertility indicators were different. Naturalized citizens, relative

to native women, had higher average numbers of children born to

date (1.6 births per woman compared with1.2 births) and lower

proportions who were childless

(30 percent compared with 43 percent). These statistics, which measure cumulative childbearing experience, reflect the relatively older

age distribution of naturalized

citizens compared with native

women–52 percent of women in

the childbearing ages who were

naturalized citizens were 35 to

9 Fertility rates by place of birth are based on

relatively small population bases and can be

subject to considerable variation on an annual

basis as population controls by region of birth

were not made in this survey. These estimates

should be treated with caution.

Table E.

Fertility Indicators for Women 15 to 44 Years Old by

Place of Birth, Age, and Citizenship Status: June 1998

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number

of

women

Percent

childless

Women who had a child

in the last year

Children

ever

born per

1,000

First

Births births

Number per per

with a 1,000 1,000

birth women women

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

NATIVE

60,519 42.2 3,671 60.7 24.6 1,227

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53,274 43.4 3,144 59.0 23.9 1,184

15 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,963 67.3 1,966 78.7 38.1 561

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . 8,978 90.2 440 49.0 29.5 139

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . 7,836 65.0 718 91.6 46.0 539

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . 8,150 44.3 808 99.2 39.9 1,047

30 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 28,311 22.4 1,178 41.6 11.4 1,734

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . 8,750 27.5 718 82.1 24.4 1,517

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . 9,850 20.3 363 36.9 8.4 1,836

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . .

FOREIGN BORN

9,711 19.9 97 10.0 2.7 1,827

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,245 33.3 527 72.8 30.0 1,536

15 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,864 55.1 308 107.7 59.2 788

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . 597 89.9 20 33.8 26.1 131

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . 965 55.6 146 151.8 86.5 691

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . 1,302 38.9 142 108.9 54.2 1,162

30 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,382 19.0 219 49.9 11.0 2,025

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . 1,478 26.7 125 84.4 20.0 1,713

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . 1,501 16.8 74 49.1 10.5 2,148

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . .

Place of birth1

1,402 13.2 20 14.4 2.0 2,222

Latin America . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,916 28.1 304 77.6 31.6 1,772

Mexico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Remainder of Latin

2,102 24.0 187 88.8 28.1 2,023

America . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,814 32.9 117 64.6 35.6 1,482

Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,713 38.5 97 56.6 20.9 1,299

Europe2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 721 38.1 60 82.9 30.8 1,268

Canada. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Citizenship status

143 42.7 14 94.9 47.2 1,180

Naturalized citizen . . . . . . . . . 2,273 30.0 134 58.8 27.5 1,552

Not a citizen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,972 34.8 393 79.1 31.2 1,529

1

Shown for selected areas for women who are foreign born.

2

Includes Russia and all former republics of the Soviet Union.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Survey, 1998.
8 U.S. Census Bureau

44 years old compared with only

37 percent of native women.

Foreign-born women who were not

citizens had a more youthful distribution of women in the principal

childbearing ages (55 percent were

20 to 34 years old) compared with

foreign-born women who had

become citizens (44 percent).

However, no differences are noted

in 1998 in the average number of

children ever born between these

two groups of women (1.5 births

each) despite their different age

distributions. Previous research

on immigrant fertility suggests that

differences caused by disruptions to

childbearing related to migration and

settlement eventually diminish by

the end of the childbearing years.10

LABOR FORCE

CHARACTERISTICS OF

MOTHERS WITH INFANTS

Labor force participation rates for

women with infants11 reached an

all-time high of 59 percent in 1998,

almost double the rate of 31 percent

in 1976 (see Figure 4).12 In June

1998, there were 2,155,000 women

with infants were in the labor force–

90 percent were employed at the

time of the survey. The large

increase in labor force participation

rates since 1976 is an important

reason why child care issues have

10 Amara Bachu. Profile of the Foreign-Born

Population in the United States. Current

Population Reports. P23-176. U.S. Census

Bureau. Washington, DC, 1991.

11 Labor force participation rates are defined

as the number of persons who are either

employed or looking for work per 100

persons in specified population groups.

