L a. 3 •

Families at Work:

The Jobs and the Pay
Families at Work:

The Jobs and the Pay

U.S. Department of Labor 

Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary

Bureau of Labor Statistics 

Janet L. Norwood, Commissioner 

August 1984

Bulletin 2209

F o r sale by th e S u p e rin te n d e n t o f D ocum ents. U.S. G overnm ent P r in tin g Office W a sh in g to n . D C. 20402

Preface

This bulletin is part of the Special Labor Force 

Reports series. It discusses historical trends and changes 

in labor force and earnings patterns among workers in 

families. These articles were first published in the M onthly Labor Review, December 1983, and are reprinted 

with additional tabular material and an explanatory 

note.

Most of the data for the first four articles were compiled from information in the March 1983 Current 

Population Survey, conducted by the Bureau of the

Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These articles 

examine the labor force experience of workers by their 

family status. The fifth article reviews available child 

care services for working mothers, and the sixth provides some insights into the economic health of the 

family when the primary wage earner retires from the 

labor force.

Material in this publication is in the public domain 

and, with appropriate credit, may be reproduced 

without permission.
Contents

Page

Labor force statistics from a family perspective............................................................................................. 1

Trends in employment and unemployment in fam ilies................................................................................... 6

Married couples: work and income p a tte rn s.................................................................................................... 11

Most women who maintain families receive poor job market returns ....................................................... 15

Child-care services: a national picture.............................................................................................................. 20

How do families fare when the breadwinner re tire s? ..................................................................................... 25

Appendixes:

A. Explanatory n o te ...................................................................................................................................... 30

B. Supplementary tables:

B-l. Employment status of the population by marital status, sex, race, and Hispanic

origin, March 1983 ........................................................................................................................... 35

B-2. Employed civilians by occupation, race, Hispanic origin, sex, and marital status,

March 1983 ........................................................................................................................................ 37

B-3. Marital status of the population and labor force by age, race, Hispanic origin, and

sex, March 1983 ............................................................................................................................... 41

B-4. Marital status of women in the population and labor force by age and presence and

age of children, March 1983 ............................................................................................................ 44

B-5. Marital status of women in the population and labor force by race, Hispanic origin,

age, and presence and age of children, March 1983 .................................................................. 46

B-6. Number of earners in families, relationship of earners, and family income in 1982 by

type of family and race, March 1983 ............................................................................................. 48

B-7. Number of children in families in March 1983 and median family income in 1982 by

type of family, employment status of parents, race, and Hispanic o rig in ............................ 54

B-8. Number of families with children in March 1983 and median family income in 1982 

by type of family, employment status of mother, race, Hispanic origin, and age of 

ch ild ren .................................................................................................................. 58

IV
Labor force statistics 

from a family perspective

Over time, the family unit has become a major focus

for policy planning, program evaluation, and research;

two data series, which are now part of the regular CPS,

more quickly capture the effects of the business cycle

on the employment and earnings of family members

E l iz a b e t h W a l d m a n

“ As are families so is society . . . If well ordered, well instructed, and well governed, they are springs from which go

forth the streams of national greatness and prosperity— of civil

order and public happiness.’’1

Families are the basic unit of American society that provide 

the country with its current labor supply and mold the character of its future workers. But, in contrast to the “ well 

ordered,” ideal state described above, family life is more 

often depicted as in flux or crisis. This has been especially 

true of the years following World War II, during which 

families changed from an extended to a nuclear structure, 

moved from a rural to an urban setting, and adjusted from 

wartime pressures, to periods of peacetime prosperity or 

recession.

In 1940, a monthly sample survey was initiated to measure changes in the characteristics of the Nation’s labor 

force.2 This article draws on the results of that survey to 

present a historical perspective on the labor market activities 

of family members. Subsequent sections review recent developments in survey procedures that permit the tracking of 

broad secular trends and of business-cycle effects on family 

employment and income, and suggest future directions for 

family-oriented economic analyses.

Trends: 1940’s to early 1980’s

Since 1940, but especially over the last decade, families 

have become substantially smaller, and the variety of living

Elizabeth Waldman is a senior economist in the Office of Employment and

Unemployment Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

arrangements has increased. For example, today’s schoolage and preschool children are more likely to be living with 

one parent or a stepparent and are far more likely to have 

a working mother. Factors contributing to such changes 

include unusually low fertility rates, exceptionally high divorce rates, later marriage, the aging of the population, and 

greater labor force participation by married women.

Some other results of these developments are shown in 

table 1. Since 1940, the number of married couples has 

nearly doubled, but the number of families maintained by 

women has nearly tripled, and half a million more men now 

do not live with their spouses but maintain their own families.

The 43-year span which saw broken families become 

more numerous and their employment and unemployment 

problems more prominent also witnessed the gradual transformation of more than half of all married couples to multieamer families, and the labor force from one that was 

predominately male to one that is currently 45 percent female. Married women have accounted for the majority of 

additional workers demanded by the economy, except during 1941-44, when men and single women dominated the 

wartime influx to the labor force.

Despite the grave national emergency of World War II, 

married women continued to be utilized in the civilian labor 

force along traditional prewar lines. If a wife had no children, she was generally free to take a paid job, but if she 

had even one young child, society expected her to stay at 

home. The largest single source of additional wartime work1
ers were male and female youths of high-school or college 

age. Women over the age of 35 were the second largest 

labor pool.3 These “ extra” workers were recruited mainly 

from the ranks of married women who either had no children 

or whose children were old enough not to require their 

mothers’ full-time care. Married women’s wartime labor 

force participation rates were:

Participation rate

(in percent)

1940 1944

Age 18 to 64 ................................................. 14 23

Age 35 to 44 ............................................. 15 26

With no children under 10 years .... 20 35

With children under 10 yea rs............ 8 13

The labor force recruitment of women ages 20 to 34 was 

limited because of the wartime rise in marriages and childbirth within this age group.

Labor force participation rates for married women did 

not decline in the postwar period. In 1950, participation 

rates of wives were much the same as they had been in 1944 

(table 2). Over the ensuing decades, wives’ rates moved up, 

pausing only occasionally, mostly during some recessions. 

For wives with young children, labor force participation 

rates have quadrupled since 1950.

Age of youngest child

One of the effects of the general increase in married mothers’ labor force activity is that many differences in their 

participation rates that previously were correlated with the 

age of the youngest child in the home have become blurred 

or have disappeared entirely in recent years (table 3). In 

1970, married mothers’ participation rates ranged from 24 

percent for those whose youngest child was less than a year 

old to 57 percent where the youngest was 14. Moreover, 

participation rates exhibited a step-wise progression closely 

related to the age of the youngest child. On balance, the 

participation rates for mothers of children 0 to 2 years old 

were about 30 percent or lower; for mothers with 3- to 5- 

year-olds, they were in the mid- to upper-30-percent range; 

and for those with 6- to 11-year-olds, rates were in the 40- 

to 50-percent range. Participation rates exceeded 50 percent 

only among those women with junior-high or high-school 

age children.

By March 1983, these four distinct “ steps” or ranges of 

participation rates had been reduced to three. The rate for 

mothers of infants was 45 percent, with rates for those with 

children 2 to 5 years old falling in a narrow band between 

50 and 57 percent, and rates for mothers with school-age 

children concentrated in an almost equally small range between 60 and 67 percent. In addition, by 1983, the entire 

range of participation rates had contracted. In 1970. the 

highest rate (57 percent) was more than twice the lowest 

(24 percent), but by 1983, the highest (67 percent) was only 

about half again as great as the lowest (45 percent). That

45 percent of all wives with infant children are now in the 

labor force reflects many interrelated factors, such as inflation and recession. It also attests to the turnaround in society’s attitude about mothers working outside the home and 

to women’s persistence in the labor market despite higherthan-average unemployment rates.

As in the past, mothers with young children have a more 

difficult time in the labor market than other mothers.4 In 

March 1983, the unemployment rate for married women 

with toddlers under 3 was 12.8 percent, about twice that of 

mothers whose youngest child was at least 6 years old. In 

part, unemployment rates of mothers of young children may 

be higher because child-care responsibilities may restrict the 

types of jobs these women can accept. When employed, 

however, more than 60 percent of toddlers’ mothers work 

at full-time jobs. This proportion rises to more than 70 

percent when the children are school age. Of all 46 million 

children under age 18 in married-couple families, half had 

both parents in the labor force. (The issue of child care for 

working mothers is discussed by Sheila Kamerman elsewhere in this issue.)

Husbands

In March 1983, when 52 percent of all wives were in the 

work force, 79 percent of the husbands were, too. But, over 

time, husbands’ labor force participation rates have drifted 

down considerably:

Participation rate

Year (in percent)

1940 .................................................................. 93

1950 .................................................................. 92

1960 .................................................................. 89

1970 .................................................................. 87

1980 .................................................................. 81

1983 .................................................................. 79

Much of the decline is attributable to a reduction in the 

number of husbands 55 or older in the labor force. This is 

due in large part to the growth of a great variety of private

Table 1. Families by type, selected years, 1940-83

[Numbers in thousands]

Year1 All

families

Marriedcouple

families

Other families

Maintained

by men

Maintained by women

Total

As percent

of ail

families

1940 ...................... 32,166 26,971 1,579 3,616 11.2

1947 ...................... 35,794 31,211 1,186 3,397 9.5

1950 ...................... 39,303 34,440 1,184 3,679 9.4

1955 ...................... 41,951 36,378 1,339 4,234 10.1

1960 ...................... 45,062 39,293 1,275 4,494 10.0

1965 ...................... 47,836 41,649 1,181 5,006 10.5

1970 ...................... 51,227 44,415 1,239 5,580 10.9

1975 ...................... 56,257 47,528 1,412 7,316 13.0

1980 ...................... 59,910 49,132 1,769 9,009 15.0

1983 ...................... 61,834 49,947 2,059 9,828 15.9

1Data were collected in April of 1940, 1947. and 1955, and in March of all other 

years.

Note: Data for 1975 have been revised since initial publication.

2
retirement plans and better social security benefits, including 

a broadening of the eligibility requirements for disability 

benefits. In 1982, the labor force participation rate for husbands age 65 or over was 19 percent, compared with 48 

percent in 1952. Corresponding rates for husbands 55 to 64 

years of age were 71 and 89 percent. But participation rates 

for younger husbands have also drifted downward, a development probably related, to some degree, to the increasing participation of their wives. (More details about the 

current labor force activity and income of husbands and 

wives by race and Hispanic origin are provided in Howard 

Hayghe’s article on page 26 of this issue. Information on 

men’s reasons for early retirement and the effects on the 

family is presented in Kezia Sproat’s article on page 40.)

Divorce

Divorce is . . . . “ a symptom of general family illness due to

vast social changes confusing to individuals. But will these

confusions be resolved as long as women insist upon feministic

movements and men in baffled protest cry out that women are

usurping their place in the world.” 5

These thoughts from a 1939 treatise, “ The American Family 

in A Changing Society,” could easily have been written 

during the turbulent 1970’s, when the divorce rate hit the 

highest level ever recorded,6 and a million women were 

added to the labor force in every year but one. The Depression of the 1930’s had placed enormous strains on family 

life as the economic foundations of a great many families 

crumbled. Although neither divorce nor the employment of 

wives was as common as in recent years, both were viewed 

as destroyers of family life. The 1970’s— like the 1930’s— 

were also years of great stress for many families, but for 

different reasons, including inflation and changing lifestyles.

In 1940, there was 1 divorce for every 6 marriages, while 

in 1980, there was 1 for every 2 marriages. During both 

periods, an extensive amount of remarriage occurred, so 

that married-couple families predominated— 84 percent in 

1940 and 80 percent in 1980. However, divorces have also 

swelled the number of families maintained by women in 

recent years, a factor that raises the labor force participation 

rate of women maintaining families because divorcees have 

historically registered the highest participation rates of any 

marital group of women. In 1983, 60 percent of women 

maintaining families were in the labor force, compared with 

44 percent in 1946 when widows dominated the group. 

(More details on families maintained by women are provided 

in Beverly Johnson’s article on page 30 of this issue.)

Current data

All of the family labor force statistics discussed so far 

are derived from detailed data collected only once each year. 

Since 1940, these statistics have typically been collected in 

the March supplement to the Current Population Survey, to 

provide a “ snapshot” of the employment status of family 

members. When the structure of families changed extensively in the 1970’s, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ( b l s )

began developing two new series of monthly and quarterly 

data that would more quickly capture the effects of businesscycle changes on the employment situation of families and 

their members.7

b l s now publishes a series of person-family data every 

month in Employment and Earnings. Introduced in July 

1977 on a quarterly basis, this series confirms long-term 

trends. For example, families in which the husband is employed are more likely to have other employed members 

than families where the husband is either unemployed or 

not in the labor force. Of the 36.8 million families where 

the husband was employed in the second quarter of 1983, 

64 percent had at least one other employed person, while 

of the 2.6 million families where the husband was unemployed, 58 percent had some other person employed. Only 

18 percent of the unemployed women maintaining families 

lived with another relative who was employed. The monthly 

statistics thus enable analysts to track the extent of unemployment within families as a recession develops or abates, 

and report on the cushioning effect when other family memTable 2. Labor force participation rates of married

women, husband present, by presence and age of own

children, 1950-83

Participation rate

Year1

Total

With no

children

under 18

years

With children under 18 years

Total 6 to 17 years,

none younger

Under

6 years

1950 ................. 23.8 30.3 18.4 28.3 11.9

1951 ................. 25.2 31.0 20.5 30.3 14.0

1952 ................. 25.3 30.9 20.7 31.1 13.9

1953 ................. 26.3 31.2 22.4 32.2 15.5

1954 ................. 26.6 31.6 22.7 33.2 14 9

1955 ................. 27.7 32.7 24.0 34.7 16.2

1956 ................. 29.0 35.3 24.5 36.4 15.9

1957 ................. 29.6 35.6 25.3 36.6 17.0

1958 ................. 30.2 35.4 26.5 37.6 18.2

1959 ................. 30.9 35.2 27.9 39.8 18.7

1960 ................. 30.5 34.7 27.6 39.0 18.6

1961 ................. 32.7 37.3 29.6 41.7 20.0

1962 ................. 32.7 36.1 30.3 41.8 21.3

1963 ................. 33.7 37.4 31.2 41.5 22.5

1964 ................. 34.4 37.8 32.0 43.0 22.7

1965 ................. 34.7 38.3 32.2 42.7 23.3

1966 ................. 35.4 38.4 33.2 43.7 24.2

1967 ................. 36.8 38.9 35.3 45.0 26.5

1968 ................. 38.3 40.1 36 9 46.9 27.6

1969 ................. 39.6 41.0 38.6 48.6 28.5

1970 ................. 40.8 42.2 39.7 49.2 30.3

1971 ................. 40.8 42.1 39.7 49.4 29.6

1972 ................. 41.5 42.7 40.5 50.2 30.1

1973 ................. 42.2 42.8 41.7 50.1 32.7

1974 ................. 43.1 43.0 43.1 51.2 34.4

1975 ................. 44.4 43.8 44.9 52 2 36.7

1976 ................. 45.1 43.7 46.1 53.6 37.5

1977 ................. 46.6 44.8 48.2 55.5 39.4

1978 ................. 47.5 44.6 50.2 57.1 41.7

1979 ................. 49.3 46.6 51.9 59.0 43.3

1980 ................. 50.1 46.0 54.1 61.7 45.1

1981 ................. 51.0 46.3 55.7 62.5 47.8

1982 ................. 51.2 46.2 56.3 63.2 48.7

1983 ................. 51.8 46.6 57.2 63.8 49.9

1Data were collected in April of 1951-55 and March of all other years.

Note: Children are defined as "own" children of the women and include nevermarried sons and daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other 

related children such as grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins, and unrelated 

children.

3
bers are employed. (The article by Deborah Klein on page 

21 of this issue provides more details on this subject.)

A second new statistical series concerns the weekly earnings of families. Between 1967 and 1978, b l s reported once 

a year on the usual weekly wage and salary earnings of 

individuals by age, sex, race, and occupation. The information was obtained from supplemental CPS questions asked 

each May. As part of the shift in emphasis to current, familybased statistics during the late 1970’s, steps were taken to 

relate the earnings of individual workers to the families in 

which they lived and to collect the data more frequently.

The new quarterly series of weekly family earnings began 

with data for 1979 and was first published early in 1980.8 

Since that time, quarterly news releases have illustrated the 

different earnings patterns among families and the general 

effects of inflation on their purchasing power. For instance, 

during the second quarter of 1983, median weekly earnings 

for married-couple families were $517 per week— $354 if 

there was one earner and $646 if there was more than one. 

Multieamer families continued to account for slightly more 

than half of all married-couple families. These families were 

a little better off than others over the year, because their 

median earnings had increased somewhat more (4.4 percent) 

than the increase in the Consumer Price Index (3.5 percent). 

For families maintained by women, median weekly earnings 

($271) were well below those of married couples, but had 

at least kept pace with inflation.

The present and future

Increasingly, the family unit itself has become the focus 

for policy planning, program evaluation, and research. The 

data series currently published by b l s permit policymakers 

and planners to address the social and economic issues that 

affect the daily lives of people in families on a more timely 

basis than ever before. We can now examine the ways in 

which children and youth, their parents or stepparents, elderly couples, and those living in minority families are 

affected by the dynamics of the labor market.

Most importantly, the analysis of family statistics aids in 

shaping our thinking about family life in the future. Clearly, 

we know a great deal about the demographic characteristics 

of the population and can estimate the age and race distributions of the population for 1990, the year 2000, and

Table 3. Labor force participation rates of wives by age

of youngest child, selected years, 1970-83____________

Presence and age of children 1970 1975 1980 1983

All w ives............................. 40.8 44.5 50.1 51.8

With no children under 18 ............ 42.2 43 8 46.0 46.6

With children under 18 ................. 39.7 44.9 54.1 57.2

Age of youngest child:

0 to 1 year ............................. 24.0 31.0 39.0 44.6

2 years .................................. 30.5 37.1 48.1 50.4

3 years .................................. 34.5 41.1 51.7 56.1

4 years .................................. 39.4 41.2 51.5 57 2

5 years .................................. 36.9 44.0 52 4 56.6

6 years .................................. 42.0 46.4 58.5 59 4

7 years .................................. 44.7 51.3 61.7 61.1

8 years .................................. 44.6 52 1 62 3 65.0

9 years .................................. 48 5 52 4 60.8 60.4

10 years.................................. 48.7 56.2 63.3 62.4

11 years .................................. 47.6 52 8 63.4 66.4

12 years.................................. 51.8 49.7 65.7 66.6

13 years.................................. 51.8 54.0 64.6 65.3

14 years.................................. 56.9 52.5 62.6 66.4

15 years.................................. 52.8 55.3 60.8 64.1

16 years............................... 54.3 54.7 62.3 66.8

17 years .................................. 55.1 52 6 55.6 62.2

beyond. We can apply current age-, sex-, and race-specific 

labor force participation rates to the extrapolated population 

to obtain estimates of the future size and configuration of 

the labor force.9

But how far off are such estimates likely to be? What are 

the long-term trends in the nondemographic factors affecting 

the proportions of women who will be in the labor force at 

some future date? What will be the effect of today’s technological changes and worker dislocations; of more flexible 

work schedules; of later retirement? Is the nuclear family 

in its classical form (father, mother, children, but no grandparents or other relatives) truly “ rapidly breaking down 

today, not because of ‘loose morals’ or ‘permissiveness,’ 

but because it no longer serves the needs of the population?” 10 Some of these nondemographic factors may have 

as much to do with shaping the future labor force as similar 

factors— such as the birth control pill, the transistor, the 

computer, and the laws governing employment— have had 

in molding today’s work force. As the articles on family 

statistics in this issue suggest, it is appropriate to monitor 

both the current status of workers in families and emerging 

demographic and nondemographic trends in constructing 

statistics for the future. □

FOOTNOTES

1 William Makepeace Thayer, American author, 1820-1898. as quoted

in Ralph Emerson Browns, ed.. The New American Dictionary of Thoughts

(New York, Standard Book Co, 1957), p. 204.

2 The survey referred to is the Current Population Survey (cps). Detailed

information about the survey’s background, concepts, and reliability is

published in “ Labor Force, Employment, and Unemployment from the

Current Population Survey,” Handbook of Methods, Volume I, Bulletin

2134-1 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1982).

Unless otherwise indicated, labor force data in this report were obtained

from the CPS.

1 See “ Source o f Wartime Labor Supply in the United States.” Monthly

Labor Review, August 1944, pp. 264-78.

4 See reprints of special labor force reports on the marital and family

status of workers, beginning with Marital Status of Workers. March 1959.

Special Labor Force Report 2 (Bureau of Labor Statistics. 1960). Also see

Elizabeth Waldman and others, "Working mothers in the 1970's: a look

4
at the statistics." Monthly Labor Review. October 1979, pp. 39-4 9 , and

other articles in that issue.

5 Harriet Ahlers Houdlette. The American Family in a Changing World

(Washington. American Association of University Women, 1939), p. 25.

*See Waldman and others. "Working mothers in the 1970’s .” Also see

U S. Department of Health and Human Services, National Center for

Health Statistics. "Births. Marriages. Divorces, and Deaths for 1982,”

Monthly Vital Statistics Report. Mar. 14, 1983, p. 3.

"See Howard Hayghe, "New data series on families shows most jobless

have working relatives." Monthly Labor Review. December 1976, pp. 4 6 -

48; and Janet Norwood. "New approaches to statistics on the family,”

Monthly Labor Review. July 1977, pp. 31-34.

8 See U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics “ New Data

Relate Workers’ Earnings to the Families in Which They Live,” usdl 8 0 -

188, Mar. 27, 1980.

9 Articles in the November 1983 issue of the Review present the results

o f the Bureau’s most recent projections of economic growth, distribution

o f demand, and employment through 1995. See also Richard W. Riche,

Daniel E. Hecker, and John U. Burgan, “ High technology today and

tomorrow: a small slice of the employment pie,” in the same issue for a

discussion of the employment implications o f the growth o f high technology

industries.

10Alvin Toffler, The Eco-Spasm Report (New York, Bantam Books,

1975), p. 89.

5
Trends in employment and 

unemployment in families

Multiearner families have extra protection against

financial reversals, but economic recession tends to

erode this cushion; during the most recent downturn,

the employment of married women declined less

than that of married men who are more likely

to work in cyclically sensitive industries

Deborah Pisetzner Klein

The monthly employment and unemployment statistics receive a great deal of national attention because they are a 

useful yardstick of the state of the economy. In addition to 

the overall measures, the Bureau of Labor Statistics issues 

a wide range of data series focusing on specific worker 

groups. In recent years, there has been an expansion in the 

data series that enable us to examine the situation of individual workers in a family context. These data provide additional insights into the personal impact of employment 

and unemployment, because family members often pool 

their earnings and support each other both financially and 

emotionally when out of work. This article explores recent 

trends in employment and unemployment in families.1

In 1982, 85 percent of the labor force lived in family 

units. (Of the remainder, 10 million lived alone and 7 million lived with nonrelatives, such as roommates or housemates.) As table 1 shows, more than a third of the labor 

force consisted of husbands and nearly a quarter were wives. 

Including other related persons (mostly teenagers and young 

adults), more than 70 percent of the labor force lived in 

married-couple families. In recent years, however, there has 

been a very marked increase in the number of families 

maintained by women on their own. In 1982, nearly onetenth of the labor force lived in such families, including the

Deborah Pisetzner Klein is a senior economist in the Division of Employment and Unemployment Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

women themselves, their older children (age 16 and over), 

and other relatives. Families maintained by unmarried men 

constituted the remainder of the labor force.