Infants are defined as children under 1 year

or 12 months old.

12 The Census Bureau first began to publish

this indicator in 1976. For a time series of

annual births to women in the labor force

from CPS surveys since 1976, see Amara

Bachu, Fertility of American Women: June

1995 (Update). PPL-74. U.S. Census Bureau,

Washington, DC, 1997, Table H-4.

been a key component of family

policy legislation in recent years.

From changes to the federal tax

code in 1976 which permitted

working parents to take a tax credit

for child care expenses to the

passage of the Family and Medical

Leave Act of 1993, there has been

an increased recognition of the

importance of making it easier for

women to combine child rearing and

employment activities.

For comparative purposes, Table F

shows the degree of labor force

participation of mothers (women

with children) who were 15 to 44

years old by whether they have had

a child in the last year. Labor force

participation rates of mothers rather

than all women were used in this

comparison as children require

attention and daily supervision, time

constraints which are not shared by

childless women. These family

activities, in turn, influence the

likelihood of being employed. On

average, mothers who had a child in

the last year recorded lower labor

force participation rates (59 percent)

than did other mothers (73 percent).

Women who seek to return to work

shortly after giving birth may face

medical and maternal responsibilities

that are not shared by women with

older children. Mothers with infants

may want to return to work, but at

lower levels of activity, to devote as

much time as possible to providing

care in the critical months after

childbirth. These employment

tendencies are evident in Table F—

lower proportions of mothers with

infants were employed full-time13

than were mothers without infant

children. Among mothers with

infants, about twice as many were

employed full-time (36 percent)

as were employed part-time

(17 percent) compared with mothers

without infant children where full-time

13 Full-time workers are employed people who

work 35 or more hours per week.

0

Figure 4.

Labor Force Participation Among Women With Infants: 

Selected Years, June 1976 to June 1998

(Percent)

31

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Surveys, 1976 to 1998.

1976 1980 1984 1988 1992 1998

38

47

51

54

59
U.S. Census Bureau 9

workers were three times as common (52 percent) as part-time

workers (17 percent).

Full-time and part-time

employment

Which women are more likely to be

employed full-time rather than parttime? Labor force participation

among women with infants is

appreciably higher for collegeeducated women than for women

with a high school education or less.

Data from the June 1998 CPS

indicate that 68 percent of women

with 1 or more years of college who

had a child in the previous year were

in the labor force, compared with

58 percent for high school graduates

and only 38 percent for women who

were not high school graduates. For

women with 1 or more years of

college or who had graduated high

school, a larger percentage of

women worked at full-time rather

than at part-time jobs. Among

women who were not high school

graduates, no difference was found

in the percentage working at fulltime or part-time jobs.

This pattern suggests that women

with more time invested in their

educational careers’ return to work

more rapidly and are more likely to

return as full-time workers than do

women with fewer years of schooling. Many factors could account for

these differences, insofar as educational attainment is related to work

experience and salary levels.

Studies have shown that the

likelihood of returning to work after

a child’s birth is highly associated

with work experience prior to and

during pregnancy (for example,

hours worked per week and when

the woman stopped working).14 In

14 Martin O’Connell. Maternity Leave Arrangements: 1961-85. Current Population Reports,

P23-165. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC,

1990.

addition to higher initial levels of

labor force activity during pregnancy,

greater job commitment or available

resources to purchase child care

services may account for the higher

post-childbirth levels of labor force

participation levels among mothers

with more years of schooling.

What other factors influence the

decision to return to work after

childbirth? The marital status of the

mother is a strong determinant of

labor force participation but can act

as a double-edged sword as a

predictor. Women who are unmarried and who lack a spouse’s income

may be in relatively poorer economic

circumstances than married women,

and more dependent on their own

employment to support their family.

However, the absence of a husband

may restrict their ability to obtain

child care services due to fewer

family economic resources to pay for

child care and the lack of a spouse

to serve as a child care provider.

Table F shows that 50 percent of

separated, divorced, and widowed

women with infants are employed

full time—more than women who are

married (39 percent), and also twice

as high a proportion as women who

have never married (24 percent).