With the increase in the number of families maintained 

by women, and growing labor force participation by wives, 

husbands are no longer the mainstay of the market economy. 

Married men accounted for only 36 percent of the labor 

force in 1982, down from 41 percent just 5 years earlier 

and 52 percent in 1955.

Employment

Over the long run, the number of employed persons changes 

in line with population movements, variations in the desire 

for work among persons in different demographic groups, 

and the availability of jobs. During the 1970's, the number 

of employed persons increased by a whopping 20 million, 

as the crest of the baby boom reached working age, the 

proportion of married women working outside the home 

increased dramatically, and the rapidly expanding serviceproducing sector provided many new jobs. These developments translated into significant growth in the number of 

multiworker families. Today more than 60 percent of all 

husband-wife families have at least two persons employed, 

compared with fewer than 40 percent in 1955.

More recently, cyclical movements in employment have 

dominated secular ones. Between April 1981 and February 

1983, the number of married men with jobs dropped by 1.8

6
Table 1. Labor force, unemployment, and employment by

family status, 1982 annual averages

[In percent]

Family statin Labor force Unemployment Employment

All persons............................. 100.0 100.0 100.0

In married-couple families:

Husbands.................................... 36.0 23.3 37.4

Wives . . ..................................... 23.2 17.1 23.8

Relatives.................................... 12.6 23.3 11.4

In families maintained by women:

Women who maintain families . . 5.2 6.3 5.1

Relatives.................................... 4.4 11.4 3.7

In families maintained by men:

Men who maintain families . . . 1.7 1.7 1.7

Relatives.................................... 1.4 2.6 1.2

Persons living alone........................ 9.5 7.0 9.7

All others...................................... 6.1 7.2 5.9

million, but by June 1983, the recovery had returned 500,000 

to employment.

The impact of the 1981-82 recession was much less severe among married women. The number employed declined for several months during 1981— for a total reduction 

of about 500,000— but began rising again shortly. By June 

1983, the number of employed wives was 24.3 million, 

more than 700,000 above the 1981 low. Thus, in mid-1983, 

the number of employed married women stood at an alltime high while the number of employed married men was 

2 million below its peak of 39.9 million recorded before 

the 1980 recession.

Employment among women maintaining families on their 

own has increased over time along with their expanded 

population. More recently, their employment level has held 

at about 5 million, but the proportion with jobs declined 

from 54 to 52 percent over the course of the 1981-82 recession and showed no appreciable improvement in the first 

half of 1983. (See chart 1.)

Unemployment

With lower-than-average unemployment rates, husbands 

and wives account for a much smaller share of unemployment (two-fifths in 1982) than they do of the labor force 

(three-fifths). Women who maintain families on their own 

account for a slightly larger share of unemployment (6 percent) than of the labor force (5 percent). Relatives, regardless of their family type, are typically young people with 

high unemployment rates; they account for less than onefifth of the labor force but nearly two-fifths of the unemployed.

These relationships change over the business cycle, with 

married men comprising a greater share of unemployment 

when economic conditions are at their worst. For example, 

husbands’ share of the jobless total rose from percent in 

July 1981 to 24 percent in December 1982, before receding 

slightly to 23 percent by June 1983.2 (See table 2.)

Married men generally have strong attachment to the labor 

force and typically have relatively low unemployment rates.

In 1979, for example, when the overall rate was 5.8 percent, 

the rate for husbands was below 3 percent. However, unemployment for this group is highly cyclical because many 

married men work in the goods-producing sector of the 

economy. Thus, their jobless rate rises sharply in every 

recession and tends to show the most improvement during 

recoveries. Over the past recession, for instance, the rate 

for husbands was 3.8 percent in April 1981, peaked in 

December 1982 at 7.8 percent, and came down about a 

percentage point in the first half of 1983. While the recovery 

was still in progress in mid-1983 and further reductions 

could therefore be expected, it should be noted that, in the 

business cycles shown in chart 2, married men began each 

recession with a higher unemployment rate than the previous 

one.

The unemployment rate for all adult men surpassed the 

rate for all adult women in 1982, but this was not true among 

married persons. The jobless rate for married women has 

consistently been higher than that for married men, although 

the gap did narrow considerably during the 1981-82 recession. With recovery underway in 1983, the rate for married 

men dropped more sharply than that for married women, 

and by midyear, the gap was back to more than a full 

percentage point. (See chart 2.)

Unemployment among women who maintain families tends 

to be very high. These women, on average, have completed 

fewer years of school than wives and are concentrated in 

lower skilled, lower paying jobs, where there is considerable 

turnover.3 During the late 1960’s, the unemployment rates 

for married women and for women who maintained families 

on their own were very similar. Since the early 1970’s, 

however, the rates have diverged. As can be seen in chart 

2, women who maintain families have shown little or no 

improvement in their jobless situation during expansionary 

periods.

The unemployment cushion in families

With the rising incidence of multiworker families comes 

the greater likelihood that there will still be a worker in the 

family when someone becomes unemployed. However, 

recession not only increases unemployment but also serves

Table 2. Unemployment by family status, selected

months, seasonally adjusted

[Numbers in thousands]

Family status

July 1981 December 1982 June 1983

Number Percent Number Percent Number Percent

Total, all persons........... 7,854 100.0 12,036 100.0 11,146 100.0

Husbands ................... 1,508 19.2 2,907 24.2 2,586 23.2

W ives........................

Relatives in married1,398 17.8 2,036 16.9 1,970 17.7

couple families. . . . 1,916 24.4 2,735 22.7 2,558 22.9

Women who maintain

families...................

Relatives in such

613 7.9 763 6.3 730 6.5

families................... 932 11.9 1,389 11.5 1,303 11.7

Other persons............ 1.483 18.9 2,206 18.3 1,999 17.9

7
Chart 1. Employment-population ratios1 for husbands, wives, and women who

maintain families, quarterly averages, 1968— second quarter 1983, seasonally adjusted

Chart 2. Unemployment rates for husbands, wives, and women who maintain families,

by month, 1968-83, seasonally adjusted

P ercent 

1 00

9 0

80

70

60

50

40

30

Percent 

1 4 

1 3 

1 2

1 1 

1 0 

9 

8 

7 

6

5 

4 

3 

2

1 

0

Chart 3. Number of unemployed persons in families and the percentage with

someone in family employed, quarterly averages, 1976—second quarter 1983,

seasonally adjusted

Percent 

74 

73 

72 

71 

70 

69 

68

67 

66

65 

64

1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983

'T h e e m plo ym e n t-p o p u la tio n ra tio is the p ro p o rtio n o f all em ployed c iv ilia n s in the c iv ilia n n o n in s titu tio n a l p o p u la tio n 

age 16 and over.

N o t e : S haded areas ind ic a te re cessio n ary periods as d esig n ated by the N a tio n a l Bureau o f E conom ic Research.

8
to reduce the cushion provided by other family members. 

From the middle of 1981 to the end of 1982, for example, 

the number of unemployed family members rose from 7 to 

10 million; at the same time, the proportion of the unemployed living in a family with an employed member dropped 

from 70 to 66 percent. (See chart 3.) The major reason for 

this decline was the general contraction of employment caused 

by the recession as well as the increasing share of unemployment accounted for by persons with a relatively lower 

likelihood of having employed family members.

Relatives in husband-wife families— most typically teenage and young adult children of the couple— are the most 

likely group to live in a family with workers; in 9 out of 

10 cases, at least one of their parents has a job. In 1979, 

these relatives constituted more than 28 percent of the unemployed; in 1982, with the sharp increases in joblessness 

for groups with traditionally lower unemployment rates, 

their share was down to 23 percent. Even among this group, 

there was a recessionary decline in the family employment 

cushion. The number of unemployed relatives in marriedcouple families rose from 1.9 to 2.7 million during the 

1981-82 recession, and the proportion with an employed 

person in their family edged down from 93 to 86 percent.

Unemployed wives are also very likely to have an employed person in their family. In 1978, the proportion peaked 

at nearly 90 percent. Because the person most likely to be 

working is the husband and because the employment levels 

of married men were reduced during the recession, the proportion of unemployed wives with working husbands declined sharply, from 87 percent in mid-1981 to 75 percent 

in mid-1982. With the pickup in employment in 1983, the 

proportion edged up to 77 percent by midyear.

As married women have entered the labor force, the proportion of unemployed husbands with a working family 

member has increased markedly. Between 1977 and 1981, 

the proportion of unemployed husbands with a working wife 

increased from 48 to 55 percent. As mentioned earlier, the 

1981-82 recession drove up unemployment among married 

men, but the proportion with an employed person in the 

family did not drop as sharply as among other groups. This 

was primarily because employment levels for wives did not 

decline nearly as much as for husbands. With the onset of 

the recovery, the proportion of unemployed husbands with 

a worker in the family began to rise, and by June 1983, had 

reached 56 percent.

Difficulties in coping with economic downturns are exacerbated by the fact that, to a certain extent, unemployment 

tends to run in families. Persons with high levels of educational attainment and good preparation for careers often 

marry each other, as do persons with more limited labor 

market skills. Even more important, when higfvlinemployment hits a specific geographic area, it can affect more than 

one family member. The fact that the unemployment rate 

for persons with unemployed spouses runs about three times 

the rate for persons with employed spouses illustrates this

point most dramatically. Thus, in 1982, the unemployment 

rate for wives with unemployed husbands was 20.7 percent, 

compared with 6.3 percent for wives with employed husbands. While the number of married couples who are both 

unemployed is relatively small— it peaked at 400,000 in 

December 1982 and was down to 300,000 by mid-1983 (not 

seasonally adjusted)—the impact of multiple unemployment 

on their financial well-being is considerable.

Unemployment is a particularly severe problem for families maintained by women. Because there are smaller numbers of persons of working age, on average, in these families, 

the likelihood of there being an employed member to cushion the effects of unemployment is also smaller. Since quarterly data of this type first became available in 1976, the 

proportion of unemployed women who maintain families 

that include an employed person has never been as high as 

22 percent. Moreover, unemployed relatives in such families are substantially less likely to have an employed person 

in their family than relatives in married-couple families. 

However, in both cases, the problems are principally structural in nature, and the business cycle does not bring about 

substantial change.

Blacks and Hispanics

Because the cushioning effect of working family members 

is so different by family type, an understanding of the family 

composition of different groups in the population is important.

In particular, the family composition of blacks and Hispanics is quite different from that of whites. (See table 3.) 

Whites are most likely to live in married-couple families 

where unemployment rates are relatively low and multiple 

workers most frequent. Blacks, on the other hand, are more 

likely than whites or Hispanics to live in families maintained 

by women, which, as we have just seen, are relatively 

disadvantaged in the labor market. In 1982, 28 percent of 

the black working-age population lived in a family maintained by a woman, compared with only 8 percent of the

Table 3. Family status of the civilian noninstitutional

population by race and Hispanic origin, 1982 annual

averages

[In percent]

Family atatua White Black Hispanic

All persons....................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0

In married-couple families:

Husbands ................................................ 30.0 19.1 26.3

W ives..................................................... 30.0 18.6 27.1

Relatives................................................... 12.8 11.9 15.7

In families maintained by women:

Women who maintain families................. 4.4 14.5 7.6

Relatives................................................... 3.8 13.6 6.9

In families maintained by men:

Men who maintain families...................... 1.3 2.0 1.8

Relatives................................................... 1.3 2.3 2.3

Persons living alone.................................... 11.2 12.3 6.3

All others..................................................... 5.2 5.6 5.8

9
white population and 15 percent o f the Hispanic population.

Primarily because o f these differences in fam ily com position, the likelihood that unem ployed black workers lived in

a fam ily with som eone em ployed is lower than for other

groups. In 1982, about half o f all unem ployed blacks lived

in a fam ily that included an em ployed person, compared

with about 60 percent o f unem ployed whites and 56 percent

o f unem ployed H ispanics.4 Q

FOOTNOTES

A c k n o w l e d g m e n t : The author thanks Stella Cromartie, Kenneth Buckley,

and George Methee of the Office of Employment and Unemployment

Statistics for their technical assistance in the preparation of this article.

1 The source of data is the Current Population Survey, a monthly sample

survey of households conducted by the Bureau of the Census for the Bureau

of Labor Statistics. Data relate to the civilian noninstitutional population

16 years of age and over. A description of the survey appears in the Bureau

of Labor Statistics publication. Employment and Earnings. Some of the

series were seasonally adjusted for the first time for this article.

2 For a discussion of the economic recovery during the first half of 1983,

see Norman Bowers, "Employment on the rise in the first half of 1983."

Monthly Labor Review. August 1983. pp. 8 -1 4 . A discussion of the 1981-

82 downturn may be found in Michael A. Urquhart and Marillyn A.

Hewson, "Unemployment continued to rise in 1982 as recession deepened." Monthly Labor Review. February 1983. pp. 3-12.

} A discussion of the labor market situation of women maintaining families may be found in Beverly Johnson and Elizabeth Waldman. "Most

women who maintain families receive poor labor market returns." in this

issue.

4Other articles in this issue focus on specific family types and compare

the labor market experience of whites, blacks, and Hispanics in each family

type.

10
Married couples: 

work and income patterns

Differences in family income

among whites, blacks, and

Hispanics are rooted in the

work patterns of husbands and wives

H o w a r d H a y g h e

Today’s married-couple families— whether white, black, or 

Hispanic— supply the U.S. labor force with most of its 

workers. By the turn of the century— a little less than two 

decades from now— most of these men, women, and children will still be alive. A clearer understanding of the current 

status of work patterns in white and minority families permits valuable insights into the nature of work and the family 

and needs of the family in the closing years of this century.

This article deals with white, black, and Hispanic married-couple families, highlighting their current work-income 

profiles and exploring briefly,some of the major differences. 

More than 8 of 10 white families are married couples, as 

are 5 of 10 black families and 7 of 10 Hispanic families. 

Together these families supply about 71 percent of the Nation’s workers. The data used were obtained primarily from 

supplemental questions to the March 1983 Current Population Survey.1

Spouses at work

Husbands and wives in white, black, and Hispanic families2 display considerable differences in age and education, 

which, in turn, influence their respective labor force participation patterns and income levels. In general, black families today are more likely to be multieamer families than 

white or Hispanic married couples. Nonetheless, black married-couple families (like their Hispanic counterparts) have

Howard Hayghe is an economist in the Division of Employment and Unemployment Analysis, Bureau of Labor Statistics.

lower incomes and a higher incidence of unemployment than 

white families.

About 87 percent of the Hispanic husbands were in the 

labor force in March 1983 compared with 79 percent of 

whites and 76 percent of blacks (table 1). On average, 

Hispanic husbands are substantially younger than their black 

or white counterparts. But, their relative youth (which implies inexperience for many) works against them by contributing to a higher unemployment rate than for whites (but 

about the same as for black husbands). The majority of 

black and white husbands have completed high school, 

whereas more than half of Hispanics left prior to completion.

Wives present a somewhat different labor force pattern 

and the underlying reasons for it are complex. Black wives 

historically have been more likely to be in the labor force 

than white wives, as shown by labor force participation rates 

for selected years:

Year White Black

March 1950 .......................... ........ 22.8 37.0

March 1960 .......................... ........ 29.6 40.8

March 1970 .......................... ........ 39.7 52.5

March 1980 .......................... ........ 49.3 59.0

This gap continued in March 1983, when the participation 

rates for white and black wives were 51.0 and 60.8 percent, 

respectively.

The historically higher labor force participation rate of 

black wives reflects several interrelated elements, including 

the impact of economic problems stemming from many 

black husbands’ longstanding labor market difficulties and

11
Table 1. Selected characteristics of married-couple

families by race and Hispanic origin, March 1983

Selected characteristics White Black Hispanic

Married-couple families, total (In 

thousands) ......................................... 45,273 3,504 2,456

As percent of all families................... 84.2 52.9 71.9

Husbands and wives

Median age:

Husband ........................................... 45.4 43.8 38.9

W ife .................................................. 42.5 41.2 35.9

Median years of school completed: 

Husband ........................................... 12.7 12.2 11.5

W ife .................................................. 12.7 12.2 11.6

Labor force participation rate:1 

Husband ........................................... 79.4 76.3 86.9

W ife .................................................. 51.0 60.8 46.9

Unemployment rate:1 

Husband ........................................... 7.8 12 3 13.2

W ife .................................................. 6 8 11.3 16 5

Presence of own children2 under 18

Married couples with children under 18, 

total (in thousands) .......................... 21,702 1,911 1,691

As percent of all married-couple 

families ......................................... 47.9 54.5 68.9

Percent with:

Children 6 to 17, none younger 53.1 52.1 43.1

Children under 6 ........................ 46.9 47 9 56.9

’ Not seasonally adjusted.

20wn children Include only never-married sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted 

children. All other children In the household are excluded.

the greater frequency of marital breakups among black families.3 Undoubtedly, the long history of black men’s above 

average unemployment rates4 has influenced their wives’ 

decisions to work outside the home. The following information from different periods illustrates this point.

During the sharp labor force buildup prior to World War 

II, Howard Meyers wrote, “ The demand (for labor) . . . is 

restricted largely to young white males. . . . Negroes are 

apparently almost entirely barred from many lines of defense 

production.” 5 From the early I960’s: “ Negro women in 

cities have always been able to get steadier jobs, usually as 

domestics, than men. This often meant that a black man 

was capable of being a biological father but not an economic 

father.” 6 Finally, Richard Freeman found that in the I960’s 

(especially after the passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964) 

black women were much more able to improve their economic position than were black men, in part because of the relatively greater ease with which the women 

were hired into higher-paying occupations.7

While economic factors are among the principal reasons 

for black wives’ high labor force participation, the cultural 

heritage of Hispanic women appears to lead, in part, to their 

relatively low participation rates. As stated by Morris J. 

Newman, Hispanics are “ an amalgam of several historically 

and culturally distinct ethnic groups linked together by the 

shared background of Spanish colonialism in the New 

World.” 8 Part of this background is an emphasis on the 

homemaking and childbearing and rearing role of women.

Whether white, black, or Hispanic, wives’ employment

status appears to be related to their husbands’ status (table 

2). While black wives’ labor force participation is relatively 

high regardless of their husbands’ employment status, all 

wives whose husbands were employed were more likely 

themselves to be employed than wives with unemployed 

husbands or husbands not in the labor force.

At first glance, this relationship may appear contrary to 

logical expectations. Shouldn’t the wife try to replace earnings lost when the husband is jobless or out of the labor 

force? Indeed, this is the idea behind the additional-worker 

hypothesis of labor market activity during cyclical downturns.9 The reality, however, is that wives of unemployed 

husbands have lower participation rates and experience greater 

difficulty finding work than wives whose husbands are at 

work. For instance, among whites, 3 percent of the wives 

of employed husbands were jobless compared with 11 percent of those whose husbands were unemployed. For those 

not in the labor force, age is an obvious explanatory factor; 

close to 80 percent of the husbands who were not in the 

work force were 65 years old or over and retired, as were 

their wives.

Children. Conventional wisdom decrees that wives with 

preschool children are less likely to be in the labor force, 

than wives whose youngest child is school age. While this 

is true for whites and Hispanics, it has never been true for 

black wives. Not only do black married mothers continue 

to have higher labor force participation rates than white or 

Hispanic mothers, there is also no appreciable difference in 

the black rates by age of youngest child, as shown below 

for March 1983:

Wives with children

White Black Hispanic

under 18 .................... 56.2 68.5 46.8

6 to 17, none younger 63.4 69.1 53.5

Under 6 .......................... 48.2 67.8 41.9

Table 2. Employment status of wives by employment

status of husbands, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1983

Husband's employment status

Employment status of wives

Employed Unemployed Notin

labor force

White

Percent of wives who were:

Employed ............................... 55.3 50.1 19.1

Unemployed ........................... 3.4 11.1 1.1

Not in labor force................... 41.3 38.8 79.7

Black

Percent of wives who were:

Employed ............................... 63.1 48.9 30.8

Unemployed .......................... 7.0 16.9 1.2

Not in labor force................... 29.9 34.2 67.9

Hispanic origin

Percent of wives who were:

Employed ............................... 43 8 30.7 19 6

Unemployed ........................... 6.4 20 4 1.6

Not in labor fo rce ................... 498 48.9 788

12
Table 3. Children1 in married-couple families by

employment status of parents, race, and Hispanic origin,

March 1983

Item White Black Hispanic

Children under 18 years, total2 (in

thousands) ......................................... 40,814 3,769 3,722

Percent with:

No employed parent ...................... 66 10.9 14.0

One employed parent or more . . 93.4 89.1 86.0

One employed parent only . 48.8 42.2 54.2

Father .................................... 44.2 31.8 49.2

Mother ................................. 4.6 10.4 5.0

Two employed parents.............. 44.3 46.9 31.8

’ Children are defined as own" children and include only never-married sons, daughters. stepchildren, and adopted children. All other children in household are excluded.

includes children whose fathers are in the Armed Forces and living with the family 

on or off base in the United States. These fathers are treated as employed.

Because most fathers and just over half of mothers are 

in the labor force (94 and 54 percent, respectively, for 

whites, blacks, and Hispanics combined), the overwhelming 

majority of children have at least one employed parent (table 

3). White children are somewhat more likely to have an 

employed parent than black or Hispanic children, reflecting 

the higher unemployment rates among black and Hispanic 

husbands and wives.

Income and poverty

Whatever the number of earners, the 1982 average annual 

income of married-couple families continued to be higher 

for whites than for blacks or Hispanics. Median income for 

black ($14,200) and Hispanic ($13,800) families was roughly 

60 percent of median income for white families ($23,500). 

For two-earner families where both spouses worked, the 

difference between whites and blacks was about 12 percentage points, and 21 points between whites and Hispanics 

(table 4). In addition, white married couples averaged more 

income from sources other than wages and salaries than 

either the black or Hispanic couples.10

These income differences are partly explained both by 

differences in weekly earnings of spouses (especially husbands) and by the number of weeks husbands and wives 

worked during the year. As shown in the following text 

tabulation, usual weekly earnings (full-time wage and salary) were more than $100 above the medians for blacks and 

Hispanics in 1982, while the differences among wives’ earnings were considerably less:

White Black Hispanic

Husbands .................. $412 $303 $297

W iv e s.......................... $246 $231 $213

The effect of these differences in weekly earnings on 

differences in yearly family income is strengthened by the 

fact that 74 percent of white husbands who were employed 

at any time in 1982 worked full time all year compared with 

68 percent of their black or Hispanic counterparts.

The size of the gap in husbands’ average weekly earnings 

reflects the marked difference in their occupations. By comparison, wives, whose earnings are far more similar, tend 

to work in much the same occupations (table 5). White 

husbands are more often employed in managerial, professional specialty, and precision production occupations (which 

are usually relatively high-paying) than their black and Hispanic counterparts. In contrast, a higher proportion of the 

blacks and Hispanics work in lower paying jobs, such as 

operators and fabricators, service workers, and equipment 

handlers, cleaners, and helpers. Wives, whether white, black, 

or Hispanic, tend to be concentrated in the same occupational groupings, namely, technical, sales, and administrative support.

Poverty. In 1982, about 7 percent of the white couples 

had incomes below the poverty level11 compared with 16 

percent for blacks and 19 percent for Hispanics. These rates 

reflect the earnings and employment differences discussed 

above as well as the fact that black and Hispanic families 

have more children, on average, than white families.

The incidence of poverty was relatively low by race or 

Hispanic origin when both the husband and wife were eamTable 4. Number of earners, median family income, and poverty status in 1982 of married-couple families, by race and Hispanic origin, March 1983

Number and relationship

of earners

White Black Hispanic

Total Median

income

Percent

in

poverty

Total Median

income

Percent

in

poverty Total

Median

income

Percent

in

poverty

Total (m thousands)............................. 45.273 $26,710 6.9 3.504 $20,680 15.6 2.456 $19,390 19.3

In percent......................................... 100 0 - - 100.0 - - 100 0 - -

No earners....................................................... 13.0 12,710 16.8 12.4 7.470 43.9 7 7 7.220 48.9

One earner....................................................... 28.7 22,310 10.3 25.7 13,650 24.4 33.6 13.760 29.2

Husband ....................................................... 23.6 23.460 9.0 17.7 14,240 24.4 30.5 13.820 28.7

Wile ............................................................ 3.9 16.220 16.4 6.8 12.450 23.5 2.0 (1) (’ )

Other ............................................................ 1.2 21.090 15.7 1.2 (’ ) (1) 1.1 (’ ) (1)

Two earners or more ...................................... 58.3 32,220 3.0 61.9 26.520 6 2 58.6 24.760 9.6

Husband and wile only ............................... 38.9 29.650 2.9 42.9 26.110 4.2 36.9 23.290 • 9.4

Husband, wife, and other(s)........................ 11.6 41.980 1.6 11.6 32,900 3.2 5.5 33.190 6 2

Husband and other(s) .................................. 6.5 35.730 4.4 4.7 21.500 25.8 9.2 24.130 12.9

Other combinations...................................... 1.4 25,180 10.5 2.8 18.930 17.3 2.0 (1) (1>

’ Median and percent not shown where base is less than 75.000.

13
Table 5. Occupation of employed husbands and wives, by race and Hispanic origin, March 1983

Occupations

Husbands Wives

White Blaefc Hispanic White Blaefc Hispanic

Total (in thousands) .................................................................................. 33,152 2,348 1,908 21,766 1,881 1,041

In percent .............................................................................................. 100.0 100.0 100.0 1000 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty................................................................... 29.6 14.2 12.9 25.1 17.6 14.0

Executive, administrative, and managerial.......................................................... 16.2 8.2 8.3 9.0 4.9 6.1

Professional specialty......................................................................................... 13.4 6.0 4.6 16.0 12.7 8.0

Technical, sales, and administrative support......................................................... 19.4 14.3 13.5 47.4 34.6 39 3

Technicians and related support........................................................................ 2.5 2.1 1.9 3.2 3.6 1.9

Sales ................................................................................................................. 12.1 3.8 6.3 12.5 6.4 10.2

Administrative support, including clerical .......................................................... 4.9 8.3 5.2 31.7 24.6 27.2

Service occupations .............................................................................................. 6.3 14.8 12.2 14.6 28.0 20.8

Private household .............................................................................................. (1) — — 1.0 4.9 2.4

Protective service .............................................................................................. 2.7 4.1 2.6 0.3 0.4 0.5

All other ............................................................................................................ 3.6 10.7 9.6 13.3 22.7 18.0

Precision production, craft, and repair ................................................................. 22.1 16.1 23.3 1.9 2.9 3.7

Mechanics and repairers.................................................................................... 8.1 6.1 8.2 0.3 0.2 0.5

Construction trades ........................................................................................... 7.5 5.5 7.7 0.1 0.2 0.4

Other precision production ............................................................................... 6.4 4.6 7.4 1.5 2.5 2.9

Operators, fabricators, and laborers...................................................................... 17.6 35.9 31.4 9.6 16.3 20.4

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors................................................ 7.5 12.3 14.3 7.4 13.8 16.5

Transportation and material moving................................................................... 6.7 13.7 9.1 0.9 1.1 0.9

Handlers, equipment cleaners, and helpers....................................................... 3.5 9.9 8.0 1.3 1.3 2.9

Farming, forestry, and fishing............................................................................... 5.0 4.8 6.8 1.4 0.6 1.7

'Less than 0.05 percent.

ers. However the poverty rate of white multieamer families 

was half that of similar black and one-third that of similar 

Hispanic families—3 percent for whites, 6 percent for blacks, 

and 10 percent for Hispanics in 1982. In contrast, among 

one-earner families the poverty rate for white families— at 

10.3 percent— was 14 percentage points below that of similar black couples and 19 points below the Hispanic rate. 

Among families with no earners, the differences were 27 

percent for whites and 32 percent each for blacks and Hispanics.

Although the incidence of poverty is reduced when there 

are earners in the family, many families have earners and 

still remain in poverty.12 In fact, the majority of married 

couples with incomes below the poverty line in 1982 contained at least one earner at some time during the year. 

About 68 percent of white, 65 percent of black, and 80 

percent of Hispanic married-couple families in poverty had 

income from the earnings of at least one member during the 

year. Moreover, about 1 of 4 families in poverty had two 

earners or more. Q

FOOTNOTES

1 The Current Population Survey (cps), conducted for the Bureau of

Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census, is a monthly sample survey

of some 60,(XX) households in the United States. The information obtained

from this survey relates to the employment status of persons 16 years old

and over in the civilian noninstitutional population. In the March survey,

taken each year, supplemental information is obtained annually regarding

eamings and income as well as the work experience of individuals in the

prior year. Data on persons from the March surveys are tabulated by marital

and family status.

Because it is a sample survey, estimates derived from the Current Population Survey may differ from the actual counts that could be obtained

from a complete census. Therefore, small estimates or small differences

between estimates should be interpreted with caution. For a more detailed

explanation, see the Explanatory Note in Marital and Family Patterns of

Workers.An Update, Bulletin 2163 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1983).

2 A family consists of two persons or more who are related by blood or

marriage and living together in the same household. Relationship of family

members is determined by their relationship to the reference person or

householder, that is, the person in whose name the housing unit is owned

or rented.

3 See Gordon Green and Edward Welniak, “ Changing families, shifting

incom es,’’ American Demographics, February 1983, pp. 40-43.

4 See Perspectives on Working Women: A Databook, Bulletin 2080 (Bureau o f Labor Statistics, 1980), table 65.

5 See Howard B. Meyers, “ Effects of the National Defense Program on

Unemployment and Need” (address presented at the National Conference

on Social Work, Atlantic City. N.J.). Release dated June 5. 1941. p. 7.

6 Michael Harrington, “ The Economics of Protest,” in Arthur M. Ross

and Herbert Hill, eds.. Employment, Race and Poverty (New York. Harcourt, Brace and World, 1967), p. 250.

’ Richard B. Freeman, “ Changes in the Labor Market for Black Americans, 1948-72,” Brookings Papers on Economic Activity, 1: 1973. pp. 6 7 -

131.

"See Morris J. Newman, “ A profile of Hispanics in the U.S..work

force,” Monthly Labor Review, December 1978. pp. 3 and 5.

9See, for example, W. G. Bowen and T. A. Finegan, The Economics

of Labor Force Participation (Princeton, N .J.. Princeton University Press,

1969), pp. 147-51.

10 See Money Income of Households, Families and Persons in the United

States: 1981, Current Population Reports, Series P-60, No. 137 (Bureau

of the Census, 1982), table 23.

"In accordance with the poverty index adopted by a 1969 Federal

interagency committee, families are classified as being above or below the

low income level. The poverty threshold for a family of four in 1982 was

$9,862. For further details, see Money Income and Poverty Status of

Families and Persons in the United States: 1982, Current Population

Reports, Series P-60, No. 140 (Bureau of the Census. 1983). p. 295.

12 For information relating employment problems and economic status

see Linking Employment Problems to Economic Status, Bulletin 2169 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1983).

14
Most women who maintain families 

receive poor labor market returns

The majority of these women

have a strong commitment to the labor force,

but have lower average educational attainment

and earnings, bringing them closer to poverty

with each additional child

B e v e r l y L. Jo h n s o n a n d E l i z a b e t h W a l d m a n

Women who maintain their own families' are considerably 

more likely to work or look for work today than in the past. 

But their historical pattern of marginal earnings and high 

unemployment persists, keeping the economic status of their 

families well below that of the majority of American families.

The results of a March 1983 nationwide survey2 reveal 

a continuation of the multiple problems that hinder many 

women who support families from being more competitive 

in the marketplace. Prominent among these problems are 

lower average educational attainment and relatively higher 

proportions with children to raise.

Overall picture

In March 1983, 9.8 million families had as their principal 

support women who were divorced, separated, widowed, 

or never married. These families accounted for 16 percent 

of all families in the United States, up 5 percentage points 

from 1970. Sixty percent of women maintaining families 

were labor force participants, compared with 53 percent in 

1970, and their numbers in the labor force doubled over the 

13-year period (table 1).

The reasons for this increased labor market activity have 

a great deal to do with the dramatic demographic and social

Beverly L. Johnson is a social science research analyst and Elizabeth

Waldman is a senior economist in the Division of Employment and Unemployment Analysis. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

changes of the period, perhaps the most crucial being the 

movement of the baby-boom generation of the 1950’s and 

early 1960’s into the working-age population. This movement was accompanied by record numbers of marriages and,

Table 1. Selected characteristics of women maintaining

families, March 1970, 1975,1980, and 1983

(Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic

Civilian nonlnstitutional

population

Labor force

participation rate

1970 1975 1980 1983 1970 1975 1980 1983

Total women 

maintaining 

fam ilies................. 5,580 7,316 9,009 9,828 52.9 54 4 59 7 59 6

Never married . . . . 610 932 1,453 1.823 57.4 53.6 55.6 55.8

Separated ............ 1,324 1,707 1.805 1,831 53 8 55 0 60.4 62.3

Widowed.............. 2,389 2,539 2,588 2,559 38.4 37.8 38.3 34.3

Divorced .............. 1,258 2,139 3,164 3,615 77.3 73.9 78.6 78 2

Median age .......... 48.2 43.5 41.4 41.1 - — - —

With no children1

under age 18 . . . 2,652 2,861 3,291 3.788 45.8 45.7 46.9 47 9

With children under 

age 18 .............. 2,928 4,456 5,718 6,040 59.4 60.0 67.0 67.0

6 to 17, only . . . 1,815 2,661 3.638 3,746 67 0 66 3 74.0 74.2

Under age 6 . . . 1,112 1,795 2,080 2,294 46.9 50.6 54.9 55.2

White ................... 4,185 5,254 6,302 6,783 53.4 55.7 62.1 60.5

Black ................... 1,349 1,967 2,537 2,808 50.9 51.2 54 0 57.1

Hispanic .............. (2) 471 637 800 (2) 43 5 50.7 49.0

Children are defined as "own" children of the family. Included are never-married 

daughters, sons, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children such as grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.

2Data not available.

Note: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals. Data for 

1975 have been revised since mitial publication.

15
in turn, a soaring divorce rate.3 Thus, by the time the 1980’s 

began, divorcees— who have the highest labor force participation rate of any marital category of women— had replaced widows (who have the lowest) as the largest group 

of women maintaining families. In addition, a sharp rise in 

childbearing among single women helped increase the number of one-parent families.

In March 1983, more than three-fifths of the women maintaining families were parents with children under age 18 in 

the home. Labor force participation rates show these single 

parents had a strong commitment to the labor force. Seventyfive percent were in the work force when their youngest 

child was school age (6 to 17 years), as were 55 percent of 

those with preschoolers (under age 6).

Once in the labor market, however, the female single 

parent often had a difficult time finding a job, especially if 

she had at least one preschool child. In March 1983, the 

unemployment rate for mothers with preschoolers was 23 

percent, compared with 15 percent for mothers whose 

youngest child was of school age (table 2). The unemployment rate for mothers in married-couple families was less 

than half that of mothers maintaining families.

When unemployed, women maintaining families were far 

less likely than other householders to be living with another 

relative who was employed full time. In the first quarter of 

1983, for example, only 9 percent of all unemployed women 

maintaining families had someone in their family who had 

a full-time job. This compared with 16 percent of all jobless 

men maintaining families without a spouse and about 41 

percent of all unemployed husbands.

The workplace

Most employed women maintaining families worked at 

full-time jobs— 83 percent in March 1983. Those age 25 to 

54 were more likely to be working full time (86 percent) 

than either younger (72 percent) or older women (73 percent). Obviously, these high full-time proportions represent 

a serious commitment on their part to market work.

Like most employed women, the largest proportion of 

those maintaining families were in administrative support 

jobs (table 3). This was the case for all marital groups. 

Divorced women (because they were younger and had more 

years of schooling, on average) were more likely than other 

women maintaining families to be in managerial and professional jobs and less likely to.be in service occupations.

Most of today’s better paying jobs require at least a high 

school diploma, and many professional fields require a college degree. Although working women maintaining families 

have been completing more formal schooling in recent years, 

a high proportion had not completed high school— 23 percent, compared with 15 percent of working wives.

Despite some movement into professional and managerial 

jobs between 1970 and 1983, particularly by divorcees, most 

employed women maintaining families have tended to remain in the generally lower paying or lesser skilled jobs

Table 2. Labor force status of women maintaining

families, by presence and age of youngest child, and

marital status, March 1983

[Numbers in thousands]

Labor force status Total

With

no own

children1

under age 18

With children1 under age 18

Total

Children

age 6 to 17

only

Children

under age 6

Women maintaining

families ................. 9,828 3,788 6.040 3,746 2,294

In labor force . . . . 5,861 1,815 4,047 2,780 1,266

Participation rate . . 59.6 47.9 67.0 74.2 55.2

Unemployed . . . . 831 131 700 406 294

Unemployment

rate................. 14.2 7.2 17.3 14.6 23.2

Not in labor force 3,966 1,973 1,993 966 1,028

Never-married............ 1,823 574 1,248 446 802

In labor force . . . . 1,018 372 646 292 353

Participation rate . . 55.8 64.8 51.8 65.5 44.0

Unemployed . .. . 213 33 180 66 115

Unemployment

rate................. 20.9 8.9 27.9 22.6 32.6

Not in labor force 805 202 603 154 449

Separated................... 1,831 365 1,466 828 637

In labor force . . . . 1,141 228 913 573 339

Participation rate . . 62.3 62.5 62.3 69.2 53.2

Unemployed . . . . 217 37 180 100 80

Unemployment

rate................. 19.0 16.2 19.7 17.5 23.6

Not in labor force 690 137 553 255 298

Widowed ................... 2,559 2,025 534 463 71

In labor force . . . . 877 587 290 253 37

Participation rate . . 34.3 29.0 54.3 54.6 (2)

Unemployed . . . . 77 32 44 32 12

Unemployment

rate................. 8.8 5.5 15.2 12.6 (2)

Not in labor force 1,682 1,438 244 210 34

Divorced ................... 3,615 824 2,792 2,008 784

In labor force . . . . 2,826 628 2,198 1,661 537

Participation rate . . 78.2 76.2 78.7 82.7 68.5

Unemployed . . . . 324 29 295 208 87

Unemployment

rate................. 11.5 4.6 13.4 12.5 16.2

Not in labor force 790 196 594 347 246

’ Children are defined as “ own" children of the family. Included are never-married 

daughters, sons, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children 

such as grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.

2Rate not shown where base is less than 75,000.

Note: Because of rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.

within a broad occupation group. Their relatively poor occupational standing was reflected by their lower full-time 

wage and salary earnings when compared with husbands or 

men maintaining families. In the first quarter of 1983, the 

median weekly earnings for female householders were $256, 

compared with $400 for husbands or male family householders.4

Only 30 percent of the wage-earning families maintained 

by women were multiple-earner families, and their median 

weekly earnings were $440. In contrast, 56 percent of all 

married-couple families with earners were in the multipleearner category, and their median weekly earnings were 

$629.

Although weekly aggregate earnings of families maintained by women were relatively low, annual income for 

families in which the woman herself worked was roughly 

twice as high as for families in which the householder did 

not work. For example, in 1982, median family income was 

$14,580 when the woman was an earner at some time during 

the year and $7,050 when she was not.

16
Table 3. Educational attainment and occupational distribution of women maintaining families by marital status, race, and

Hispanic origin, March 1983

Marital status Race and Hispanic origin

Item Total Nevermarried Separated Widowed Divorced White Black Hispanic

Educational attainment

Total in labor force: Number (thousands) ............................................................. 5.861 1,018 1,141 877 2,826 4,104 1,603 39 2

Percent............................................................................ 100 0 100.0 100.0 100 0 100 0 100.0 100.0 100 0

Less than 4 years high school ................................................ 22.9 23.8 28.0 33 8 17.1 19.7 31.2 48 5

4 years high school only ...................................................... 46 6 44.2 47.1 42.0 48.7 47.9 43 5 33 7

1 to 3 years college ............................................................ 18.3 20.0 15.3 14.7 20.1 18.4 18.6 11.5

4 years college or more........................................................ 12.2 12.0 9.5 9 7 14 2 14.0 6.7 6.4

Occupation

Total employed: Number (thousands) ............................................................. 5,031 804 924 801 2,502 3,656 1,255 340

Percent ............................................................................ 100.0 100.0 100.0 100 0 100 0 100 0 100 0 100 0

Managerial and professional specialty ........................................... 19.8 19.3 15.0 18.6 22.2 21.7 14.4 12.4

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................................... 8.4 7.0 6.2 9.5 9.3 9.4 5 6 7 1

Professional specialty .......................................................... 11.5 12.3 8.9 9.2 12.9 12.3 8.8 5 3

Technical, sales, and administrative support .................................... 41.0 39.1 39.4 37.2 43.4 44.8 29.8 36 5

Technicians and related support .............................................. 3.1 2.7 2.4 1.7 3.8 3.1 2.7 2 4

Sales occupations ............................................................. 9.4 7.8 8.9 11.4 9 5 11.1 4.5 7 1

Administrative support, including clerical .................................... 28.5 28.5 28 0 24 0 30 1 30.6 22.6 27 1

Secretaries, stenographers, and typists.................................... 10.1 8 8 9.2 8.4 11.3 11.5 6 4 7.9

Financial records processing ................................................ 4.3 4.9 4.3 2.7 4.6 4.9 2.5 2.4

Other ......................................................................... 14 1 14.8 14.5 12.9 14.2 14.2 13.7 16.8

Service occupations............................................................... 22 2 25.0 28.6 28.8 16.9 17.8 35.9 25 0

Private household............................................................... 2 6 3.2 4.2 4.7 1.0 1.8 5.0 5.0

Food ............................................................................ 6 8 5.1 8.1 8.9 6.1 6.4 7 4 6.5

Health ........................................................................... 5.3 6.5 9.1 4.6 3.8 3.1 12.2 2 9

Cleaning......................................................................... 3.9 5.7 4.0 7.4 2 2 2.6 7.7 6 5

Personal......................................................................... 3.0 3.7 2.5 2.6 3.1 3 2 2 8 38

Other service .................................................................... 0.6 0.8 0.7 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.8 0.3

Precision production, craft, and repair........................................... 2.5 1.9 2.4 1.7 2.9 2.8 1.5 3 5

Operators, fabricators, and laborers ............................................. 13.9 14.3 14.1 12.4 14 1 12.3 18.1 21 2

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors .............................. 11.2 12 6 10.8 10 1 11.2 10.1 14.1 17 6 Transportation and material moving........................................... 0.9 0 14 0 9 1.0 0.6 1.6 2.1 Other ............................................................................ 1.8 1.7 1.9 1.4 1.9 1.6 2 4 1.5

Farming, forestry, and fishing ................................................... 0.6 0.5 0.5 1.1 0.4 0.7 0.2 1.2

Situation for minorities

As of March 1983, about 70 percent (6.8 million) of all 

women maintaining families were white; 29 percent (2.8 

million) were black, and fewer than 10 percent (800,000) 

were of Hispanic origin (virtually all of whom were also 

included in the white racial category). Examining each raceethnic category separately and making labor force participation and income comparisons brings the situation for minority families into sharper focus.

On average, the black women had more children under 

age 18 and less education than the white women. Black 

women maintaining families (as well as those of Hispanic 

origin) have lower median earnings, lower labor force participation rates, and higher unemployment rates than the 

white women. Also, black and Hispanic families maintained 

by women were even less likely than similar white families 

to have more than one earner, probably because they were 

less apt to have another member of working age in the home.

Furthermore, a larger share of white than black or Hispanic women were divorced, and a smaller proportion had 

never married. And, as shown earlier, divorced householders have much higher participation rates than the nevermarried. Thus, in March 1983, the labor force participation

rate for white female householders was 60 percent, compared with 57 percent for blacks and 49 percent for Hispanics. Another factor is that 1 of 8 black and Hispanic 

householders was under age 25, compared with 1 of 13 

whites. Younger women, in the early stages of labor force 

entry, often have not acquired the skill and experience necessary to hold many of today’s better paying jobs. In addition, about half of the Hispanic women householders and 

one-third of the black had not completed high school, compared with only one-fifth of the whites. Moreover, the occupational distributions for these three groups of women 

mirror their educational attainment; about 22 percent of 

employed white householders were professional and managerial workers, compared with 14 percent for black, and 

13 percent for Hispanic women. Blacks and Hispanics were 

heavily clustered in service and operative jobs which require 

less formal education and training and pay less money. 

Finally, the higher participation rate of white women may 

also reflect the smaller average size of their families, as 

well as the lower proportion with children under 6 years of 

age.

Unemployment rates were much higher among black 

women maintaining families (21.7 percent) than white (10.9

17
Table 4. Labor force status of white, black, and Hispanic origin women maintaining families, by presence of children and

marital status, March 1983

[Numbers in thousands]

Race, Hispanic origin,

and marital status

Total With children1 under age 18 With no children1 under age 18

Population

Labor force

participation

rate

Unemployment

rate

Population

Labor force

participation

rate

Unemployment

rate

Population

Labor force

participation

rate

Unemployment

rate

White women, total...... 6,783 60.5 10.9 3.959 70.3 13.4 2,824 46 8 5.6

Never married.......... 842 53.6 12.4 442 47.5 22.4 399 60 4 3.7

Separated ............. 1,117 62.1 16.9 918 62 0 16.3 200 62.5 19.2

Widowed............... 1,963 34.6 7.4 376 59.0 12.6 1,588 28 8 4.8

Divorced ............... 2,861 79.7 9 9 2.224 80 0 115 637 78.3 4 0

Black women, total...... 2,808 57.1 21.7 1 923 60.3 25.7 885 50 2 11.3

Never married.......... 940 57.0 28.2 785 54.0 30.4 155 72 3 19.6

Separated ............. 657 62.1 22.8 504 62.7 25.3 153 60.1 14.1

Widowed............... 536 32.5 13.8 132 39 4 (2) 404 30 2 8.2

Divorced ............... 675 71.9 16.5 502 72 9 20 2 173 68.2 4.2

Hispanic women, total . . . 800 49.0 13.5 585 48 2 16.0 214 51.4 6.4

Never married.......... 193 47.2 14.3 136 33 8 (2) 57 0 0 Separated ............. 255 39.2 20.0 209 38 8 21.0 46 0 0 Widowed............... 123 35.0 0 51 (2) (2) 72 0 0

Divorced ............... 229 69.0 9.5 189 68.3 9.3 40 0 0

’Children are defined as "own" children of the family. Included are never-married daughters, sons, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children such as 

grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.

2Rate not shown where base is less than 75,000.

percent) and Hispanic women (13.4 percent) (table 4). This 

reflects, in part, the higher concentration of never-married 

mothers among black female householders. Typically, nevermarried mothers have higher jobless rates than mothers of 

other marital status.

Annual median income of white families maintained by 

women ($13,145 in 1982), while much lower than that of 

other types of white families, was far above the levels of 

the black ($7,489) and Hispanic ($7,611) families. This 

pattern persisted regardless of the presence of children. Part 

of the difference stems from the fact that eamings of black 

women represented a larger share of their family income 

than those of the white women— 77 versus 70 percent. Also 

contributing to this situation was the larger share of divorced 

white women who received child support or alimony payments.5 Moreover, as mentioned earlier, white families 

maintained by women were more likely to have at least two 

earners than either the black or Hispanic families.