Among mothers in the labor force

with infants, never-married women

also are most likely to be unemployed and possibly in need of child

care services or job training assistance.

An important trend appearing in the

last few years has been the narrowing of differences in labor force

participation rates among women by

the number of children they have.

Table F indicates that in 1998 the

labor force participation rate for

mothers with infants was not

different between mothers with only

one birth (61 percent) or with two or

more births (57 percent). In the June

1995 survey, the difference was

about 10 percentage points

(59 percent and 49 percent, respectively) while in 1976 the difference

was about 13 percentage points

(39 percent and 26 percent, respectively).15 This convergence suggests

that families today are better able

to provide child care services when

additional births occur. Recent

childcare data indicate that if a

family uses the same provider for

more than one child, the cost of

child care is about 25 percent less

per child than if different arrangements are made for the children.16

DUAL-EMPLOYED FAMILIES

The increase in the labor force

participation of women has significantly altered the structure of family

life, especially the need for child care

providers. The traditional family

portrayed as one with an employed

husband whose wife stayed home to

look after the children has changed

to a family with both parents

employed outside the home and

with children cared for by someone

other than a family member.

Table G shows selected socioeconomic characteristics of married

couples (where the wife is 15 to

44 years old) by the spouses’ employment status and whether the wife

was childless or had ever had a child.

Of the 28.3 million married-couple

families in 1998 with wives who were

in the childbearing ages, 14.3 million

(51 percent) were dual-employed

15 Amara Bachu. Fertility of American Women:

June 1995 (Update). PPL-74. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 1997, Table H-3 (for the

1995 data); Amara Bachu. Fertility of American Women: June 1987. Current Population Reports, P20-427. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC, 1988, Table D (for the 1976 data).

16 Lynne M. Casper. What Does It Cost to Mind

Our Preschoolers? Current Population Reports,

P70-52. U.S. Census Bureau, Washington, DC,

1995 (Table 2).
10 U.S. Census Bureau

Table F.

Labor Force Participation Among Mothers 15 to 44 Years Old by Fertility Status and

Selected Characteristics: June 1998

(Numbers in thousands. Limited to women with at least one child ever born)

Characteristic

Mothers who had a child in the last year Mothers who did not have a child in the last year

Number

of

mothers

Percent in labor force

Number

of

mothers

Percent in labor force

Total

Full- Parttime timeUnemployed TotalFull- Parttime timeUnemployed

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age

3,671 58.7 35.8 17.3 5.6 31,303 72.8 51.8 17.0 4.0

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 460 43.2 9.0 21.9 12.3 483 57.4 24.4 20.8 12.3

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 864 56.4 31.9 15.3 9.3 2,306 66.1 38.8 17.9 9.5

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 950 61.9 40.5 17.2 4.2 4,387 69.3 50.3 14.8 4.1

30 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Births to Date and Age

of Woman

1,397 63.0 43.7 17.1 2.2 24,127 74.4 53.8 17.3 3.2

First birth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,490 60.8 38.3 16.2 6.3 9,188 76.9 57.3 14.9 4.6

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 48.4 12.6 22.9 12.9 360 58.3 23.9 20.9 13.5

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 444 54.8 30.8 16.1 7.9 1,443 68.9 44.4 16.6 8.0

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 68.5 49.3 14.8 4.4 1,824 75.8 58.6 13.8 3.4

30 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 370 69.3 54.9 12.9 1.4 5,562 80.5 62.5 14.4 3.6

Second or higher order birth . . . . 2,181 57.3 34.0 18.0 5.2 22,115 71.1 49.5 17.9 3.7

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 35.2 3.4 20.5 11.3 124 54.9 25.8 20.4 8.7

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 420 58.2 33.0 14.5 10.7 863 61.5 29.6 20.0 11.9

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 555 57.3 34.3 18.9 4.0 2,563 64.6 44.4 15.5 4.7

30 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race and Ethnicity

1,026 60.7 39.7 18.6 2.4 18,565 72.5 51.2 18.2 3.1

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,947 58.4 36.3 17.5 4.6 24,647 72.1 50.4 18.6 3.1

White non-Hispanic. . . . . . . . . . 2,374 61.6 38.9 19.2 3.5 20,690 73.7 51.3 19.7 2.6

Black . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 554 63.0 33.5 17.9 11.6 5,079 77.5 58.4 10.8 8.4

Asian and Pacific Islander . . . . . . 138 49.9 34.7 11.0 4.2 1,250 67.6 50.3 14.4 2.9

Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . . .

Marital Status

618 45.7 26.1 11.2 8.4 4,182 64.5 46.3 12.7 5.5

Married, husband present . . . . . .

Separated1

, divorced or

2,469 60.0 39.3 17.4 3.3 21,121 70.7 49.1 19.1 2.5

widowed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 202 64.5 50.2 9.3 5.0 5,731 82.1 65.2 12.0 4.9

Never married . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Educational Attainment

1,000 54.4 24.2 18.6 11.6 4,451 70.8 46.9 14.0 9.9

Not a high school graduate . . . . . 793 37.7 13.6 13.5 10.6 4,871 56.3 35.4 12.9 7.9

High school graduate . . . . . . . . . . 1,034 58.4 33.5 17.0 7.9 11,511 73.8 52.8 16.5 4.5

College, 1 or more years . . . . . . . 1,844 67.9 46.6 19.1 2.2 14,920 77.4 56.3 18.8 2.2

No degree. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 690 66.4 39.8 22.1 4.4 6,329 75.8 56.4 16.7 2.6

Associate degree. . . . . . . . . . . . 288 69.7 50.4 17.3 2.0 2,664 81.5 57.5 21.1 2.9

Bachelor’s degree . . . . . . . . . . .

Graduate or professional

627 66.5 45.8 19.9 0.8 4,509 76.3 54.0 20.8 1.4

degree . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Family Income

239 73.6 63.2 10.4 - 1,418 80.6 61.1 17.5 2.1

Under $10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 413 41.8 14.4 13.8 13.6 3,179 56.7 26.0 16.8 13.8

$10,000 to $19,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 514 49.5 26.4 15.2 7.8 3,763 69.8 48.5 15.7 5.6

$20,000 to $24,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 301 58.8 35.4 12.9 10.5 2,024 71.2 52.5 14.5 4.2

$25,000 to $29,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 236 57.2 36.6 12.0 8.5 2,013 75.2 55.7 14.8 4.7

$30,000 to $34,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 230 54.8 26.0 24.7 4.1 2,006 76.2 56.7 16.1 3.4

$35,000 to $49,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 522 67.3 41.1 24.3 1.8 5,080 76.7 58.0 16.3 2.5

$50,000 to $74,999. . . . . . . . . . . . 663 69.6 46.7 21.2 1.7 5,634 80.1 58.4 20.0 1.6

$75,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . 484 66.9 48.3 16.2 2.4 4,526 75.1 53.0 20.9 1.2

Income not reported . . . . . . . . . . . 308 49.9 34.7 9.8 5.5 3,078 66.9 51.9 12.7 2.4

- Represents zero or rounds to zero.

1

Includes married, husband absent.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Survey, 1998.
U.S. Census Bureau 11

Table G.

Married Couples by Employment and Fertility Status: Selected Years, 1976 to 1998

(Numbers in thousands. Limited to married-couple families)

Characteristic and survey year

Number of

couples

Husband and wife employed Husband employed, wife

not employed

All other

Total couples

Wife

childless

Wife with

one or

more

children Total

Wife

childless

Wife with

one or

more

children

1998 SURVEY

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Age of Wife

28,344 18,262 3,946 14,316 7,612 796 6,817 2,470

15 to 19 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 256 112 52 59 110 52 58 34

20 to 24 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,005 1,068 480 588 677 120 556 261

25 to 29 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,655 2,995 1,167 1,828 1,279 173 1,106 381

30 to 34 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,365 4,103 860 3,243 1,767 163 1,604 494

35 to 39 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,472 4,786 643 4,143 2,094 140 1,953 592