Poverty and children

Because average income among families maintained by 

women is low— whether they are in or out of the paid work 

force— proportionately more live below the poverty line6 

than other families. In 1982, more than 1 of 3 families

maintained by women were poor, compared with 1 of 13 

other families. Although the percentages of black and Hispanic families maintained by women in poverty were much 

greater than for white families of the same type, they all 

greatly exceeded the proportions for other family groups:

Families Married- Families

maintained couple maintained

by women families by men

Total ........ 36.9 7.6 14.7

White .......... 28.9 6.9 12.6

Black ............ 56.1 15.6 25.0

Hispanic .... 55.5 19.3 18.4

For families in which the female householder had earnings 

at some time during 1982, about 1 of 4 were in poverty, 

compared with more than 1 of 2 of the families in which 

the householder had no eamings. These differences were 

even wider for families with children under age 18. When 

the mother had earnings, 29 percent of their families had 

incomes below the poverty level; when she did not, 88 

percent were poor. Moreover, regardless of the mother’s 

earner status, the incidence of poverty increased with each 

additional child in the home— from 37 percent when one 

child was in the home to 85 percent when four or more 

children were present. "

FOOTNOTES

'The terminology “ women maintaining families” or “ female family

householder’ is defined as a never-married, divorced, widowed, or separated woman with no husband present and who is responsible for her

family. These terms have replaced the phrase “ female-headed families”

used in earlier reports in this series.

2 Unless otherwise indicated, data in this report relate to the civilian

noninstitutional population 16 years and over and are based primarily on

information from supplementary questions in the March 1983 Current

Population Survey. For the most recent report on this subject, containing

data for March 1981, see Beverly L. Johnson and Elizabeth Waldman,

“ Marital and family patterns of the labor force,” Monthly Labor Review.

October 1981, pp. 36-38.

Sampling variability may be relatively large in cases where numbers are

small, and small differences between estimates or percentages should be

interpreted with caution. For further information on reliability of data, see

the Explanatory Note in Marital and Family Patterns of Workers: An

Update, bls Bulletin 2163 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1983), pp. A -5-

A-7.

’ The divorce rate has been rising since the mid I960’s. Between 1966

and 1981, the rate increased from 2.5 per 1,000 population to 5.3 per

18
!,000. For more details, see "Advance Report of Final Divorce Statistics,

1980.” Monthly Vital Statistics Report (Washington. U S. Department of

Health and Human Services. June 27. 1983). table I. p. 4.

4See. “ Earnings of workers and their families: First quarter 1983.”

u s d l News Release. 83-201. May 2. 1983 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

“'See Allyson Sherman Grossman and Howard Hayghe, "Labor force

activity of women receiving child support,” Monthly Labor Review. November 1982. pp. 39-41. Also see Divorce. Child Custody, and Child

Support, Current Population Report Series, 84 (Washington, U.S. Bureau

of the Census, 1981), p. 4.

6 Families are classified as being above or below the low income level

according to the poverty index adopted by a 1969 Federal Interagency

Committee. The poverty thresholds are updated every year to reflect changes

in the Consumer Price Index.-The poverty threshold for a family of four

was $9,862 in 1982. For further details, see Money Income and Poverty

Status of Families and Persons in the United States: 1982, Current Population Report Series P -60, No. 140 (Washington, U.S. Bureau of the

Census, 1983), pp. 3, 4, and 29.

19
Child-care services: 

a national picture

As more mothers hold jobs, the demand

fo r child-care services continues to grow—

especially fo r infant and toddler care—

and is exacerbated by brief maternity leaves

S h e il a B. K a m e r m a n

In 1983, for the first time, half of all mothers with children 

under age 6 were in the labor force.1 Out of a cohort of

19.0 million children under age 6, 47 percent had working 

mothers. In the near future, the majority of preschoolers 

will very likely have working mothers, as most school-age 

children already do. How preschool children are cared for 

while their mothers work is something that relatively little 

is known about, although what is known suggests a quite 

complicated picture.

What is the picture today of child-care services for preschool aged children? To help the reader visualize the picture, four questions are addressed:

• Where are the children of working parents being cared

for?

• What is known about the kinds of child-care services and 

arrangements that now exist?

• What is known about the quality of care now provided 

and what is happening to it?

• What are the current trends, developments, and emerging 

issues in the child-care services field?

For the purposes of this article, child-care services will 

include: family day care and center care, public and private 

nursery school and prekindergartens, Head Start centers,

Sheila B. Kamerman is a professor of Social Policy and Planning and codirector of Cross-National Studies Research Program, Columbia University

and currently is a fellow at the Center for Advanced Studies in the Behavorial Sciences, Stanford, California.

all-day care, part-day care, and after-school care. (Nonmonetized care by relatives and brief, occasional babysitting 

are not included.) The discussion is about relatively regular 

care or attendance: a specific number of hours per day and 

regular days per week of provision— in families and group 

arrangements— under both educational and social welfare 

auspices.

Types and amount of available child care

Unfortunately, in addition to the child-care picture not 

being very clear, it is not very complete. National data are 

not collected in any systematic fashion on: children in outof-home care during the day; child-care arrangements used 

while parents work; or child-care service programs. To study 

what exists and who uses which type of care, one must piece 

together different, sometimes not fully comparable data, 

collected by different sources at different times.

In providing an overview of child-care services for preschool aged children, the types of services can be distinguished by the following:

• The age of the child:

— infant and toddler care (0 to 2-year-olds)

—preschooler care (3-to 5-year-olds)

• The locus of care:

— in own home

— in a relative’s home

— in a nonrelative’s home

— in a group facility (center or school)

20
• The auspice of care:

—education (nursery school, prekindergarten, kindergarten)

— social welfare (day-care center)

• The source of funds:

—direct and indirect public subsidy (for example, public 

grants of monies to a provider or a tax benefit such as 

the child-care tax credit)

— private subsidy 

—employer subsidy; parent fees

Preschoolers. Although there are no precise figures concerning the numbers of children in out-of-home care, by 

age of child and type of care, the most complete data to 

date are those on preschool children aged 3 to 5. However, 

even here estimates must be used.

The most recent national survey of day-care centers was 

completed by Abt Associates in 1977;2 the numbers are 

known to have grown substantially since then. Moreover, 

these data do not include programs under educational auspices: nursery schools, prekindergartens, and kindergartens. 

These are the largest single type of child-care services for 

children of this age and the most rapidly growing component 

among child-care services for this age group.

The most currently published consumer data on 3- and 

4-year-old children of working mothers are from a 1977 

Current Population Survey ( c p s ) conducted by the Bureau 

of the Census.3 Only data on children under age 5 and on 

the youngest child in the family were included. However, 

because the survey was carried out in June, when many 

schools are closed, children in group care programs are 

significantly underreported. For example, fewer than 21 

percent of children of this age with mothers who worked 

full time in 1977 were reported as enrolled in group care, 

as contrasted with 31 percent of all children this age in 

1976, according to Census Bureau school enrollment data,4 

and 37 percent in 1980, as cited by the National Center for 

Educational Statistics.5 (See tables 1 and 2.) Furthermore, 

the proportion of youngsters enrolled in preschool programs 

was significantly higher when their mothers worked (44

Table 1. Population of preschoolers, preprimary school

enrollment, and labor force Status of mother by child’s

age, 1980______________

Child*

* * •

(in years)

Total

(In million*)

Enrollment Percent

with

mothers

In labor

force

Number*

(in millions)

Percent

ol

total

3 to 5 ............ 9.3 4.91 531 57

5 ................... 3.1 2.6 842 85

3 to 4 ............ 6.2 2.3 37 43

4 ................... 3.1 1.4 46 52

3 ................... 3.1 .9 29 34

’ Preprimary programs only. An additional number are enrolled in primary school (about 

3 percent ol cohort).

2An additional 9 percent are enrolled in primary school.

Note: Data are tor 50 States and District of Columbia.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics. P re p rim a ry E n ro llm e n t 1980 (Washington, D C., U S. Department of Education, 1982).

percent). Moreover, these data do not report multiple modes 

of care: the “ packages” of child-care arrangements which 

are most frequently used by working mothers.6 Such “ packages” include some combination of a preschool program, 

family day care, and relative care; they may involve four 

or more different care givers during an average week. More 

extensive child-care data were collected in the 1982 Census 

Bureau’s national fertility survey, but these data had not yet 

been published when this article was prepared.

Using 1979 school enrollment data7 and data from the 

1977 Abt supply study of day-care enrollment, it is found 

that almost two-thirds of all 3- to 5-year-olds and more than 

70 percent of those with working mothers are in some form 

of group child-care program. These numbers are made up 

of the following: ninety-three percent of all 5-year-olds were 

in nursery school, kindergarten, or first grade in 1979. Thirtyfive percent of all 3- to 4-year-olds were in nursery school 

or prekindergarten. A growing number of these preschool 

programs are full day; the proportion of 3- to 5-year-olds 

in a full-day program doubled during the 1970’s, from 17 

percent in 1970, to 34 percent in 1980. By 1980, 37 percent 

of 3- to 4-year-olds were in preprimary programs. Although 

kindergarten enrollment for 5-year-olds is about the same 

whether or not mothers work (almost all 5-year-olds are in 

preschool or primary school), enrollment rates for 3- to 4- 

year-olds are significantly higher when mothers are in the 

labor force (44 percent, compared with 31 percent in 1980). 

All-day enrollment is, of course, far higher for children with 

full-time working mothers. Although these programs may 

be valued for their educational content, they are often used 

because they fulfill a needed child-care function.

Kindergarten enrollment increased by almost one-third 

between 1967 and 1980 (from 65 to 85 percent). However, 

the increase in nursery school enrollment has been even 

more dramatic, doubling in numbers during the 1970's and 

more than doubling as a proportion of 3- to-4-year-olds enrolled (from 16 percent in 1969 to 37 percent in 1980).

Moreover, not only are children of working mothers more 

likely to be enrolled in preschool programs, but the enrollment rates are even higher when mothers have larger incomes and more education. Fifty-three percent of 3- to 4- 

year-old children in families with median or higher incomes 

attended a preschool program in 1982, as contrasted with 

only 29 percent of those in lower income families. As noted, 

enrollment rates increase as mothers’ education levels rise, 

and increase still more when those mothers are employed. 

Only for children whose mothers are college graduates is 

there no difference between those with working and those 

with nonworking mothers. For example, about half of such 

3-year-olds and 72 percent of such 4-year-olds were in a 

preschool program in 1982.8

Given these data, one could argue that not only is there 

growing use of preschool as a child-care service for the 

3-, 4-, and 5-year-olds with working mothers, but there is 

especially high use by affluent, educated, working families.

21
Table 2. Preprimary school enrollment by child’s age and labor force status of mother, 1980

[Numbers in thousands)

Total 3-year-olds 4-year-olds S-year-olds

Labor force status of mother

Enrolled Enrolled

all day Enrolled Enrolled

all day Enrolled Enrolledall day Enrolled Enrolledall day

All children, 3 to 5 years.............................................................. 4,878 1,551 857 321 1,423 467 2,598 763

With mother in labor fo rc e ....................................................... 2.480 1,002 497 260 755 332 1,229 413

Employed full time .............................................................. 1,445 713 292 198 457 260 696 255

Employed part tim e .............................................................. 811 196 163 42 245 44 402 111

Unemployed........................................................................... 225 94 41 20 53 28 131 46

With mother not in labor force ................................................ 2,266 491 339 50 628 117 1,299 325

Keeping house ...................................................................... 2,105 439 309 37 582 102 1,214 300

Other .................................................................................... 85 15 15 3 23 3 47 9

No mother present .............................................................. 131 57 21 13 39 19 70 26

Enrolled as percent of age group

All children, 3 to 5 years.............................................................. 52.5 16.7 27.3 10.2 46.3 15.2 84.7 24.9

With mother in labor fo rc e ....................................................... 57.1 23.1 34.4 18.0 51.9 22.8 85.2 28.6

Employed full time .............................................................. 57.4 23.3 35.4 24.0 52.5 29.9 84.6 31.0

Employed part tim e .............................................................. 59.6 14.4 37.2 9.6 53.7 9.6 86.5 23.9

Unemployed........................................................................... 48.5 20.3 22.8 11.1 41.1 21.7 85.1 29.9

With mother not in labor force ................................................ 48.9 10.6 21.5 3.2 41.5 7.7 84.5 21.1

Keeping house ...................................................................... 48.5 10.1 20.9 2.5 40.2 7.2 83.9 20.7

In school............................................................................... 63.0 29.5 37.2 (]) 56.1 0

95.1 0 )

Other .................................................................................... 51.1 9.0 26.4 <1) 38.3 (1) 95.9 (1)

No mother present .............................................................. 42.2 12.5 17.8 10.8 38.6 18.8 77.8 28.9

1Base too small for presentation of percentage.

Note: Data are for 50 States and District of Columbia. Details may not add to totals because of rounding.

Source: National Center for Education Statistics, P re p rim a ry E n ro llm e n t, 1980 (Washington, D.C., U.S. Department of Education, 1982.

Because most of these programs are private and relatively 

expensive, such high use by the more affluent raises serious 

questions about the consequences for those children in lower 

income families (below median income) without access to 

such programs, whether or not their mothers work.

According to the Abt survey, in addition to those children 

in preschool programs, about 10 percent of the cohort 

(900,000) were in day-care centers (most were 3- or 4-yearolds). Thus, there seems to be a t^tal of 54 percent of the 

3- and 4-year-olds with working mothers in some kind of 

group care for some part of the day. This figure is likely to 

be higher because nearly a half million children are estimated to have been enrolled in Title XX funded centers in 

1981, a significant increase over the 1977 figures.9 (And 

10 States were not included in the 1981 figure because they 

did not provide data.) Sixty-five percent of these children 

were 3- to 5-year-olds (and more than half were age 3 or 

4); and almost all had working parents (these figures may 

have decreased in the past year). Also, Head Start serves 

nearly 400,000 children, largely 3- and 4-year-olds.

Federally funded (Title XX) centers have increased in 

numbers, too: there were an estimated 11,342 in 1981, a 

significant jump from the 8,100 identified in the Abt survey.10 Some of these centers may have closed in the past 

year as a consequence of cutbacks in funding, but no specific 

data on closings are available as of this writing. Head Start 

programs have also expanded since 1977 and about onefifth are full-day programs. More than 40 percent of the 

day-care centers in the Abt survey were proprietary or forprofit establishments. Both the numbers and the proportion 

of proprietary child-care services have grown significantly 

since then. Because most of the large (multicenter) for-profit

child-care service companies did not receive Title XX money 

in 1981, these numbers are additive rather than overlapping.

In addition, about 42 percent of 3- to 4-year-olds whose 

mothers worked full time in 1977 (and 25 percent of those 

whose mothers worked part time) were cared for in someone 

else’s home, usually in a nonrelative’s home (family day 

care).11 There is a significant, if unknown, overlap between 

the children in preschool programs and those cared for in a 

home, be it by a relative or nonrelative, part of the childcare “ packaging” mentioned above, and particularly important for children whose mothers work longer than the 

preschool or school hours. About 100,000 children were in 

federally funded family day-care homes in 1981.12 By far, 

most children in family day care (about 90 percent of the 

more than 6 million children estimated to be in family day 

care for 10 hours or more per week in 1975) were in informal, unregulated care.13 About 6 percent were in licensed 

care, including 2 percent in care provided in a home but 

under the sponsorship of an umbrella agency. However, 

most of these children were under age 3.

Infants and toddlers. As difficult as it is to estimate coverage and type of care provided for preschoolers, the data 

on infant and toddler care are far less adequate. A planned 

national survey of infant care, to be carried out by Abt, was 

cancelled. The much-cited National Consumer Day Care 

Study was poorly designed and inadequately analyzed. According to the 1977 Current Population Survey, the primary 

care arrangement for children under age 3 was family day 

care, usually in the home of a nonrelative.

Estimating from the cps data, more than one-third of the 

children with working mothers were in either family day

22
care or group care in 1977. More specifically, about onethird of those under age 3 with full-time working mothers 

and 17 percent of those with part-time working mothers 

were in family day care; and more than 9 percent of those 

with full-time working mothers and 5.5 percent of those 

whose mothers worked part time were in group care. Infant 

and toddler care has been growing rapidly since the mid1970’s; thus, the coverage data are undoubtedly higher today.

The following rounds out this picture of how children are 

cared for while parents (especially mothers) are in the labor 

force:

• A small proportion of babies with working mothers are 

cared for, albeit briefly, by mothers on maternity leave. 

Fewer than 40 percent of working mothers are entitled 

to some paid leave at the time of childbirth, usually for 

about 6 to 8 weeks, and a somewhat larger group may 

remain home on an unpaid but job-protected leave for 

3 or 4 months.14

• Some parents, especially those with preschool aged children, work different shifts in order to manage child care. 

Although this method of care has received very little 

attention thus far, researchers using three different data 

sets (the Current Population Survey, the Panel Study of 

Income Dynamics, and the Quality of Employment Survey) have found that this may be a more significant 

pattern of work by parents with young children than 

suspected.15

• A very few employers, largely hospitals, provide onsite 

child-care services (about 230 hospitals; about 50 employers), and a few others subsidize payment of care.16

Child-care quality: programming and standards

More than half of all nursery schools are private, 66 

percent. Eighty-eight percent of the kindergartens are public. There are limited national data available on these programs. On the other hand, a much more extensive picture 

exists regarding the more than 11,000 federally funded daycare centers that existed in the fall of 1981. This type of 

center is discussed here.

In early 1980, the Department of Health and Human 

Services issued proposed day-care regulations concerning 

group size, staff-to-child ratios, training qualifications for 

care givers, nutrition, health care, parent participation, and 

social services, to become effective in October. In the meantime, the Congress, in its Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 

Act of 1980, delayed the effective date of these proposed 

regulations. Before the proposals could become effective, 

the Social Services Block Grant Act was enacted. Among 

other things, this Act amended Federal requirements and 

standards regarding Title XX day-care centers. This meant 

that State and local standards, where they existed, were in 

effect. (Such standards are likely to be below those set by 

the Federal Government.)

The Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act mandated the

Department of Health and Human Services to “ assist each 

State in conducting a systematic assessment of current practices in Title XX funded day-care programs and provide a 

summary report of the assessment to Congress by June 1, 

1 9 8 1 17 According to the report, provider practices were 

in compliance with or surpassed the proposed Federal standards. More specifically:

• Despite the fact that 24 of the 47 States reporting have 

no group size requirements, all stated their centers had 

groups smaller than those set in the proposed regulations 

for all but the under-2-year-olds.

• Staff-to-child ratios were significantly higher than proposed for children aged 3 and older; however, they were 

significantly lower for those under 3.

• Although only half the States required the centers to 

provide training, nearly all provided such training and 

three-quarters of centers’ care givers and one-half of 

family day-care mothers had gone through such a training program within the past year.

• Seventy-five percent of the centers (and half of the homes) 

provided the Department of Agriculture’s recommended 

child-care food program.

• Seventy percent of the States assured children in care 

funded by Title XX the needed health services and 75 

percent assured them needed social services.

Federal funding under Title XX has been significantly cut 

since 1981. Day care was one of the three highest funded 

Title XX services, representing 18 percent of all Title XX 

expenditures nationwide. Funding for the child nutrition 

program, a component of public support of day care, has 

also been reduced. Few programs have actually closed thus 

far, but this may occur in the future. Given the large cutbacks in Federal grants to States, most States are under 

growing financial pressure in this area. These States will 

view themselves as fortunate if they can maintain the quantity of care; they are unlikely to enforce standards, even if 

standards exist.

A question emerges regarding whether the extent of compliance that existed in 1981 was not related to the expectations of Federal standards and enforcement. From now 

on, the States will have primary responsibility for setting 

and enforcing standards concerning the health, safety, and 

developmental needs of children in care. Whether providers 

will continue to maintain these standards and whether States 

will monitor what providers do remains to be seen. Thus, 

day-care regulation joins preprimary school generally as an 

arena in which the protection of children will depend completely on the State.

Towards the future

The only significant Federal development is the expansion 

of the child-care tax credit in 1982 and, subsequently, making it available even to those who do not itemize deductions. 

However, unless the credit is increased, and made refund23
able, it will have no— or very little—value to low- and 

moderate-income families.

The Dependent Care Assistance plan and the salary reduction plan for certain private insurance benefits may open 

the way for some expansion in employer-sponsored childcare services.18 However, little has occurred as yet.

The major development in the field in recent years has 

been child-care information and referral services. These have 

burgeoned, especially in California, where they are publicly 

funded; this is an area in which more employers are considering involvement as well. Finally, concern with the quality of education is leading some States and localities to 

reexamine their preprimary programs. Some are now initiating full-day kindergartens; others are establishing prekindergarten programs; and still others are considering both.

The demand for child-care services continues to grow, 

and most parents of preschoolers want an educational program. Most such programs are private, particularly those 

below kindergarten level. Unfortunately, good programs are 

very often expensive. Moreover, there is still a scarcity of 

fiill-day programs, so many parents are “ packaging” a group 

program with one or more other types of care, with consequences not yet known. The cutbacks in funding group 

programs are especially significant in their impact on services for low- and middle-income children. Many of these 

children who were in publicly subsidized preschool programs are being transferred into informal and unregulated 

family day care as subsidies are cut back and programs close 

or parents lose ;! eir eligibility for a subsidy; the children 

must adapt to a new care giver, and often to the loss of 

friends.

The biggest current demand for child-care services is for 

infants and toddlers, because it is among their mothers that 

the increase in labor force participation has been greatest, 

and the scarcity of services most severe. Paid maternity 

(disability) leaves are available only to a minority of working 

women and are usually brief. There is an urgent need to 

expand and improve maternity-related benefits provided at 

the workplace.19 Data concerning how babies and toddlers 

are being cared for and what types of care exist are largely 

inadequate. Most of these children are in informal family 

day-care arrangements but, here again, little is known about 

these services.

Although the current child-care picture is hardly complete, all that is known suggests the likelihood of continuing 

demand. Accessibility, affordability, and quantity will remain central issues but questions regarding quality will increasingly come to the forefront. □

FOOTNOTES

Acknowledgment: This article is based on work done as a part of a 

national study of child-care services sponsored by the Carnegie Corporation.

'Elizabeth Waldman, “ Labor force statistics from a family perspective,” Monthly Labor Review, December 1983, pp. 14-18.

2U .S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for

Children, Youth, and Families, in collaboration with Abt Associates, Inc.

(Cambridge, Mass.), National Day Care Study (Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1979), and National Day Care Home Study

(Washington, U.S. Government Printing Office, 1980).

3 Trends in Child Care Arrangements of Working Mothers, Current Population Reports, Series P -23, No. 117 (Bureau of the Census, 1982).

*Nursery School and Kindergarten Enrollment of Children and Labor

Force Status of Their^Mothers, October 1967 to October 1976, Current

Population Reports, Series P -20, No. 318 (Bureau of the Census, 1978).

5Preprimary Enrollment 1980 (U.S. Department of Education, National

Center for Educational Statistics, 1982).

6Mary Jo Bane, Laura Lein, Lydia O’Donnell, C. Ann Stueve, and

Barbara Wells, “ Child care arrangements of working parents,” Monthly

Labor Review, October 1979, pp. 50-56; and Sheila B. Kamerman, Parenting In An Unresponsive Society: Managing Work and Family Life (New

York, The Free Press, 1980).

1 School Enrollment—Social and Economic Characteristics of Students:

October 1979, Current Population Reports, Series P -20, No. 360 (Bureau

of the Census, 1981); and National Day Care Study.

8 National Center for Education Statistics, unpublished data.

9Report to Congress, Summary Report of the Assessment of Current

State Practices in Title XX Funded Day Care Programs (U.S. Department

of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children, Youth, and

Families, 1982).

10 Ibid.

" Trends in Child Care Arrangements.

12Report to Congress.

13UNCO, Inc., National Child Care Consumer Study: 1975 (U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, 1977).

l4Sheila B. Kamerman, Alfred F. Kahn, and Paul W. Kingston, Maternity Policies and Working Women (New York. Columbia University

Press, 1983).

l5Steven L. Nock and Paul W. Kingston, “ The Family Workday,”

Journal of Marriage and the Family, forthcoming; Harriet B. Presser,

“ Working Women and Child Care,” in P.W. Berman and E.R. Ramey,

eds., Women: A Developmental Perspective (Washington. U.S. Government Printing Office, 1982); and Graham L. Staines and Joseph H. Pleck,

“ Work Schedules' Impact on the Family.” Research Monograph, 1982,

processed.

l6Sandra L. Burud, Raymond C. Collins, Patricia Divine-Hawkins.

“ Employer-Supported Child Care: Everybody Benefits.” Children Todav,

May-June 1983, pp. 2 -7 .

17See Report to Congress. The data provided in this report are baseline

data for future assessments of the quality of Title XX funded day care

once these programs are no longer subject to Federal regulations.

18 For a description of these benefits, see Sheila B. Kamerman, Meeting

Family Needs: the Corporate Response (White Plains, N .Y .. Work in

America, forthcoming).

19 Kamerman, Kahn, and Kingston, Maternity Policies.

24
How do families fare 

when the breadwinner retires?

Using national longitudinal survey data on the

retirement experience of men, researchers

provide some insights on the economic situation

of families in which the major wage earner is retired

K e z ia S p r o a t

For 17 years, the National Longitudinal Surveys of Labor 

Market Experience ( n l s ) have gathered data that illuminate 

family life when the breadwinner has^etired. The n l s were 

developed in 1965 to answer the question, “ Why are increasing numbers of men leaving the work force before 

retirement age?” Because the male traditionally provides 

the bulk of family income, most retirement studies focus 

on his experience, but the surveys also include a female 

cohort who will soon be in retirement.

Older men in the n l s , now ages 62 to 76, have been 

interviewed 11 times in 17 years, and the mature women, 

now ages 46 to 60, 11 times in 16 years.1 Researchers have 

used the data to look at predictors and measures of retirement 

and its relationship to health, family income, family structure, and general life satisfaction. Retirement planning and 

the effects of unexpected retirement have also been studied. 

(See box, page 42.) This article summarizes some recent 

NLS-based retirement studies which carry the strongest implications for the family— why and how the major breadwinner enters retirement, sources of family income after 

retirement, and overall satisfaction with life after retirement. 

Because family well-being depends largely on why and how 

the major breadwinner enters retirement, voluntary and involuntary retirees will be discussed separately.

Kezia Sproat is the editor at the Center for Human Resource Research,

The Ohio State University.

Routes to retirement

Involuntary retirement—A . Poor health. Involuntary retirees fare much less well than others, especially in the many 

cases where early withdrawal from the labor force is linked 

to the male breadwinner’s poor health. In an analysis of 

1966-76 data, Herbert Pames and Gilbert Nestel found that 

poor health had forced 43 percent of white retirees and 52 

percent of black retirees ages 55 to 69 out of the labor force.2 

Of retirees under age 62, 60 percent of whites and 67 percent 

of blacks retired for health reasons. In contrast, only 30 

percent of white retirees and 29 percent of blacks in this 

age group retired voluntarily. More recent data confirm that 

blacks are more likely than whites to retire for health reasons.3 Men who retired because of poor health were more 

likely to have been in a low level occupation and to receive 

lower retirement income. They were also less likely to have 

any pension coverage other than social security, which is 

not available until age 62.4 Thomas Chirikos and Gilbert 

Nestel reported that even if workers are only moderately 

impaired, they suffer a 2.5- to 12-percent loss of annual 

earnings before retirement.5

Several studies confirm that poor health often forces retirement before the age of pension eligibility. Eric Kingson 

looked at 10 years of n l s data for a subsample of 240 black 

men and 405 white men who withdrew permanently from 

the labor force before age 62. Of these, 85 percent of the 

whites and 91 percent of the blacks had either reported health

25
problems before withdrawing or were certifiably disabled.6 

Of these disabled men, 51 percent of the whites and 55 

percent of the blacks received social security disability benefits. The remaining 34 percent of the whites and 36 percent 

of the blacks did not, so they and their families faced the 

multiple hardships that accompany poor health and severely 

reduced income.7

The deleterious effects of early retirement because of poor 

health are illustrated by Frank Mott and Jean Haurin in a 

study of widows from the women’s cohort as well as widows 

of the older men’s cohort.8 Mott and Haurin estimated that 

1 of 5 men ages 45 to 59 in 1966 would die before reaching 

age 65. The families of men who suffer health problems 

before dying are concentrated in the lower socio-economic 

strata, and their economic disadvantages are intensified by 

medical costs and declining income. From an economic 

point of view, families of men who die unexpectedly fare 

better than those whose major breadwinner suffers a long 

illness. Wives do not enter the labor force in large numbers 

during their husbands’ last illness. Many do find jobs after 

their husbands’ death, although their general lack of education and work experience make them liable to earn very 

low wages. Mott and Haurin found that 29 percent of the 

white widows live below the poverty line, compared with 

19 percent before the death of the husband; among blacks, 

the corresponding figures are 47 percent before and 67 percent after.9

B. Unemployment. Unemployment forces many workers 

into early retirement, according to Sally Bould.10 She found 

that duration of previous unemployment is a significant influence on early retirement. “ Retirement is, perhaps, a 

mechanism for dealing with long-term chronic unemployment . . . a way of managing the spoiled identity that longterm unemployment can produce.” Bould’s conclusion is 

supported by Herbert Pames, Mary Gagen, and Randall 

King, whose study focused on men who lost jobs they had 

held for at least 5 years. Long-term effects on income, 

psychological health, and occupational status were observed 

even for those who later found jobs.11 According to Eric 

Kingson, events early in life, some of which are uncontrollable (“ choice” of parents, for example), significantly 

influence retirement prospects. Kingson concluded that a 

life cycle perspective is required to understand the favorable 

and unfavorable “ opportunity tracks” which lead some very 

early retirees and their families to comfort and others to 

severe poverty.12 Nan Maxwell also found that retirement 

income and overall well-being are closely linked to prior 

labor market experiences.13

C. Mandatory plans. Another cause of involuntary early 

retirement is agreements which specify mandatory retirement at a certain age, although very few workers are forced 

out by such plans. Between 1966 and 1976, only 3 percent 

of retirees in the nils sample were forced out by mandatory

plans. Herbert Pames and Lawrence Less found that in 1980, 

fewer than 5 percent of the retirees in the n l s sample, then 

ages 59 to 73, had been forced to retire. Larger proportions 

of blacks were forced out than whites, and among these, 

more nonfarm laborers (13 percent) than any other occupational group.14

Voluntary retirement. Voluntary early retirement is largely 

driven by pension availability. The answer to the question 

that gave rise to the n l s— why the trend to early retirement?— seems now clearly to be that increasingly attractive 

pensions make early retirement more feasible financially. 

More blacks than whites choose to retire early because average earnings are lower for blacks and there is less difference between their wages and social security and other 

pensions.15

Postretirement labor market activity

Being “ retired” does not preclude labor market activity. 

Such activity has been analyzed using data from the n l s .

Herbert Pames and others find that conclusions about retirement will differ depending on whether retirement is measured by pension coverage, subjective self-report, or labor 

market withdrawal. Pames and Less believe the choice of 

retirement measures should be governed by the specific 

questions one aims to illuminate. The number of men ages 

57 to 71 who were retired in 1980 ranges from 5.4 to 8.9 

million, depending on which measure of retirement is used.16 

In this discussion, the subjective self-report definition is 

used— that is, “ retirees” are those who said at some time 

during the interviews that they had stopped working at a 

regular job.

About 1 of 6 retirees were in the labor force in 1980. 

Men forced to retire because of mandatory plans were more 

likely to be in the labor market; their participation rate was 

24 percent, compared with 16 percent for all retirees. Only 

10 percent of those who left the labor force for health reasons 

were still working or looking for a job.17

Pames and Less found that age, health, type of preretirement job, attitude toward retirement, and family income 

(exclusive of the retiree’s earnings) all influence post-retirement labor market activity. Professional and managerial 

workers are more likely than other occupational groups to 

continue working after retirement. Marital status and whether 

the retiree’s wife worked were important: retirees were more 

likely to work if their wives did. In the 1980 survey, employed retirees were asked their main reasons for working 

during retirement. The two most frequent answers were 

“ inflation” (30 percent) and “ boredom with retirement” 

(26 percent).18

Retirees who did not participate in the labor market in 

1976 showed little desire to do so: only 2 percent of whites 

and 5 percent of blacks said they would accept a job if one 

were offered.19 Data for 1980 and 1981 continued to show

26
NLS-based studies on retirement

Beck, R. W. and S. H. Beck, “ Taking Elderly Parents In: Incidence in Middle and Later Life,” paper presented at the

35th Annual Meeting of the Gerontological Society of

America, Boston, Mass., November 1982.

Beck, Scott H., “ Adjustment to and Satisfaction with Retirement,” Journal o f G erontology, Vol. 37, No. 5, 1982,

pp. 616-24.

------ , “ Differences in Expected and Actual Retirement Age”

(Ph.D. dissertation, University of Florida, 1981).

------ , “ The Role of Other Family Members in Intergenerational

Occupational Mobility,” Sociological Quarterly, Spring

1983, pp. 273-85.

Bould, Sally, “ Unemployment as a Factor in Early Retirement

Decisions,” American Journal o f Economics and Sociology, April 1980, pp. 123-36.

Carliner, Geoffrey, Social Security and the Labor Supply o f

O lder Men, Report No. dlma-2 1 -9 1 -7 8 -5 6 (U.S. Department of Labor, 1980).

Chirikos, Thomas N. and Gilbert Nestel, “ Impairment and Labor

Market Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal

Analysis,” in Herbert S. Pames, ed., Work and Retirement

(Cambridge, Mass., mit Press, 1981), pp. 93-131.

George, Linda K., Erdman B. Palmore, and Gerda Fillenbaum,

“ Predictors of Retirement,” Journal o f G erontology, Vol.

37, No. 6, 1982, pp. 733-42.

Hardy, Melissa A ., “ Social Policy and Determinants of Retirement: A Longitudinal Analysis of Older White Males, 1969—

1975,” Social Forces, June 1982, pp. 1103-22.

Kingson, Eric R., “ Critique of Early Retirement Study Disputed,” Aging and Work, Spring 1982, pp. 93-110.

------ , “ Disadvantaged Very Early Labor Force Withdrawal,”

P olicy Issues fo r the Elderly Poor (Community Services

Administration, c s a pamphlet 6172-8), pp. 23-30.

------ , “ The Health of Very Early Retirees,” Aging and Work,

Winter 1981, pp. 11-22.

------ , “ Involuntary Early Retirement,” The Journal o f the Institute fo r Socioeconom ic Studies, Autumn 1981, pp. 2 7 -

39.

------ , “ Retirement Circumstances of Very Early Retirees: A

L ife C ycle P ersp ective,” Aging and Work, Sum m er 1981,

pp. 1 6 1 -7 4

------ and Richard M. Sheffler, “ Aging: Issues and Economic

Trends for the 1980s,” Inquiry, Fall 1981, pp. 197-213.

Leigh, Duane E., “ The National Longitudinal Surveys: A Selective Survey of Recent Evidence,” R eview o f Public Data

Use, 1982, pp. 185-201.

Maxwell, Nan L., “ The Determinants of Postretirement Income:

A Segmented Labor Market Approach,” paper presented

at the annual meeting of the Population Association of

America, Pittsburgh, Penn., March 1983.

------ , “ The Retirement Experience: Psychological and Financial

Linkages to the Labor Market,” Social Sciences Quarterly,

forthcoming.

Mott, Frank L. and R. Jean Haurin, “ The Impact of Health

Problems and Mortality on Family W ell-Being,” in Herbert

S. Pames, ed., Work and Retirement (Cambridge, Mass.,

mit Press, 1981), pp. 198-253.

Palmore, Erdman B., Linda K. George, and Gerda G. Fillenbaum, “ Predictors of Retirement,” Journal o f G erontology, 1982, pp. 733-42.

Pames, Herbert S., “ Inflation and Early Retirement,” Monthly

Labor Review , July 1981, pp. 27-30.

------ , Mary G. Gagen, and Randall H. King, “ Job Loss Among

Long-Servi6e Workers,” in Herbert S. Pames, ed., Work

and Retirement (Cambridge, Mass., mit Press, 1981), pp. 6 5 -

92.

------ and Lawrence Less, From Work to Retirement: The Experience o f a N ational Sample o f Men (Columbus, The Ohio

State University, Center for Human Resource Research,

1983).

------ , Lawrence Less, and Gilbert Nestel, Work and Retirement

D ata: N ational Longitudinal Surveys o f M iddle-Aged and

O lder Men, 196 6 -1 9 7 6 (Columbus, The Ohio State University, Center for Human Resource Research, 1980).

------ and Gilbert Nestel, “ The Retirement Experience,” in Herbert S. Pames, ed., Work and Retirement (Cambridge, Mass.,

mit Press, 1981), pp. 155-97.

Parsons, Donald O., “ Black-White Differences in Labor Force

Participation of Older Males,” in Herbert S. Pames, ed.,

Work and Retirem ent (Cambridge, Mass., mit Press, 1981),

pp. 132-54.

Reimers, Cordelia W ., “ The Timing of Retirement of American

Men” (Ph.D. dissertation, Columbia University, 1977).

Shaw, Lois B ., Retirement Plans o f Middle-Aged Married Women

(Columbus, The Ohio State University, Center for Human

Resource Research, 1983). Revised version forthcoming in

The G erontologist.

that most retirees are not interested in working. In 1980, 

93 percent of the retirees who were not working responded 

negatively to a hypothetical job offer; and in 1981, when a 

question about part-time work was included, this negative 

response rate was reduced by only 5 percentage points.20

Family income

In 1975, voluntary retirees and their families were making 

do with a family income one-third less (adjusted for inflation) than in the year prior to retirement. The major sources 

of family income in 1975 were social security (received by 

90 percent of those who retired at the normal age, but only 

52 percent of those forced out early because of poor health); 

and disability benefits (received by only 44 percent of those 

who retired for health reasons). About 21 percent had income from earnings of their wives, in amounts often as high 

as the retiree’s own earnings; 12 percent of white retirees 

and 17 percent of blacks had earnings of their own. Other
family members’ earnings contributed to the income of about 

10 percent of all retirees, and 8 percent had income from 

self employment.21

In 1980, the wife’s earnings continued to be a source of 

family income for about one-fourth of the white married 

retirees and 18 percent of the blacks. Almost all retirees (90 

percent) received social security benefits, and nearly threefifths had other pensions, mostly from private employers; 

17 percent had earnings of their own (10 percent from selfemployment); 12 percent had income from other family 

members; and 7 percent received public assistance, a source 

of income for 1 of 4 black retirees, but only 1 of 16 whites. 

Other income, primarily from property, was received by 

two-thirds of the whites, but only one-sixth of the blacks. 

Married male retirees were more likely to have property 

income. Average family income in 1980 for male retirees 

ages 57 to 71 was $15,300; however, the range was wide— 

from $16,900 for married whites to $6,900 for unmarried 

blacks.22

As for amounts from each source, Pames and Less estimated that in 1980, social security and other pensions 

accounted for less than three-fifths of total family income 

for whites, and two-thirds for blacks, whose social security 

benefits reflect weighting in favor of lower wage workers. 

Married men, on average, showed 10 percent of family 

income from wives’ earnings, 8 percent from current earnings, and 2 percent from wives’ pensions. Among unmarried 

men, income from other family members accounted for 

about 11 percent of the average income of whites and 25 

percent of that of blacks.23

Pames and Less found that median family income (adjusted for inflation) of married retirees in 1980 was about 

half the income they received in the year before retirement. 

They also saw a downward trend in real family income since 

1976 that they attributed to reduced labor market activity 

of family members. Nonetheless, in 1980, 59 percent of 

married retirees and 48 percent of the unmarried said their 

income was adequate or better than adequate, and an additional one-third said they had “just enough to get by.’’ 

Only 9 percent of married retirees and 15 percent of the 

unmarried said they “ cannot make ends meet.’’ However, 

Pames and Less observed “ very profound” differences by 

race in the responses, particularly among married retirees; 

25 percent of the blacks but only 8 percent of whites said 

they could not make ends meet, while 21 percent of whites 

but only 3 percent of blacks said they saved regularly.24

Psychological well-being

The 1980 survey asked questions about retirees’ use of 

leisure time, their retirement decisions, and their general 

satisfaction with life. Most retirees said life in retirement 

was about what they expected, and about 1 of 4 said it was 

better, but the strong effect of reason for retirement on wellbeing is illustrated by the fact that among those who had

retired for health reasons, more than 30 percent found retirement worse than they expected. Health, occupational 

level, and family income positively influenced the extent of 

purposeful leisure time activities, which, in turn, increased 

life satisfaction. Participating in the paid labor market and 

being married to a healthy spouse also significantly increased life satisfaction for retirees.25

Women’s retirement plans

Thus far, the whole family’s well-being in retirement can 

only be suggested by nils research because of the focus on 

the male breadwinner. However, some data about retirement 

planning have recently become available from the women’s 

cohort. In 1979, women then ages 42 to 56 who were in 

the labor force or who said they intended to seek jobs were 

asked their plans for retirement and those of their husbands. 

Lois B. Shaw analyzed the responses of more than 800 

married women who had retirement plans.26 Women who 

had a planned retirement age were slightly better educated 

and were more likely to be employed, to be covered by a 

pension plan, to expect social security from their own employment, and to have a husband who had retirement plans 

as well. Of these women, 36 percent planned to retire before 

age 62; 22 percent at ages 62 to 64; 19 percent at age 65; 

3 percent after age 65; and 20 percent planned never to 

retire. Most did not plan to retire when their husbands did, 

except for those with husbands of the same age as themselves. As with the men, women’s retirement plans appeared 

to have been influenced first by pension eligibility and second by the desire to share the leisure of retirement with a 

spouse. Women with husbands in poor health were less 

likely to plan to retire before age 65, but a woman’s own 

health did not strongly affect her plans.27

Other family members

Some recent work by Scott and Rubye Beck suggests 

additional questions about family life that the n l s can be 

used to answer. They compared cross-sectional and longitudinal data and found that estimates of the number of families who had formed extended households are doubled when 

longitudinal data are used. Between 1966 and 1976, 20 

percent of white and 50 percent of black middle-aged couples had taken parents or grandchildren to live in their homes.28 

Scott Beck found in another study that paternal grandfather’s 

and grandmother’s occupations have positive effects on the 

occupations of men, even when the influence of father’s 

occupation is taken into account.29

Future researchers will have the benefit of greatly expanded n l s data. The five n l s cohorts include significant 

numbers of father-son, mother-daughter, husband-wife, 

brother-sister, and other sibling pairs. Their experiences 

promise to be of great value in illuminating many questions 

about family life. □

28
FOOTNOTES

'In 1966. the older men's cohort included 5,034 respondents; in the

most recent survey in 1981.2.832 were interviewed. Of these, 2,286 were

married, spouse present; 13 were married, spouse absent; 246 were widowed; 114 were^ivorced. 66 were separated; and 107 were never married.

As for numbers of dependents excluding the wife, 2.316 had none and

505 had one or more. The mature women’s cohort began in 1976 with

5,083 respondents, and in 1981, 3,677 were interviewed. In 1981, 2,577

of the women's cohort were married, spouse present; 7 were married,

spouse absent; 387 were widowed; 362 were divorced, 178 were separated;

and 166 were previously married. As to the number of dependents excluding the husband: 1,817 had none and 1,846 had one or more. Note

that the women’s cohort is generally 15 years younger than the men’s.

Attrition has not significantly changed the representativeness of the samples. For a detailed description of the nls, see The National Longitudinal

Surveys Handbook (Columbus, The Ohio State University, Center for

Human Resource Research, 1982).

2Herbert S. Pames and Gilbert Nestel, “ The Retirement Experience.”

in Herbert S. Pames, ed., Work and Retirement: A Longitudinal Study of

Men (Cambridge, Mass., The mit Press, 1981), pp. 155-97.

’ Herbert S. Pames and Lawrence Less, From Work to Retirement: The

Experience of a National Sample of Men (Columbus, The Ohio State

University, Center for Human Resource Research, 1983).

4Pames and Nestel, “ The Retirement Experience,” p. 166.

’ Thomas N. Chirikos and Gilbert Nestel, “ Impairment and Labor Market Outcomes: A Cross-Sectional and Longitudinal Analysis,” in Herbert

S. Pames, ed., Work and Retirement: A Longitudinal Study of Men (Cambridge Mass., The mit Press, 1981), pp. 93-131.

6 Eric Kingson, “ The Health of Very Early Retirees,” Aging and Work,

Winter 1981, pp. 11-22. See also Eric Kingson, “ Disadvantaged Very

Early Labor Force Withdrawal,” Policy Issues for the Elderly Poor (Community Services Administration, csa pamphlet 6172-8), pp. 23-30; and

“ Critique of Early-Retirement Study Disputed,” Aging and Work, Spring

1982, pp. 93-100.

7Eric Kingson, “ Involuntary Early Retirement,” The Journal of the

Institute for Socioeconomic Studies, Autumn 1981, pp. 27-39.

"Frank L. Mott and R. Jean Haurin, “ The Impact of Health Problems

and Mortality on Family W ell-Being,” in Herbert S. Pames, ed., Work

and Retirement: A Longitudinal Study of Men (Cambridge, Mass., The

mit Press, 1981), pp. 198-253.

Vbid., p. 228.

“’Sally Bould, “ Unemployment as a Factor in Early Retirement Decisions,” American Journal of Economics and Sociologv, April 1980,

pp. 123-26.

11 Herbert S. Pames, Mary G. Gagen, and Randall H. King, “ Job Loss

Among Long Service Workers,” in Herbert S. Pames, ed.. Work and

Retirement: A Longitudinal Study of Men (Cambridge, Mass., The mit

Press, 1981), pp. 65-92.

12 Eric Kingson, “ Retirement Circumstances of Very Early Retirees: A

Life Cycle Perspective,” Aging and Work, Summer 1981, pp. 161-74.

’’ Nan L. Maxwell, “ The Supply and Demand Determinants of Postretirement Income: A Segmented Labor Market Approach,” paper presented

at the annual meetings of the Population Association of America, Pittsburgh, Penn., March 1983; and “ The Retirement Experience: Psychological and Financial Linkages to the Labor Market,” Social Science Quarterly.

forthcoming.

l4Pames and Nestel, “ The Retirement Experience,” p. 164; Pames and

Less, From Work to Retirement, p. 32.

15 This effect in regard to disabled workers is demonstrated in Donald

O. Parsons, “ Black-White Differences in Labor Market Participation of

Older M ales,” in Herbert S. Pames, ed.. Work and Retirement: A Longitudinal Studsof Men (Cambridge, Mass., The mit Press, 1981), pp. 132—

54.

16 Pames and Less, From Work to Retirement, p. 9.

17Ibid., p. 25. See also Linda K. George, Erdman B. Palmore, and

Gerda Fillenbaum, “ Predictors of Retirement," Journal o f Gerontology,

Vol. 37, No. 6, 1982, pp. 733-42.