40 to 44 years . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Race and Ethnicity of Wife

7,592 5,199 743 4,455 1,686 147 1,539 708

White . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24,522 15,847 3,516 12,331 6,730 648 6,082 1,945

White non-Hispanic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21,221 14,198 3,252 10,946 5,416 512 4,904 1,607

Black. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,152 1,478 231 1,247 365 49 317 309

Asian and Pacific Islander . . . . . . . . . . 1,451 815 183 632 446 88 358 191

Hispanic (of any race) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Educational Attainment

3,440 1,727 275 1,452 1,354 139 1,215 360

Both college graduates . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,372 3,705 1,224 2,481 1,372 189 1,183 295

All other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Occupation

22,972 14,557 2,721 11,835 6,240 607 5,633 2,175

Both professional-managerial . . . . . . . 6,558 3,311 948 2,362 (X) (X) (X) (X)

All other . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Family Income

21,786 14,951 2,998 11,954 (X) (X) (X) (X)

Under $10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 945 301 62 239 342 56 286 302

$10,000 to $19,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,031 737 127 610 839 93 745 455

$20,000 to $24,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,528 742 144 599 569 46 522 217

$25,000 to $29,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,697 987 178 809 498 42 456 212

$30,000 to $34,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,789 1,114 262 852 501 45 456 174

$35,000 to $49,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,277 3,567 686 2,881 1,372 139 1,233 338

$50,000 to $74,999 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,693 5,050 1,040 4,010 1,372 163 1,208 272

$75,000 and over . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,724 4,230 1,126 3,104 1,325 134 1,192 169

Income not reported . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Tenure

2,661 1,534 321 1,213 795 78 717 331

Own home . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20,783 14,359 2,667 11,692 5,176 447 4,730 1,247

Rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,061 3,679 1,219 2,460 2,321 345 1,977 1,062

No cash rent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

SURVEY YEAR

500 224 60 164 115 5 110 161

1992 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,531 17,834 3,910 13,924 7,835 758 7,077 3,861

1987 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29,413 17,596 4,150 13,466 8,941 844 8,097 2,876

1982 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26,777 14,113 3,672 10,441 10,073 1,114 8,959 2,591

1976 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,420 11,379 3,048 8,331 12,200 1,221 10,979 1,841

X Not applicable.

Note: Data for 1992 and 1998 are for families where the wife was 15 to 44 years old; for previous surveys, the data are for women 18 to 44

years old.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau, June Current Population Surveys, 1976, 1982, 1987, 1992 and 1998.
12 U.S. Census Bureau

families with children. This is the One distinguishing characteristic couples with children (82 percent)

first year since the Census Bureau which makes childless dual- than for childless couples (68 perbegan presenting these data that employed couples different from the cent). A similar pattern was found

dual-employed families with children other family groupings is their higher for husband-only working couples,

made up the majority of married- joint level of educational attainment. with home ownership rates higher

couple families. In 1976, there were In 1998, 31 percent of childless for couples with children (69 percent)

only 8.3 million of these families, or dual-employed couples had both than without children (56 percent).

one-third of all married couple spouses graduating from college These results suggest that decisions

families. compared with only 17 percent of to purchase a home may not solely

dual-employed couples with chil- depend on the family’s income, but

The modal family type in the 1970s dren. The traditional family, where may also be influenced by the need

was one which had children but only the husband was employed for larger and more private spaces

where only the husband worked, and the wife stayed home with the when families begin to grow.

frequently referred to as the “tradi- children, also had levels of joint

tional family.” In 1976, 43 percent of college education (17 percent) SOURCE OF THE DATA

married couples (11 million) were in similar to dual-employed couples Most estimates in this report come this family situation. By 1998, the with children.

number of married couples with from data obtained in the June 1998

Current Population Survey (CPS). children where only the husband Consistent with their higher levels of

worked declined to 6.8 million and Some estimates are based on data education, childless dual-employed

obtained by the CPS in earlier years. represented only 24 percent of couples were more likely to have

married couples. both husbands and wives working The Census Bureau conducts the CPS

every month, although this report in either professional or managerial

Dual-employed couples who are occupations. Twenty-four percent uses only data from the June surchildless increased from about of childless couples were jointly veys.