'"Pames and Less, From Work to Retirement, pp. 37-45.

19 Pames and Nestel, “ The Retirement Experience." pp. 167-72.

20Pames and Less, From Work to Retirement, p. 52.

21 Pames and Nestel. “ The Retirement Experience," pp. 179-82.

22 Pames and Less, From Work to Retirement, pp. 56 ff.

23/tod.. p. 73.

24Ibid., pp. 72-75.

25/tod., pp. 100-10.

26Lois B. Shaw, Retirement Plans of Middle-Aged Married Women

(Columbus. The Ohio State University, Center for Human Resource Research, 1983). Revised version forthcoming in The Gerontologist.

2/Because Shaw includes only employed women in the sample, those

with severe health impairments do not appear.

2" Scott and Rubye Beck, "Taking Elderly Parents In: Incidence in

Middle and Later Life,” paper presented at the 35th Annual Meeting of

the Gerontological Society of America, Boston. Mass., November 1982.

29Scott H. Beck, “ The Role of Other Family Members in Intergenerational Occupational Mobility, ’ Sociological Quarterly. Spring 1983. pp.

273-85.

29
Appendix A. Explanatory Note

Statistics on the labor force, employment, unemployment, and persons not in the labor force, classified by a

variety of demographic, social, and economic characteristics are derived from the Current Population

Survey (CPS), which is conducted by the Bureau of the

Census for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The information is collected by trained interviewers from a sample

of about 60,000 households, representing 629 areas in

1,148 counties and independent cities, with coverage in

50 States and the District of Columbia.

The estimates in this bulletin are based on supplementary questions in the March 1983 c p s . These estimates

relate to persons 16 years and over in the civilian

noninstitutional population in the calendar week ended

March 12, 1983. Male members of the Armed Forces

living off post or with their families on post (881,000 in

March 1983) were also included, but all other members

o f the Armed Forces were excluded.

The concepts, definitions, and estimating methods used in the survey, as well as indicators of the reliability of

the data, are briefly described below. A more detailed

description of the survey appears in Concepts and

Methods Used in Labor Force Statistics Derived From

the Current Population Survey, b l s Report 463, and in

the Explanatory Notes of the b l s monthly publication,

Employment and Earnings.

Concepts and Definitions

Single, never married; married, spouse present; and

other marital status are terms used to define the marital

status of individuals at the time of interview. Married,

spouse present, applies to husband and wife if both were

reported as members of the same household even

though one may be temporarily absent on business,

vacation, on a visit, in a hospital, etc. Other marital

status applies to persons who are married, spouse absent; widowed; or divorced. Married, spouse absent, includes persons who are separated because of marital

discord, as well as persons who are living apart because

either the husband or the wife was employed and living

away from home, serving in the Armed Forces, or had a

different place of residence for any reason.

A family is a group of two or more persons {elated by

birth, marriage, or adoption to the householder (the

person in whose name the home is owned or rented) and

residing together. All such persons are considered as

members of one family including members of a related

subfamily, that is, a married-couple or parent-child

group related by birth, marriage, or adoption to the

householder and sharing the living quarters. The count

of families in this publication also includes unrelated

subfamilies such as lodgers, guests, or resident

employees living in a household but not related to the

householder. Families are classified either as marriedcouple families or as families maintained by women or

men without spouses (i.e., where the householder is

single, widowed, divorced, or married, spouse absent).

Also included in the count of families are those in which

the male householder is in the Armed Forces and living

in the United States.

Children refer to “ own” children of the husband,

wife, or person maintaining the family and include sons

and daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children, such as grandchildren,

nieces, nephews, and cousins, and unrelated children.

The civilian labor force comprises all civilians

classified as employed or unemployed in accordance

with the criteria described below.

Employed persons are (a) all civilians who, during the

survey week, did any work at all as paid employees, in

their own business, profession, or on their own farm, or

who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers in an

enterprise operated by a member of the family; and (b)

all those who were not working but who had jobs or

businesses from which they were temporarily absent

because of illness, bad weather, vacation, labormanagement disputes, or personal reasons, whether

they were paid for the time off or were seeking other

jobs. Each employed person is counted only once.

Those who held more than one job are counted in the

job at which they worked the greatest number of hours

during the survey week.

Unemployed persons are all civilians who had no

employment during the survey week, were available for

work, except for temporary illness, and (a) had made

specific efforts to find employment sometime during the

prior 4 weeks, or (b) were waiting to be recalled to a job

from which they had been laid off, or (c) were waiting to

report to a new job within 30 days.

The unemployment rate for all civilian workers

represents the number unemployed as a percent of the

civilian labor force. This measure can also be computed

for groups within the labor force classified by sex, age,

race, Hispanic origin, marital status, etc.

30
Not in the labor force includes all persons who are

not classified as employed or unemployed. These persons are further classified as engaged in own home

housework, in school, unable to work because of longterm physical or mental illness, retired, and other. The

“ other” group includes individuals reported as too old

or temporarily unable to work, the voluntarily idle,

seasonal workers for whom the survey week fell in an

off season and who were not reported as looking for

work, and persons who did not look for work because

they believed that no jobs were available in the area or

that no jobs were available for which they could

qualify—discouraged workers. Persons doing only incidental, unpaid family work (less than 15 hours in the

specified week) are also classified as not in labor force.

Occupation, industry, and class o f worker for the

employed apply to the job held in the survey week. Persons with two or more jobs are classified in the job at

which they worked the greatest number of hours during

the survey week. The unemployed are classified according to their last full-time job lasting 2 weeks or more.

The classifications of occupations and industries used in

data derived from the c p s through 1982 are defined as

in the 1970 census. Beginning with 1983 data, they are

defined as in the 1980 census. Information on the detailed categories included in these groups is available upon

request.

Full-time workers are persons who usually work 35

hours or more during the survey week. Part-time

workers are those who voluntarily work 1 to 34 hours

during the survey week and those who usually work full

time but worked 1 to 34 hours because of economic

reasons. Persons with a job but not at work during the

survey week are classified according to whether they

usually work full or part time.

Age is based on the age of the respondent at his or her

last birthday.

Earnings are all money income of $1 or more from

wages and salaries and net money income of $1 or more

from farm and nonfarm self-employment.

Income represents the total amount of money received in the preceding calendar year from (1) money wages

and salaries; (2) net income from self-employment; (3)

social security; (4) dividends, interest (on savings and

bonds), net rental income, and income from estates and

trusts; (5) public assistance; (6) unemployment and

workers’ compensation, government employees pensions, and veterans’ payments; and (7) private pensions,

annuities, alimony, regular contributions from persons

not living in the same household, net royalties, and

other periodic income. The amount received represents

income before deductions of personal taxes, social

security, savings bonds, union dues, health insurance,

and the like. The total income of a family is the sum of

the amounts received by all persons in the family.

Median income indicates the value which divides the

income distribution into two equal parts, one part having values above the median and the other having values

below the median. The medians shown in this report are

calculated from the corresponding distributions by

linear interpolation within the interval in which the median falls. Therefore, because of this interpolation, the

median value depends not only on the distribution of income but also on the income intervals used in

calculating the median.

White, black, and other are terms used to describe the

race of workers. Included in the “ other” group are

American Indians, Alaskan Natives, Asians, Pacific

Islanders, and any other race except white and black.

All tables in this bulletin which contain racial data present data for the black population group. Because of

their relatively small sample size, data for “ other” races

are not published. In the enumeration process, race is

determined by the household respondent.

Hispanic origin refers to persons who identified

themselves in the enumeration process as Mexican,

Puerto Rican living on the mainland, Cuban, Central or

South American, or of other Hispanic origin or descent.

Persons of Hispanic origin may be of any race; thus,

they are included in both the white and black population

groups.

Estimating Methods

The estimating procedure used in this survey inflates

weighted sample results to independent estimates of the

civilian noninstitutional population by age, sex, race,

and residence. These independent estimates are based

on data from the 1980 census and other statistics on

births, deaths, immigration, emigration, and the

Armed Forces.

Rounding of the estimates

The sums of individual items may not always equal

the totals shown in the same tables because of independent rounding of the totals and components to the

nearest thousand. Similarly, sums of percent distributions may not always equal 100 percent because of

rounding. Differences, however, are insignificant.

Reliability of the estimates

Since the estimates are based on a sample, they may

differ somewhat from the figures that would have been

obtained if a complete census had been taken using the

same schedules and procedures. As in any survey, the

results are also subject to errors of response and reporting. These may be relatively large in the case of persons

with irregular attachment to the labor force. Particular

care should be exercised in the interpretation of figures

31
based on relatively small estimates as well as small differences between estimates.

The standard error is primarily a measure of sampling

variability, that is, of the variations that might occur by

chance because a sample rather than the entire population is surveyed. The standard error also partially

me^ures the effect of response and enumeration errors

but does not measure any systematic biases in the data.

The chances are about 68 out of 100 that an estimate

differs from a complete census by less than the standard

error. The chances are about 95 out of 100 that the difference would be less than twice the standard error.

Tables A-l and A-2 provide approximations of the

standard errors of estimated numbers and percentages

at the 68-percent confidence level. Standard errors for

intermediate values may be found by interpolation.

Estimated standard errors for specific characteristics

cannot be obtained from tables A-l and A-2 without the

use of factors in table A-3. These factors must be applied to the standard errors in order to adjust for the

combined effect of sample design and estimating procedure on the value of the characteristic. The determination of the proper factor for a percentage depends upon

the subject matter of the numerator of the percentage,

not the denominator. The following examples illustrate

the use of the standard error tables.

Table B-l of the supplementary tables show that an

estimated 26,227,000 married women, husband present,

were in the civilian labor force in March 1983. Two

steps, using both tables A -l and A-3, are required to

derive an estimate of the standard error for this figure.

First, from table A -l, an approximation of the error

(281,000) is found by interpolation. Next, this estimate

is multiplied by the factor 1.0 from table A-3. Thus, the

chances are about 68 out of 100 that the difference between the sample estimate and a complete census count

would be less than 281,000. The chances are about 95

out of 100 that the difference would be less than

562,000.

Married women represented 51.8 percent of all married women in the population. The standard error for

this percent is found by multiplying the standard error

(0.4) from table A-2 by the appropriate factor from

Table A-1. Standard errors for estimated numbers

(In thousands)

Size of estimate

Standard

error

Size of

estimate

Standard

error

2 5 ...................................................... 9 5,000 131

5 0 ...................................................... 13 10,000 182

1 0 0 ...................................................... 19 15,000 221

250 ...................................................... 30 25,000 277

500 ...................................................... 42 50,000 364

1,000 ...................................................... 59 100,000 424

2,500 ...................................................... 93

NOTE: For a particular characteristic, see table A-3 for the appropriate factor to apply to the above standard errors.

Table A-2. Standard errors for estimated percentages

Estimated percentage

Base of percentage

(in thousands)

1

or

99

2

or

98

5

or

95

10

or

90

25

or

75

50

7 5 .................................... 2.1 3.0 4.7 6.5 9.4 10.8

100..................................... 1.9 2.6 4.1 5.6 8.1 9.4

2 5 0 ..................................... 1.2 1.7 2.6 3.5 5.1 5.9

5 0 0 .................................... .8 1.2 1.8 2.5 3.6 4.2

1,000.................................... .6 .8 1.3 1.8 2.6 3.0

2,500.................................... .4 .5 .8 1.1 1.6 1.9

5,000..................................... .3 .4 .6 .8 1.1 1.3

10,000 .................................. .2 .3 .4 .6 .8 .9

15,000.................................... .15 .2 .3 .5 .7 .8

25,000..................................... .12 .2 .3 .4 .5 .6

50,000..................................... .08 .12 .2 .3 .4 .4

100,000.................................... .06 .08 .13 .2 .3 .3

Note: For a particular characteristic, see table A-3 for the appropriate factor to apply to the above standard errors.

table A-3 (1.0): 0.4 x 1.0 = 0.4. Thus, the chances are

68 out of 100 that a complete census count would have

resulted in a figure between 52.2 and 51.4 percent, and

95 out of 100 that the figure would have been between

52.6 and 51.0.

Two parameters presented in table A-4 (denoted “ a”

and “ b”) are used to calculate standard errors for each

type of characteristic. These parameters were used to

calculate the standard errors in tables A -l and A-2, and

to calculate the factors in table A-3. They also may be

used to directly calculate the standard errors for

estimated numbers and percentages. Methods for direct

computation are given in the following sections.

Standard errors o f estimated numbers. The approximate standard error of an estimated number can be obtained in two ways. It may be obtained by use of the forwhere f is the appropriate factor from table A-3, and o

is the standard error on the estimate obtained by interpolation from table A -l. Alternatively, standard errors

may be approximated by using formula (2), from which

the standard errors were calculated in table A -l. Use of

this formula will provide more accurate results than the

use of formula (1) above.

(2) ox = Vax 2 + bx

Here x is the size of the estimate and a and b are the

parameters in table A-4 associated with the particular

type of characteristic. When calculating standard errors

for numbers from cross-tabulations involving different

characteristics, use the factor or set of parameters for

the characteristic which will give the largest standard error.

Illustration. Table B-6 of this report shows that in

1983 there were 61,834,000 families. Using formula (2)

with a = - 0.000010 and b = 1,389 from table A-4, the

approximate standard error is:

32
V(-0.000010) (61,834,000 )*+ (1,389) (61*,834-,000)

= 218,000

The 68-percent confidence interval for the number of

families is from 61,616,000 to 62,052,000. The

95-percent confidence interval is from 61,398,000 to

62,270,000 (using twice the standard error). Therefore,

a conclusion that the average estimate derived from all

possible samples lies within a range computed in this

way would be correct for roughly 95 percent of all possible samples.

Standard errors o f estimated percentages. The reliability

of an estimated percentage, computed using sample

data for both numerator and denominator, depends

upon both the size of the percentage and the size of the

total upon which the percentage is based. Estimated

percentages are relatively more reliable than the corresponding estimates of the numerators of the percentages, particularly if the percentages are 50 percent or

more. When the numerator and denominator of the

percentage are in different categories, use the factor or

parameters from table A-3 or A-4 indicated by the

numerator. The approximate standard error, <r(x,p), of

an estimated percentage can be obtained by use of the

formula:

(3) <r(x, p) = faTable A-3. Factors to be applied to generalized standard errors in tables A-1 and A-2

CPS data collected from January 1967 to the present

Persons

Characteristic Some household members and

secondary individuals All household members

Families and unrelated

individuals, households,

or householders

Total or

white Black

Hispanic

origin

Total or

white Black

Hispanic

origin

Total or

white Black

Hispanic

origin

Total or nonfarm:

Total, regional, or metropolitan.................................... 1.00 1.20 1.13 1.10 1.45 1.60 0.63 0.60 0.64

Nonmetropolitan............................................................ 1.22 1.47 1.38 1.35 1.78 1.95 .77 .73 .78

Education, tenure.......................................................... 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 .63 .60 .64

Employment status and occupation............................ 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0 1.0

Farm .................................................................................... 1.38 1.66 1.56 1.52 2.01 2.21 .85 .81 .86

Table A-4. “a” and “b” parameters for estimated numbers and percentages of persons, families, unrelated individuals,

households, or householders

Characteristic

Persons

Families and unrelated

individuals, households,

or householders

a b a b

Total, regional, or metropolitan:

Total or w hite................... .’................................................................................... (’) (’) -0.000010 1,389

Some household members ............................................................................. -0.000017 3,500 (1) (’)

All household members................................................................................... - 0.000020 4,253 0 (’)

Black and o th e r..................................................................................................... (') (’) - 0.000087 1,255

Some household members ............................................................................. -0.000210 5,020 (’) (')

All household members................................................................................... -0.00308 7,402 0 (')

Hispanic origin (’) (’) - 0.000020 1,422

Some household members ............................................................................. - 0.000026 4,432 0 (')

All household members.................................................................................... - 0.000044 8,917 (’) (')

Education, tenure:

Total or w hite......................................................................................................... 0) 0) -0.000010 1,389

Black and oth e r..................................................................................................... (') 0) - 0.000087 1,255

Hispanic origin....................................................................................................... (’) (’) - 0.000020 1,422

Employment status and occupation:

Total or white........................................................................................................ 0) 0) - 0.000025 1,798

Black and other ....................................................................... ........................ (') 0) -0.000221 1,798

Hispanic origin....................................................................................................... (1) (’) C)

3 - 0.000481

21,863

31,096

1 Not applicable. percentages only.

2 Use this parameter to calculate standard errors for estimated 3 Use these parameters to calculate errors for estimated levels only.

33
In this formula, f is the appropriate factor from table

A-3, and a is the standard error on the estimate from

table A-2. Alternatively, standard errors may be approximated by using formula (4), from which standard

errors in table A-2 were calculated; direct computation

will give more accurate results than use of formula (3).

(4) CT(X, P) = V 4 * P 0 ° ° ’ P)

Here, x is the the size of the subclass of persons,

families, and unrelated individuals, households, or

householders which is the base of the percentage; p is

the percentage (O xp x 100); and b is the parameter in

table A-4 associated with the particular type of

characteristics in the numerator of the percentage.

Illustration. Table B-6 shows that of the 61,834,000

families in 1983, 53.0 percent had two or more earners.

From table A-4, the appropriate b-parameter is 1,389.

Using formula (4), the approximate standard error on

53.0 percent is

v ^ g i _ ( 5 3 . 0 ) ( 4 7 . 0 M 0.2 percent

Thus, the 68-percent confidence interval on the

estimated percentage is from 52.8 to 53.2 and the

95-percent confidence interval is from 52.6 to 53.4.

Standard error o f a difference. For a difference between

two sample estimates, the standard error is approximately equal to: _

o' (x-y) = V ffi + Ojp

where and °y are the standard errors of the estimates

x and y; the estimates can be of numbers, percents,

ratios, etc.

This will represent the actual standard error quite accurately for the difference between two estimates of the

same characteristic in two different areas, or for the difference betw een separate and u ncorrelated

characteristics in the same area. If, however, there is a

high positive (negative) correlation between the two

characteristics, the form ula will overestim ate

(underestimate) the true standard error.

As a general rule, summary measures such as medians, means, and percent distributions are not published when the monthly base of the measure is less than

75,000. Because of the large standard errors involved,

there is little chance that summary measures would

reveal useful information when computed on a smaller

base. Estimated numbers are shown, however, even

though the relative standard errors o f these numbers are

larger than those for corresponding percentages. These

smaller estimates are provided primarily to permit such

combinations of the categories as serve each user’s

needs.

34
Appendix B. Supplementary Tables

Table B-1. Employment status of the population by marital status, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1983

(Numbers in thousands)

Civilian labor force

Marital status, sex, race,

and Hispanic origin

Civilian

nonin- Employed Unemployed Not in Armed

Forces’ stitutional

populationTotal Participation rate Total Full

time

Part

time Number

Percent

of

labor

force

labor

force

TO TA L

Total...................................................................... 174,537 109,814 63.2 97,804 78,847 18,957 12,011 10.9 63,841 881

Men2 ............................................................................. 83,142 62,035 75.4 54,638 48,251 6,387 7,397 11.9 20,225 881

Never married.......................................................... 23,672 16,468 69.9 13,203 9,415 3,788 3,265 19.8 7,094- 110

Married, wife present.............................................. 50,665 39,589 79.2 36,371 34,257 2,114 3,218 8.1 10,390 687

Other marital status................................................ 8,804 5,978 68.6 5,064 4,578 485 914 15.3 2,742 85

Married, wife absent............................................ 2,243 1,718 78.6 1,405 1,279 126 314 18.3 469 56

Widowed................................................................ 1,938 514 26.6 467 394 73 47 9.2 1,423 1

Divorced................................................................. 4,624 3,745 81.5 3,192 2,906 286 553 14.8 851 28

W om en........................................................................ 91,395 47,779 52.3 43,165 30,596 12,569 4,614 9.7 43,616 -

Never married.......................................................... 19,617 12,282 62.6 10,620 6,875 3,745 1,661 13.5 7,336 _

Married, husband present..................................... 50,659 26,227 51.8 24,335 17,116 7,219 1,893 7.2 24,432 -

Other marital status................................................ 21,119 9,270 43.9 8,210 6,605 1,605 1,060 11.4 11,848 -

Married, husband absent..................................... 3,258 1,913 58.7 1,549 1,238 311 365 19.1 1,344 _

Married, husband in Armed Forces................ 69 38 f ) 34 28 6 4 0 31 -

Widowed............................................................... 10,895 2,161 19.8 1,995 1,322 673 166 7.7 8,734 -

Divorced................................................................. 6,966 5,196 74.6 4,667 4,046 621 529 10.2 1,770 -

W h ite

Total...................................................................... 151,164 95,657 63.6 86,382 69,404 16,979 9,274 9.7 54,770 738

Men2......................................................................... 72,546 54,813 76.3 48,933 43,302 5,632 5,880 10.7 16,995 738

Never married.......................................................... 19,524 13,927 71.7 11,521 8,193 3,327 2,407 17.3 5,503 94

Married, wife present............................................. 45,858 35,944 79.4 33,152 31,240 1,912 2,792 7.8 9,334 581

Other marital status............................................... 7,164 4,942 69.6 4,261 3,868 393 682 13.8 2,158 63

Married, wife absent............................................ 1,591 1,266 81.8 1,081 990 91 185 14.6 282 43

Widowed................................................................ 1,601 427 26.7 391 331 60 36 8.4 1,173 1

Divorced................................................................. 3,972 3,249 82.2 2,789 2,547 241 460 14.2 703 20

W om en........................................................................ 78,618 40,843 52.0 37,449 26,102 11,347 3,394 8.3 37,775 -

Never married.......................................................... 15,471 10,099 65.3 9,000 5,742 3,258 1,099 10.9 5,372 _

Married, husband present..................................... 45,822 23,355 51.0 21,766 15,030 6,735 1,589 6.8 22,467 -

Other marital status................................................ 17,326 7,390 42.7 6,684 5,330 1,354 706 9.6 9,936 _

Married, husband absent.................................... 2,114 1,237 58.5 1,036 809 227 201 16.3 877 -

Married, husband in Armed Forces................ 42 22 O 21 18 4 1 f) 20 _

Widowed................................................................ 9,435 1,809 19.2 1,687 1,099 588 123 6.8 7,625 -

Divorced................................................................. 5,777 4,343 75.2 3,961 3,423 539 382 8.8 1,434 -

See footnotes at end of table.