3 million couples in 1976 to 4.2 employed in these occupational

million couples in 1987—no signifi- categories compared with 16 ACCURACY AND

cant change was noted by 1998. percent of couples with children. RELIABILITY OF THE DATA

The major change for the past two Despite these differences in educa- Statistics from surveys are subject to decades in family and economic life tion and occupation, relatively small sampling and nonsampling error. All has not been the growth of dual- differences in family income were comparisons presented in this report employed couples without children, found among dual-employed couples have taken sampling error into but an increase in the number and by the wife’s fertility status. Among account and meet the Census

proportion of couples where both those reporting on their family Bureau’s standards for statistical

child rearing and working lives are income, 60 percent of childless significance. Nonsampling errors in the norms for both spouses. couples had incomes of $50,000 surveys may be attributed to a

and over compared with 54 percent variety of sources, such as how the Socioeconomic characteristics of families with children. Dual- survey was designed, how respon- of dual-employed families employed couples, as expected, had dents interpret questions, how able

Among dual-employed families, what distinctly higher incomes than and willing respondents are to

characteristics differentiate those families where only the husband provide correct answers, and how

families with and without children? worked. Among couples reporting accurately answers are coded and

In general, wives of childless couples on their family income, 55 percent of classified. The Census Bureau

tend to be younger and hence at an dual-employed couples had incomes employs quality control procedures

earlier stage of family formation. of $50,000 and over compared with throughout the production process—

About 43 percent of childless dual- only 40 percent of husband-only including the overall design of

employed couples had wives who employed couples. surveys, testing the wording of

were under age 30 compared with questions, review of the work of Despite their lower income levels, only 17 percent of couples with interviewers and coders, and home ownership levels were signifi- children. statistical review of reports. cantly higher for dual-employed
U.S. Census Bureau 13

The CPS employs ratio estimation, To receive a paper copy of these USER COMMENTS

whereby sample estimates are tables, send your request for “PPL- The Census Bureau welcomes the

adjusted to independent estimates 116, Fertility of American Women: comments and advice of users of its

of the national population by age, June 1998” along with a check or data and reports. If you have any

race, sex, and Hispanic origin. This money order in the amount of suggestions or comments, please

weighting partially corrects for bias $25.00 payable to “Commerce- write to:

due to undercoverage, but how it Census-88-00-9010,” to U.S. Departaffects different variables in the ment of Commerce, U.S. Census Chief, Population Division

survey is not precisely known. Bureau, P.O. Box 277943, Atlanta, GA U.S. Census Bureau

Moreover, biases may also be 30384-7943, or call our Statistical Washington, DC 20233

present when people who are Information Office on 301-457-2422.

or send an e-mail inquiry to: missed in the survey differ from A copy of these tabulations will be pop@census.gov those interviewed in ways other than made available to any existing CPR

the categories used in weighting P20 subscriber without charge, SUGGESTED CITATION

(age, race, sex, and Hispanic origin). provided that the request is made Bachu, Amara and Martin O’Connell. All of these considerations affect within 3 months of the issue date of

2000. Fertility of American Women: comparisons across different surveys this report. Contact our Statistical June 1998. Current Population or data sources. Information Office on 301-457-2422.

Reports. P20-526. U.S. Census

Bur DC. further information on statistical CONTACTS eau. Washington, For 

standards and the computation and Statistical Information Staff

use of standard errors, contact Marti pop@census.gov

Jones, Demographic Statistical 301-457-2422

Methods Division, on the Internet at

Amara Bachu dsmd_S&A@ccmail.census.gov. Amara.Bachu@census.gov

301-457-2499

MORE INFORMATION

Martin O’Connell

Detailed tables with characteristics moconnel@census.gov

of women in the childbearing ages 301-457-2416

by fertility indicators are available

on the Internet (http://

www.census.gov); search by clicking

on “F” for “Fertility” under the

“Subjects A-Z” heading on the

Census Bureau home page.