35
(Numbers in thousands)______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Table B-1. Em ploym ent status o f the population by m arital status, sex, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1983— Continued

Civilian labor force

Marital status, sex, race,

and Hispanic origin

Civilian

nonin- Employed Unemployed Not in Armed

Forces' stitutional

population

Total Participation rate Total Full

time

Part

time Number

Percent

of

labor

labor

force

force

B la ck

Total..................................................................... 18,922 11,352 60.3 8,969 7,403 1,565 2,384 21.0 7,470 99

Men2 ............................................................................ 8,497 5,722 68.1 4,408 3,818 590 1,314 23.0 2,676 99

Never married......................................................... 3,450 2,124 61.8 1,357 1,006 351 767 36.1 1,313 13

Married, wife present............................................. 3,577 2,676 76.3 2,348 2,188 160 328 12.3 833 67

Other marital status............................................... 1,470 921 63.5 703 623 80 218 23.7 530 19

Married, wife absent............................................ 572 392 69.9 267 241 26 125 31.9 168 12

Widowed............................................................... 309 81 26.1 70 60 10 11 14.0 229 -

Divorced................................................................ 588 449 77.1 367 322 44 82 18.2 133 7

W om en....................................................................... 10,425 5,631 54.0 4,561 3,586 975 1,070 19.0 4,794 -

Never married......................................................... 3,587 1,864 52.0 1,348 952 396 515 27.7 1,723 _

Married, husband present..................................... 3,489 2,120 60.8 1,881 1,529 352 240 11.3 1,369 -

Other marital status............................................... 3,348 1,647 49.2 1,332 1,105 227 315 19.1 1,702 -

Married, husband absent.................................... 1,030 606 58.9 452 377 75 155 25.5 423 -

Married, husband in Armed Forces................ 19 11 0 9 6 2 3 0 8 -

Widowed............................................................... 1,283 305 23.8 265 189 76 40 13.0 978 _

Divorced................................................................ 1,036 736 71.0 615 539 76 121 16.5 300 -

H is p a n ic o rig in

Total..................................................................... 9,426 5,893 62.8 4,933 4,126 807 960 16.3 3,491 42

Men2 ............................................................................ 4,448 3,521 79.9 2,947 2,598 349 573 16.3 885 42

Never married......................................................... 1,450 994 68.7 768 558 210 226 22.7 453 3

Married, wife present............................................. 2,565 2,198 86.9 1,908 1,789 119 290 13.2 330 37

Other marital status............................................... 433 329 76.3 272 252 19 57 17.4 102 2

Married, wife absent............................................ 183 145 80.2 125 118 7 20 14.1 36 2

Widowed............................................................... 51 15 0 14 12 2 1 0 36 -

Divorced................................................................ 199 169 85.1 133 122 11 36 21.3 30 -

W om en....................................................................... 4,978 2,372 47.7 1,986 1,528 458 386 16.3 2,606 -

Never married......................................................... 1,213 639 52.7 528 376 152 110 17.3 574 _

Married, husband present..................................... 2,657 1,247 46.9 1,041 819 221 206 16.5 1,411 -

Other marital status............................................... 1,108 487 43.9 416 332 85 70 14.4 621 -

Married, husband absent.................................... 381 144 37.7 115 89 26 29 20.1 237 _

Married, husband in Armed Forces................ 4 2 0 1 - 1 1 0 2 -

Widowed............................................................... 332 82 24.6 74 59 15 8 9.5 250 -

Divorced................................................................ 395 261 66.2 228 184 43 33 12.8 133 -

1 Includes only male members of the Armed Forces living off-post or

with their tamfips on post.

2 Male members of the Armed Forces living off post or with their

families on post are included in the population figures.

3 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.

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.

36
(Percent distribution)_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Table B-2. Em ployed civilians by occupation, race, Hispanic origin , sex, and m arital status, M arch 1983

Men

Occupation, race, and Hispanic origin

Total Never

married

Married,

wife

present

Other marital status

Married,

wife

absent

Widowed Divorced

TO TA L

Total ............................................................................................................. 54,638 13,203 36,371 1,405 467 3,192

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty............................................................ 25.5 17.5 28.8 20.9 25.9 23.4

Executive, administrative, and managerial ................................................. 13.2 7.0 15.7 11.3 9.7 12.4

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 12.3 10.5 13.1 9.6 16.2 11.0

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................ 19.7 21.8 19.1 16.3 17.0 19.3

Technicians and related support.................................................................. 2.7 3.3 2.5 2.0 1.5 3.4

Sales occupations........................................................................................... 11.1 10.5 11.5 9.9 8.6 10.5

Administrative support, including clerical.................................................... 5.8 8.0 5.1 4.4 6.8 5.4

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 9.7 17.1 7.0 11.5 11.0 9.9

Private household........................................................................................... .1 .2 (’) .1 .7 .1

Protective service........................................................................................... 2.6 2.0 2.8 3.4 2.1 3.0

Service, except private household and protective..................................... 7.1 14.9 4.2 8.0 8.3 6.8

Precision production, craft, and repair............................................................ 19.7 14.1 21.6 21.2 17.6 21.8

Mechanics and repairers ............................................................................... 7.2. 5.1 8.0 6.0 5.8 7.9

Construction trades ........................................................................................ 6.9 5.5 7.3 9.1 6.3 7.3

Other precision production, craft, and repair............................................. 5.6 3.4 6.3 6.0 5.6 6.6

Operators, fabricators, and laborers............................................................... 20.4 24.5 18.7 24.5 18.0 22.4

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors....................................... 7.8 7.7 7.8 9.0 4.8 8.5

Transportation and material moving occupations..................................... 6.7 5.4 7.0 8.0 5.0 8.5

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.............................. 5.9 11.5 3.9 7.5 8.1 5.4

Farming, forestry, and fishing .......................................................................... 4.9 5.0 4.9 5.7 10.5 3.2

Farm operators and managers..................................................................... 2.2 1.0 2.8 1.3 5.0 .9

Farm workers and related occupations....................................................... 2.3 3.6 1.8 4.2 5.3 1.9

Forestry and fishing........................................................................................ .4 .3 .4 .2 .2 .4

W h ite

Total ............................................................................................................. 48,933 11,521 33,152 1,081 391 2,789

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty........................................................... 26.5 18.3 29.6 22.9 27.4 24.5

Executive, administrative, and managerial ................................................. 13.8 7.3 16.2 12.4 10.5 12.9

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 12.7 11.0 13.4 10.5 16.9 11.6

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................ 20.0 22.0 19.4 17.0 19.7 20.5

Technicians and related support................................................................. 2.7 3.4 2.5 2.1 1.7 3.8

Sales occupations........................................................................................... 11.7 11.0 12.1 11.0 10.2 11.4

Administrative support, including clerical..................................................... 5.6 7.6 4.9 3.9 7.8 5.3

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 8.8 15.8 6.3 10.4 10.4 8.8

Private household........................................................................................... O .2 (’) 0 O (’)

Protective service ........................................................................................... 2.5 1.8 2.7 3.7 2.5 3.0

Service, except private household and protective.................................... 6.2 13.9 3.6 6.7 7.9 5.7

Precision production, craft, and repair............................................................ 20.3 14.6 22.1 22.2 18.0 22.1

Mechanics and repairers ............................................................................... 7.4 5.3 8.1 6.7 5.4 8.1

Construction trades ........................................................................................ 7.2 5.9 7.5 9.6 6.2 7.7

Other precision production, craft, and repair............................................. 5.7 3.4 6.4 5.9 6.4 6.3

Operators, fabricators, and laborers.............................................................. 19.4 24.2 17.6 22.7 13.8 20.9

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors....................................... 7.5 7.6 7.5 8.4 4.1 8.3

Transportation and material moving occupations..................................... 6.5 5.5 6.7 7.8 5.6 7.9

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.............................. 5.4 11.1 3.5 6.5 4.0 4.7

Farming, forestry, and fishing .......................................................................... 4.9 5.1 5.0 4.8 10.7 3.2

Farm operators and managers.................................................................... 2.4 1.1 3.0 1.7 5.8 1.0

Farm workers and related occupations............................. ......................... 2.2 3.6 1.6 2.9 4.9 1.8

Forestry and fishing........................................................................................ .3 .3 .3 .2 (’) .5

See footnotes at end of table.

37
Table b -2 . Employed civilians by occupation, race, Hispanic origin , sex, and marital status, March 1983—Continued

(Percent distribution) _____________________________________________________________

Men

Occupation, race, and Hispanic origin

Total Never

married

Married,

wife

present

Other marital status

Married,

wife

absent

Widowed Divorced

B la ck

Total ............................................................................................................. 4,408 1,357 2,348 267 70 367

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty............................................................ 12.8 10.3 14.2 10.0 O 14.6

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................................................. 6.7 3.7 8.2 5.9 8.4

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 6.1 6.5 6.0 4.2 0 6.2

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................. 15.1 18.7 14.3 13.6 (*) 10.9

Technicians and related support.................................................................. 2.0 2.4 2.1 1.2 O .6

Sales occupations........................................................................................... 4.7 6.1 3.8 6.4 0 4.6

Administrative support, including clerical..................................................... 8.5 10.3 8.4 6.0 ft 5.6

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 18.7 26.2 14.8 16.0 O 18.2

Private household........................................................................................... .3 .2 0 .5 0 1.1

Protective service ........................................................................................... 4.0 4.6 4.1 3.1 0 2.7

Service, except private household and protective..................................... 14.4 21.4 10.7 12.3 0 14.5

Precision production, craft, and repair............................................................ 14.8 10.7 16.1 18.4 (*) 18.8

Mechanics and repairers ............................................................................... 5.4 4.5 6.1 2.7 ft 6.2

Construction trades........................................................................................ 4.8 3.1 5.5 8.4 (*) 3.5

Other precision production, craft, and repair.............................................. 4.6 3.2 4.5 7.3 0 9.1

Operators, fabricators, and laborers............................................................... 33.6 29.5 35.9 31.6 0 34.5

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors........................................ 10.7 8.1 12.3 10.1 O 11.1

Transportation and material moving occupations...................................... 10.6 5.2 13.6 9.6 O 13.2

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers............................... 12.3 16.2 9.9 11.9 O 10.2

Farming, forestry, and fishing.......................................................................... 5.0 4.6 4.8 10.4 O 3.0

Farm operators and managers..................................................................... .3 .2 .5 (’) 0 0

Farm workers and related occupations....................................................... 4.2 4.2 3.6 10.4 (*> 3.0

Forestry and fishing........................................................................................ .4 .2 .6 0 (*> 0

H is p a n ic o rig in

Total ............................................................................................................. 2,947 768 1,908 125 14 133

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty............................................................ 11.9 8.5 12.9 9.6 0 18.0

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................................................. 7.2 4.2 8.3 4.8 0 8.3

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 4.7 4.3 4.6 4.8 O 9.8

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................ 14.4 17.5 13.5 8.8 O 15.0

Technicians and related support.................................................................. 1.9 2.1 1.9 .8 0 0

Sales occupations........................................................................................... 6.5 6.9 6.3 4.8 <*> 9.0

Administrative support, including clerical..................................................... 6.0 8.5 5.2 3.2 0 6.8

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 15.2 21.0 12.2 25.6 O 14.3

Private household........................................................................................... (’) (’) (’) (’) 0 O

Protective service ........................................................................................... 2.5 2.0 2.6 4.0 0 3.8

Service, except private household and protective..................................... 12.6 19.0 9.6 21.6 0 10.5

Precision production, craft, and repair............................................................ 20.0 12.9 23.3 16.0 0 18.8

Mechanics and repairers............................................................................... 6.7 3.5 8.2 5.6 0 6.0

Construction trades........................................................................................ 6.5 4.2 7.7 1.6 0 7.5

Other precision production, craft, and repair.............................................. 6.9 5.1 7.4 8.8 0 5.3

Operators, fabricators, and laborers.............................................................. 31.3 32.1 31.4 28.0 <*> 32.3

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors........................................ 13.4 11.9 14.3 12.0 0 11.3

Transportation and material moving occupations...................................... 7.9 5.7 9.1 5.6 0 6.0

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.............................. 10.0 14.5 8.0 10.4 0 15.0

Farming, forestry, and fishing.......................................................................... 7.2 8.1 6.8 12.0 0 1.5

Farm operators and managers..................................................................... .4 .3 .5 .8 e> O

Farm workers and related occupations....................................................... 6.8 7.8 6.2 11.2 0 1.5

Forestry and fishing........................................................................................ 0 (’) (’) 0 (*> 0

See footnotes at end of table.

38
(Percent distribution)

Table B-2. Em ployed civilians by occupation, race, Hispanic origin , sex, and m arital status, M arch 1983— Continued

Women

Occupation, race, and Hispanic origin

Total Never

married

Married.

husband

present

Other marital status

Married,

husband

absent

Widowed Divorced

TO T A L

Total ............................................................................................................. 43,165 10,620 24,335 1,549 1,995 4,667

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty............................................................ 22.4 19.2 24.4 15.9 16.8 23.4

Executive, administrative, and managerial .................................................. 8.1 6.2 8.7 6.1 8.0 9.8

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 14.3 13.1 15.7 9.8 8.8 13.6

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................. 45.9 47.9 46.2 40.6 40.2 43.6

Technicians and related support.................................................................. 3.4 3.5 3.4 3.5 1.3 3.8

Sales occupations........................................................................................... 12.7 15.5 12.0 9.5 13.5 10.4

Administrative support, including clerical..................................................... 29.9 28.9 30.9 27.6 25.4 29.3

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 18.8 23.5 15.7 27.2 27.0 17.7

Private household........................................................................................... 2.2 3.5 1.3 4.7 5.8 1.8

Protective service .......................................................................................... .4 .5 .3 .8 .3 .8

Service, except private household and protective........................... ......... 16.1 19.5 14.1 21.7 20.9 15.1

Precision production, craft, and repair............................................................ 2.0 1.5 2.0 2.2 2.8 2.4

Mechanics and repairers ........................................................,..................... .3 .3 .3 .1 .1 .3

Construction trades ........................................................................................ .1 .2 .1 .3 .1 .2

Other precision production, craft, and repair............................................. 1.6 1.1 1.6 1.8 2.6 1.9

Operators, fabricators, and laborers ............................................................... 9.8 7.0 10.2 13.7 12.0 12.4

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors....................................... 7.6 4.7 8.0 10.9 9.6 9.9

Transportation and material moving occupations..................................... .8 .5 .9 1.0 .5 .8

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.............................. 1.5 1.8 1.3 1.8 1.8 1.7

Farming, forestry, and fishing .......................................................................... 1.1 .9 1.4 .4 1.2 .5

Farm operators and managers..................................................................... .3 0 .5 0 .9 .1

Farm workers and related occupations...................................................... .8 .8 .9 .4 .3 .3

Forestry and fishing........................................................................................ 0 (’) 0 .1 0 0

W h ite

Total ............................................................................................................. 37,449 9,000 21,766 1,036 1,687 3,961

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty........................................................... 23.2 20.0 25.1 16.8 18.3 24.0

Executive, administrative, and managerial................................................. 8.5 6.6 9.0 6.8 8.7 10.3

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 14.7 13.3 16.0 10.0 9.6 13.7

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................ 47.3 48.4 47.4 46.2 44.6 45.5

Technicians and related support.................................................................. 3.3 3.5 3.2 3.4 1.2 4.0

Sales accwpations........................................................................................... 13.4 16.2 12.5 12.1 15.2 11.1

Administrative support, including clerical.................................................... 30.6 28.6 31.7 30.7 28.2 30.4

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 17.4 23.0 14.6 23.0 22.3 16.0

Private household........................................................................................... 1.9 3.4 1.0 4.1 4.4 1.6

Protective service........................................................................................... .4 .4 .3 1.0 .3 .7

Service, except private household and protective.................................... 15.1 19.3 13.3 17.9 17.7 13.6

Precision production, craft, and repair........................................................... 1.9 1.5 1.9 2.0 2.6 2.4

Mechanics and repairers .............................................................................. .2 .2 .3 .2 (’) .3

Construction trades ....................................................................................... .1 .2 .1 .4 .1 .2

Other precision production, craft, and repair............................................. 1.5 1.1 1.5 1.4 2.5 2.0

Operators, fabricators, and laborers.............................................................. 9.1 6.3 9.6 11.6 10.6 11.5

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors....................................... 6.9 4.0 7.4 9.1 8.7 9.2

Transportation and material moving occupations..................................... .7 .5 .9 .6 .2 .7

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.............................. 1.5 1.8 1.3 1.9 1.7 1.6

Farming, forestry, and fishing.......................... - ............................................ 1.2 .8 1.4 .4 1.5 .5

Farm operators and managers.................................................................... .4 0 .5 (') 1.1 .2

Farm workers and related occupations...................................................... .8 .8 .9 .3 .4 .4

Forestry and fishing....................................................................................... 0 (’) 0 .1 0 (’)

See footnotes at end of table.

39
(Percent distribution)___________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Table B-2. Em ployed civilians by occupation, race, Hispanic origin , sex, and m arital status, March 1983— Continued

Women

Occupation, race, and Hispanic origin

Total Never

married

Married,

husband

present

Other marital status

Married,

husband

absent

Widowed Divorced

B la ck

Total ............................................................................................................. 4,561 1,348 1,881 452 265 615

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty............................................................ 15.7 13.6 17.6 11.1 8.2 20.9

Executive, administrative, and managerial ................................................. 4.7 3.5 4.9 4.6 3.6 7.6

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 10.9 10.1 12.7 6.5 4.6 13.2

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................ 35.5 44.6 34.6 28.7 16.0 31.9

Technicians and related support.................................................................. 3.2 2.8 3.6 3.3 1.9 3.5

Sales occupations........................................................................................... 7.2 10.4 6.4 4.6 4.1 5.7

Administrative support, including clerical.................................................... 25.1 31.4 24.6 20.9 10.1 22.7

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 30.8 28.0 28.0 38.7 58.2 28.2

Private household..................................................................... ..................... 5.2 4.0 4.9 6.7 16.0 3.1

Protective service ........................................................................................... .9 1.7 .4 .4 .8 1.0

Service, except private household and protective.................................... 24.8 22.4 22.7 31.6 41.4 24.1

Precision production, craft, and repair........................................................... 2.1 1.4 2.9 2.6 1.4 .9

Mechanics and repairers ............................................................................... .3 .3 .2 (') .7 .7

Construction trades........................................................................................ .2 .3 .2 (’) 0 O

Other precision production, craft, and repair.............................................. 1.6 .8 2.5 2.8 .7 .2

Operators, fabricators, and laborers............................................................... 15.2 11.1 16.3 18.0 16.3 18.1

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors........................................ 12.6 9.2 13.8 14.4 12.4 14.7

Transportation and material moving occupations ..................................... 1.0 .4 1.1 1.9 2.3 .9

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.............................. 1.6 1.5 1.3 1.7 1.5 2.5

Farming, forestry, and fishing .......................................................................... .7 1.3 .6 .7 (’) O

Farm operators and managers.................................................................... ft (’) .1 0 O ft

Farm workers and related occupations....................................................... .7 1.3 .6 .7 (’) ft

Forestry and fishing........................................................................................ 0 O O 0 0 ft

H is p a n ic o rig in

Total ...................................................... ...................................................... 1,986 528 1,041 115 74 228

Percent......................................................................................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Managerial and professional specialty........................................................... 12.5 11.7 14.0 5.2 (*) 11.8

Executive, administrative, and managerial ................................................. 5.4 4.2 6.1 2.6 ft 6.6

Professional specialty..................................................................................... 7.1 7.6 8.0 2.6 ft 5.3

Technical, sales, and administrative support................................................ 42.0 49.7 39.3 28.7 ft 47.4

Technicians and related support.................................................................. 2.1 1.9 1.9 1.7 ft 3.1

Sales occupations........................................................................................... 10.6 13.4 10.2 7.8 ft 9.6

Administrative support, including clerical.................................................... 29.3 34.4 27.2 19.1 ft 34.6

Service occupations.......................................................................................... 22.8 25.1 20.8 35.7 ft 18.4

Private household........................................................................................... 3.8 4.5 2.4 12.2 ft 2.6

Protective service ........................................................................................... .6 .6 .5 O ft .9

Service, except private household and protective.................................... 18.4 20.0 18.0 23.5 ft 14.9

Precision production, craft, and repair........................................................... 3.3 2.5 3.7 3.5 ft 4.4

Mechanics and repairers............................................................................... .5 .4 .5 1.7 ft .4

Construction trades ........................................................................................ .2 ft .4 0 ft 0

Other precision production, craft, and repair............................................. 2.6 2.1 2.9 1.7 ft 3.9

Operators, fabricators, and laborers.............................................................. 18.2 10.8 20.4 25.2 ft 17.5

Machine operators, assemblers, and inspectors....................................... 15.0 9.1 16.5 20.0 ft 13.6

Transportation and material moving occupations..................................... 1.0 .4 .9 2.6 ft 1.8

Handlers, equipment cleaners, helpers, and laborers.............................. 2.4 1.3 2.9 3.5 ft 2.2

Farming, forestry, and fishing .......................................................................... 1.2 .2 1.7 1.7 ft .9

Farm operators and managers .................................................................... 0 (’) (’) (') ft ft

Farm workers and related occupations...................................................... 1.1 .2 1.7 .9 ft .9

Forestry and fishing........................................................................................ (’) O 0 .9 ft 0

' Less than 0.05 percent. sum to totals because data for the “other races” group are not

* Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black

NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not population groups.

40
Table B-3. M arital statue of the population and labor force by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, March 1983

(Numbers in thousands)

Age, race, and

Hispanic origin

Men' Women

Total Never

married

Married,

wife

present

Other marital status

Total Never

married

Married,

husband

present

Other marital status

Total

Married,

wife

absent

Widowed Divorced Total

Married,

husband

absent

Widowed Divorced

Civilian noninstitutional population

TO TA L

T o tal............... 83,142 23,672 50,665 8,804 2,243 1,938 4,624 91,395 19,617 50,659 21,119 3,258 10,895 6,966

16 to 19 years.... 7,759 7,583 123 53 44 - 9 7,697 7,088 510 99 76 - 23

20 to 24 years.... 10,379 7,594 2,435 351 190 7 154 10,682 5,933 3,949 799 388 19 393

25 to 34 years.... 19,439 5,713 11,670 2,055 630 17 1,408 19,903 3,809 13,052 3,042 987 119 1,936

35 to 44 years.... 14,075 1,213 10,978 1,883 540 45 1,298 14,675 929 10,789 2,957 738 308 1,912

45 to 54 years.... 10,721 638 8,672 1,411 382 148 881 11,484 517 8,535 2,432 493 718 1,221

55 to 64 years.... 10,253 430 8,719 1,105 255 323 527 11,732 512 7,936 3,283 350 2,077 857

65 years and over 10,516 501 8,068 1,947 200 1,399 347 15,222 829 5,887 8,506 226 7,655 625

Median age

(years) ................ 37.8 22.8 45.1 45.4 39.7 70.0 40.7 40.1 22.3 42.2 59.2 37.4 70.0 40.9

W h ite

To tal............... 72,546 19,524 45,858 7,164 1,591 1,601 3,972 78,618 15,471 45,822 17,326 2,114 9,435 5,777

16 to 19 years.... 6,460 6,295 113 53 44 - 9 6,336 5,783 462 91 69 - 23

20 to 24 years.... 8,823 6,275 2,248 300 150 7 143 8,935 4,662 3,616 657 289 12 356

25 to 34 years.... 16,790 4,587 10,463 1,739 488 11 1,240 16,724 2,779 11,640 2,306 640 93 1,573

35 to 44 years.... 12,355 1,013 9,812 1,531 381 34 1,116 12,518 653 9,623 2,242 451 217 1,575

45 to 54 years.... 9,417 515 7,829 1,073 233 109 731 9,949 388 7,736 1,825 305 545 974

55 to 64 years.... 9,219 373 7,999 846 156 262 428 10,403 429 7,289 2,685 207 1,758 720

65 years and over 9,482 466 7,394 1,621 140 1,178 304 13,752 776 5,456 7,519 153 6,810 556

Median age

(years) ................ 38.4 22.8 45.4 44.7 38.0 70.0 40.3 40.8 22.1 42.5 61.3 36.3 70.0 40.9

B la ck

T o tal............... 8,497 3,450 3,577 1,470 572 309 588 10,425 3,587 3,489 3,348 1,030 1,283 1,036

16 to 19 years.... 1,095 1,090 5 - - - - 1,147 1,104 35 7 7 - -

20 to 24 years.... 1,262 1,076 142 45 37 - 7 1,477 1,111 243 123 92 4 26

25 to 34 years.... 2,103 928 900 275 123 3 149 2,518 892 986 639 304 18 317

35 to 44 years.... 1,332 180 839 313 136 8 169 1,644 243 775 626 257 75 294

45 to 54 years.... 1,003 106 598 300 130 37 132 1,257 117 601 539 172 152 214

55 to 64 years.... 856 49 560 247 97 59 92 1,103 76 503 525 130 276 119

65 years and over 845 21 533 291 50 202 39 1,279 43 347 889 66 758 65

Median age

(years) ................ 33.9 22.9 43.8 48.4 44.3 69.7 43.2 35.4 23.1 41.2 50.2 39.3 68.1 40.9

H is p a n ic o rig in

T o tal............... 4,448 1,450 2,565 433 183 51 199 4,978 1,213 2,657 1,108 381 332 395

16 to 19 years.... 598 580 17 1 1 - - 552 477 62 13 13 - -

20 to 24 years.... 660 445 187 29 17 - 11 732 338 329 66 37 4 25

25 to 34 years.... 1,266 307 829 130 62 - 68 1,343 230 882 230 110 10 110

35 to 44 years.... 794 56 644 94 41 4 50 935 71 623 241 103 29 109

45 to 54 years.... 553 34 437 81 37 3 42 628 44 408 176 59 46 71

55 to 64 years.... 332 14 272 46 16 12 17 438 30 252 157 34 75 47

65 years and over 245 14 180 52 9 32 10 351 23 102 226 26 168 32

Median age

(years) ................ 32.5 21.6 38.9 41.1 37.8 0 39.0 33.9 21.9 35.9 45.3 38.0 65.3 40.7

See footnotes at end of table.

41
Table B-3. M arital status o f the population and labor force by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, March 1983— Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Men1 Women

Age, race, and

Hispanic origin Total Never

married

Married,

wife

present

Other marital status

Total Never

married

Mamed,

husband

present

Other marital status

Total

Married,

wife

absent

Widowed Divorced Total

Married,

husband

absent

Widowed Divorced

Civilian labor force

TO T A L

Total ............... 62,035 16,468 39,589 5,978 1,718 514 3,745 47,779 12,282 26,227 9,270 1,913 2,161 5,196

16 to 19 years.... 3,907 3,766 104 38 30 - 7 3,545 3,262 238 45 31 - 14

20 to 24 years.... 8,308 5,841 2,180 287 148 4 135 7,343 4,308 2,489 546 226 17 304

25 to 34 years.... 17,883 5,010 11,026 1,847 553 14 1,280 13,692 3,184 8,161 2,347 681 64 1,601

35 to 44 years.... 13,177 989 10,495 1,693 466 36 1,190 10,105 753 7,053 2,299 493 191 1,615

45 to 54 years.... 9,715 501 8,035 1,180 330 115 736 7,053 350 4,957 1,746 311 450 985

55 to 64 years.... 7,128 242 6,208 678 156 196 326 4,862 320 2,889 1,652 141 941 570

65 years and over 1,917 120 1,542 255 34 150 71 1,180 104 440 636 30 498 108

Median age

(years)................ 35.7 23.8 41.2 39.8 37.7 59.4 38.8 34.5 23.3 38.2 42.4 35.4 58.8 39.2

W h ite

T o tal............... 54,813 13,927 35,944 4,942 1,266 427 3,249 40,843 10,099 23,355 7,390 1,237 1,809 4,343

16 to 19 years.... 3,468 3,334 96 38 30 - 7 3,191 2,928 223 40 26 - 14

20 to 24 years.... 7,148 4,869 2,030 249 116 4 130 6,282 3,536 2,282 463 175 10 279

25 to 34 years.... 15,630 4,121 9,926 1,583 438 11 1,134 11,403 2,434 7,158 1,811 443 48 1,320

35 to 44 years.... 11,680 858 9,421 1,402 341 30 1,031 8,546 558 6,207 1,781 294 135 1,351

45 to 54 years.... 8,628 418 7,292 918 212 90 615 6,095 267 4,461 1,367 194 374 799

55 to 64 years.... 6,493 219 5,737 537 104 163 270 4,276 279 2,624 1,373 84 800 489

65 years and over 1,766 109 1,442 215 25 128 62 1,051 98 399 554 20 443 91

Median age

(years) ................ 36.0 23.7 41.3 39.3 36.4 59.7 38.4 34.6 23.0 38.2 42.8 34.4 59.3 39.1

Black

T o tal............... 5,722 2,124 2,676 921 392 81 449 5,631 1,864 2,120 1,647 606 305 736

16 to 19 years.... 377 372 5 - - - - 293 275 13 4 4 - -

20 to 24 years.... 968 815 119 35 30 - 4 903 670 164 68 48 4 16

25 to 34 years.... 1,784 733 823 228 96 - 131 1,839 632 744 464 206 10 248

35 to 44 years.... 1,158 113 784 261 107 4 150 1,209 170 592 447 172 46 228

45 to 54 years.... 812 68 514 229 100 24 104 788 76 379 332 109 65 157

55 to 64 years.... 509 18 360 131 50 32 50 495 35 205 254 56 128 70

65 years and over 113 4 71 38 8 21 8 106 6 23 77 10 51 16

Median age

(years)................ 33.4 24.2 40.0 42.6 41.5 586 40.9 33.8 24.9 37.4 41.4 37.6 56.8 39.6

Hispanic origin

T o tal............... 3,521 994 2,198 329 145 15 169 2,372 639 1,247 487 144 82 261

16 to 19 years.... 287 274 14 - - - - 197 175 16 5 5 - -

20 to 24 years.... 555 368 162 25 14 - 11 408 219 156 33 14 2 17

25 to 34 years.... 1,170 271 780 118 56 - 62 749 146 464 139 55 4 81

35 to 44 ydar» 727 43 604 79 29 2 48 503 48 325 131 36 14 81

45 to 54 years.... 494 28 396 70 33 2 36 340 25 211 103 24 27 52

55 to 64 years.... 241 6 207 27 9 7 11 154 22 72 61 9 30 22

65 years and over 47 3 35 9 4 4 1 21 3 3 15 2 5 8

Median age

(years) ................ 32.8 23.0 37.4 37.7 35.7 0 37.5 32.7 23.3 34.8 40.1 34.8 52.7 39.0

See footnotes at end of table.

42
(Numbers in thousands) _______________________________________________________

Table B-3. M arital status o f the population and labor force by age, race, Hispanic origin, and sex, March 1983— Continued

Men' Women

Age, race, and

Hispanic origin

Other marital status Other marital status

Married,

wife

Married,

Total husband Never

married Married, Total Nevermarried Married,

present Total wife Widowed Divorced present Total husband Widowed Divorced

absent absent

Civilian labor force participation rate

TO TA L

Total ............... 75.4 69.9 79.2 68.6 78.6 26.6 81.5 52.3 62.6 51.8 43.9 58.7 19.8 74.6

16 to 19 years.... 50.5 49.8 91.2 ft ft ft 46.1 46.0 46.6 45.3 40.7 ft ft

20 to 24 years.... 81.9 77.4 95.4 88.9 87.5 f t 91.5 68.7 72.6 63.0 68.4 58.4 f t 77.2

25 to 34 years.... 94.0 88.3 97.2 91.7 91.7 ft 91.8 68.8 83.6 62.5 77.1 69.1 54.1 82.7

35 to 44 years.... 94.9 81.7 97.1 90.5 87.6 ft 92.1 68.9 81.1 65.4 77.7 66.8 62.1 84.5

45 to 54 years.... 90.9 78.4 92.9 83.7 86.3 77.6 83.7 61.4 67.7 58.1 71.8 63.0 62.7 80.7

55 to 64 years.... 69.5 56.2 71.2 61.4 61.2 60.7 61.9 41.4 62.6 36.4 50.3 40.2 45.3 66.5

65 years and over 18.2 23.9 19.1 13.1 17.2 10.7 20.3 7.7 12.6 7.5 7.5 13.5 6.5 17.2

W h ite

Total ............... 76.3 71.7 79.4 69.6 81.8 26.7 82.2 52.0 65.3 51.0 42.7 58.5 19.2 75.2

16 to 19 years.... 53.9 53.1 91.4 ft ft ft 50.4 50.6 48.4 44.1 ft f t ft

20 to 24 years.... 82.9 78.2 96.0 88.3 86.3 ft 91.2 70.3 75.9 63.1 70.5 60.4 ft 78.3

25 to 34 years.... 95.0 90.3 97.4 92.7 93.7 ft 92.2 68.2 87.6 61.5 78.5 69.2 51.6 83.9

35 to 44 years.... 95.8 85.0 97.4 92.4 91.3 ft 92.8 68.3 85.4 64.5 79.4 65.3 62.5 85.8

45 to 54 years.... 91.8 81.2 93.4 85.6 91.2 82.9 84.3 61.3 68.7 57.7 74.9 63.5 68.6 82.1

55 to 64 years.... 70.4 58.6 71.7 63.5 66.5 62.3 63.1 41.1 65.0 36.0 51.1 40.8 45.5 67.9

65 years and over 18.6 23.4 19.5 13.3 17.6 10.9 20.5 7.6 12.6 7.3 7.4 13.4 6.5 16.3

B lack

Total ............... 68.1 61.8 76.3 63.5 69.9 ft

ft

77.1 54.0 52.0 60.8 49.2 58.9 23.8 71.0

16 to 19 years.... 34.4 34.2 0 ft 25.5 24.9 f t ft f t

20 to 24 years.... 77.9 75.8 90.3 ft ft ft ft 61.1 60.3 67.7 55.8 51.8 f t ft

25 to 34 years.... 87.2 80.0 95.1 86.1 82.9 ft 90.6 73.1 70.8 75.4 72.5 67.9 ft 78.1

35 to 44 years.... 88.1 62.6 95.5 83.3 78.9 ft 88.9 73.5 70.0 76.4 71.4 67.0 62.1 77.6

45 to 54 years.... 81.2 64.3 86.6 76.5 77.4 ft 78.8 62.6 65.1 63.1 61.6 63.2 43.0 73.4

55 to 64 years.... 59.5 0 64.3 53.0 51.4 ft 54.2 44.8 45.6 40.9 48.5 43.3 46.4 58.9

65 years and over 13.4 ft 13.4 13.0 ft 10.6 ft 8.3 ft 6.6 8.7 ft 6.7 ft

H is p a n ic o rig in

Total ............... 79.9 68.7 86.9 76.3 80.2 f t

ft

85.1 47.7 52.7 46.9 43.9 37.7 24.6 66.2

16 to 19 years.... 48.1 47.2 o ,

89.7

0 ft ft 35.6 36.8 ft ft ft ft

20 to 24 years.... 85.4 83.3 ft ft ft ft 55.7 64.9 47.4 ft ft ft ft

25 to 34 years.... 94.1 88.3 96.8 91.1 ft ft ft 55.8 63.5 52.6 60.6 49.6 f t 72.9

35 to 44 years.... 92.6 ft 95.0 85.4 ft ft ft 53.9 ft 52.1 54.3 35.1 ft 74.0

45 to 54 years.... 89.4 ft 90.5 86.1 ft ft ft 54.1 ft 51.8 58.7 ft ft f t

55 to 64 years.... 72.5 ft 76.2 0 ft ft ft 35.2 ft 28.5 38.8 ft 39.3 f t

65 years and over 19.3 0 19.5 ft ft ft ft 5.9 ft 3.1 6.5 ft 7.8 ft

1 Male members of the Armed forces living off post or with their NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not

families on post are included in the population figures. sum to totals because data for the "other races” group are not presented

2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.

43
Table B-4. M arital status o f wom en in the population and labor force by age and presence and age o f children,

March 1983

(Numbers in thousands)

Age of women and presence and age

of children

Total Never married Married, husband

present

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

T o tal............................................... 91,395 47,779 52.3 19,617 12,282 62.6 50,659 26,227 51.8

No children under 18 years................. 59,282 28,856 48.7 17,605 11,281 64.1 25,924 12,076 46.6

16 to 34 years..................................... 21,144 15,029 71.1 15,068 9,899 65.7 4,751 3,978 83.7

16 to 19 years.................................. 7,109 3,359 47.3 6,795 3,176 46.7 258 160 61.8

20 to 24 years................................... 7,270 5,702 78.4 5,234 3,999 76.4 1,730 1,446 83.6

25 to 34 years.................................. 6,765 5,967 88.2 3,039 2,723 89.6 2,763 2,372 85.9

35 years and over.............................. 38,139 13,827 36.3 2,537 1,381 54.4 21,173 8,098 38.2

35 to 44 years.................................. 3,876 3,045 78.6 736 632 85.8 2,136 1,587 74.3

45 years and o v er........................... 34,263 10,782 31.5 1,801 749 41.6 19,037 6,512 34.2

45 to 54 years............................... 7,894 4,969 62.9 465 328 70.5 5,665 3,358 59.3

55 years and over......................... 26,369 5,813 22.0 1,336 421 31.5 13,373 3,154 23.6

With children under 18 years.............. 32,113 18,924 58.9 2,012 1,001 49.8 24,735 14,151 57.2

16 to 34 years..................................... 17,138 9,551 55.7 1,763 855 48.5 12,761 6,911 54.2

16 to 19 years.................................. 588 186 31.6 293 86 29.3 252 78 31.1

20 to 24 years................................... 3,412 1,641 48.1 700 309 44.1 2,219 1,043 47.0

25 to 34 years................................... 13,138 7,724 58.8 770 460 59.8 10,290 5,789 56.3

35 years and over.............................. 14,974 9,373 62.6 249 146 58.6 11,974 7,241 60.5

35 to 44 years................................... 10,799 7,060 65.4 193 121 62.8 8,653 5,467 63.2

45 years and o v er............................ 4,175 2,312 55.4 57 25 0 3,321 1,774 53.4

45 to 54 years................................ 3,590 2,084 58.0 52 22 0 2,871 1,599 55.7

55 years and over.......................... 585 229 39.1 5 3 0 450 175 38.9

With children 6 to 17 years, only........ 17,108 11,340 66.3 569 388 68.1 12,992 8,292 63.8

16 to 34 years..................................... 4,471 3,124 69.9 368 263 71.6 2,985 2,001 67.0

16 to 19 years................................... 8 3 (’) 6 2 (1) 1 1 O

20 to 24 years................................... 149 92 61.7 57 35 O 69 46 0

25 to 34 years................................... 4,315 3,029 70.2 304 227 74.4 2,915 1,955 67.1

35 years and over.............................. 12,637 8,216 65.0 202 125 61.8 10,006 6,291 62.9

35 to 44 years.................................. 8,571 5,952 69.4 151 99 65.6 6,768 4,558 67.3

45 years and o v er........................... 4,065 2,264 55.7 50 25 O 3,238 1,733 53.5

45 to 54 years............................... 3,502 2,045 58.4 45 22 O 2,802 1,565 55.8

55 years and over......................... 563 219 38.9 5 3 0 436 168 38.5

With children under 6 years................. 15,005 7,583 50.5 1,443 613 42.5 11,743 5,859 49.9

16 to 34 years.................................... 12,667 6,427 50.7 1,396 592 42.4 9,776 4,909 50.2

16 to 19 years................................... 580 183 31.5 287 84 29.2 251 77 30.9

20 to 24 years.................................. 3,263 1,549 47.5 643 274 42.7 2,150 997 46.4

25 to 34 years.................................. 8,824 4,695 53.2 465 234 50.2 7,375 3,835 52.0

35 years and over.............................. 2,338 1,157 49.5 48 22 (’) 1,968 950 48.3

35 to 44 years.................................. 2,228 1,108 49.7 41 22 0 1,885 909 48.2

45 years and o v er........................... 110 48 44.2 7 - 0 83 42 50.2

45 to 54 years............................... 88 39 44.4 7 - 0 69 34 0

55 years and over......................... 22 10 O - - 14 7 O

With children 3 to 5 years, only.......... 5,810 3,350 57.7 460 241 52.3 4,384 2,474 56.4

16 to 34 years .................................... 4,411 2,609 59.1 426 226 53.0 3,231 1,877 58.1

16 to 19 years.................................. 17 5 0 15 5 0 1 - -

20 to 24 years................................... 767 419 54.7 212 95 45.0 377 212 56.3

25 to 34 years.................................. 3,627 2,185 60.2 199 126 63.1 2,853 1,665 58.4

35 years and over.............................. 1,399 741 53.0 34 15 (’) 1,153 597 51.8

35 to 44 years.................................. 1,321 707 53.5 29 15 0 1,090 566 52.0

45 years and o v er........................... 78 34 43.8 5 - 0 63 31 0

45 to 54 years............................... 63 27 0 5 -

(’) 51 25 0

55 years and over......................... 15 8 (’) - - - 12 5 0

With children under 3 years................. 9,195 4,233 46.0 983 373 37.9 7,359 3,385 46.0

16 to 34 years ..................................... 8,256 3,818 46.2 969 366 37.8 6,545 3,032 46.3

16 to 19 years................................... 563 178 31.6 272 79 29.1 250 77 31.0

20 to 24 years................................... 2,497 1,130 45.2 431 179 41.5 1,773 785 44.3

25 to 34 years................................... 5,196 2,510 48.3 266 108 40.6 4,522 2,170 48.0

35 years and over.............................. 939 416 44.3 14 6 O 815 353 43.4

35 to 44 years................................... 907 402 44.3 12 6 O 795 342 43.1

45 years and o v e r........................... 32 14 0 2 - 0 19 11 0

45 to 54 years............................... 25 12 0 2 - 0 18 9 (’)

55 years and over......................... 7 2 0 - - 2 2 (’)

See footnotes at end of table.

44
Table B-4. M arital status o f wom en in the population and labor fo rc e by age and presence and age o f children,

March 1983— Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Age of women and presence and age

of children

Married, husband

absent Widowed Divorced

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

laoor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutionai

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

T o tal.............................................. 3,258 1,913 58.7 10,895 2,161 19.8 6,966 5,196 74.6

No children under 18 years................. 1,513 841 55.6 10,325 1,851 17.9 3.915 2,808 71.7

16 to 34 years .................................... 436 329 75.4 32 21 (') 858 802 93.6

16 to 19 years.................................. 44 15 (’) - - - 12 8 0

20 to 24 years.................................. 124 88 70.9 4 4 0 178 165 92.8

25 to 34 years.................................. 268 226 84.3 28 17 (') 667 629 94.2

35 years and over.............................. 1,077 512 47.5 10,293 1,829 17.8 3,058 2,005 65.6

35 to 44 years.................................. 205 147 71.8 112 85 75.8 687 594 86.5

45 years and o v er........................... 873 365 41.9 10,181 1,744 17.1 2,371 1,412 59.5

45 to 54 years............................... 314 201 63.9 522 324 62.1 929 759 81.7

55 years and over......................... 559 165 29.4 9,659 1,420 14.7 1,442 653 45.3

With children under 18 years.............. 1,745 1,072 61.5 570 311 54.5 3,05! 2,388 78.3

16 to 34 years .................................... 1,015 610 60.1 106 60 56.4 1,494 1,116 74.7

16 to 19 years.................................. 32 16 O - - _ 11 6 0

20 to 24 years.................................. 264 139 52.5 15 12 0 215 138 64.3

25 to 34 years.................................. 719 455 63.4 91 47 51.7 1,269 972 76.6

35 years and over.............................. 730 462 63.4 465 251 54.0 1,557 1.272 81.7

35 to 44 years.................................. 533 346 64.8 196 106 54.2 1,225 1,021 83.4

45 years and o v er........................... 197 117 59.4 269 145 53.9 332 251 75.7

45 to 54 years............................... 179 110 61.4 196 126 64.5 292 226 77.4

55 years and over......................... 17 7 0 73 19 0 40 25 0

With children 6 to 17 years, only........ 903 620 68.7 489 268 54.8 2,156 1,773 82.2

16 to 34 years.................................... 289 207 71.6 58 28 (’) 772 624 80.9

16 to 19 years.................................. - - 0 - - - - -

20 to 24 years.................................. 8 4 0 - - - 15 8 (’)

25 to 34 years.................................. 281 204 72.4 58 28 (’) 757 616 81.4

35 years and over.............................. 613 413 67.3 431 240 55.6 1,384 1,148 83.0

35 to 44 years................................... 425 297 69.8 168 95 56.5 1,058 903 85.3

45 years and o v er........................... 188 116 61.6 263 145 55.0 326 245 75.3

45 to 54 years............................... 173 109 63.1 193 126 65.3 289 223 77.2

55 years and over......................... 15 7 0 70 19 0 37 23 0

With children under 6 years................. 842 453 53.8 82 43 52.4 895 615 68.7

16 to 34 years ..................................... 726 403 55.5 48 31 0 722 491 68.0

16 to 19 years.................................. 32 16 O - - - 11 6 (’>

20 to 24 years................................... 256 135 52.7 15 12 0 200 130 65.1

25 to 34 years................................... 437 252 57.6 34 19 (’) 512 356 69.5

35 years and over.............................. 117 50 42.8 34 12 0 172 124 71.8

35 to 44 years.................................. 108 49 45.3 28 11 0 167 118 70.8

45 years and o v e r........................... 9 1 0 6 -

(1) 6 6 0

45 to 54 years............................... 6 1 0 3 -

(’) 3 3 0

55 years and over......................... 2 - 0 3 - 0 2 2 0

With children 3 to 5 years, only.......... 373 204 54.7 47 24 (’) 546 406 74.4

16 td34t;.years .................................... 304 176 57.7 28 19 0 422 311 73.7

16 to 19 years.................................. 1 - 0 - - - - - -

20 to 24 years.................................. 75 43 56.4 7 7 (’) 96 62 65.3

25 to 34 years.................................. 228 133 58.5 22 13 (’) 326 249 76.2

35 years and over.............................. 69 28 (’) 19 5 0 124 95 76.8

35 to 44 years.................................. 65 28 0 16 5 0 121 92 76.3

45 years and o v er........................... 3 - 0 3 - 0 3 3 0

45 to 54 years............................... 3 - 0 3 - (’) 1 1 (’)

55 years and over......................... - - - - - - 2 2 (’)

With children under 3 years................. 469 249 53.0 35 18 0 349 209 59.9

16 to 34 years .................................... 421 227 53.9 20 12 0 300 180 60.1

16 to 19 years.................................. 31 16 0 - - - 11 6 (’)

20 to 24 years.................................. 181 93 51.2 8 6 0 104 67 64.9

25 to 34 years.................................. 210 119 56.6 12 6 0 186 107 57.8

35 years and over.............................. 48 22 0 15 6 (’) 48 28 (’)

35 to 44 years.................................. 43 21 0 12 6 0 46 26 0

45 years and o v er........................... 5 1 0 3 - 0 3 3 0

45 to 54 years............................... 3 1 0 - - - 3 3 0

55 years and over......................... 2 “ 0 3

__________________

“ (’) - “

1 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.

45
Table B-5. M arital atatua o f wom en In the population and labor force by race, Hiapanic origin, age, and preeence and

age of children, M arch 1983

(Numbers in thousands)

Total Never married Mamed, husband

present

Race, Hispanic origin, age of women,

and presence and age of own

children

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

W HITE

Total.............................................. 78,618 40,843 52.0 15,471 10,099 65.3 45,822 23,355 51.0

No children under 18 years................. 52,025 25,347 48.7 14,778 9,775 66.1 23,844 11,008 46.2

16 to 34 years..................................... 18,157 13,321 73.4 12,621 8,622 68.3 4,384 3,690 84.2

35 years and over.............................. 33,868 12,026 35.5 2,158 1,153 53.4 19,460 7,319 37.6

With children under 18 years .............. 26,593 15,496 58.3 693 324 46.8 21,978 12,347 56.2

16 to 34 years.................................... 13,839 7,555 54.6 604 276 45.7 11,333 5,974 52.7

35 years and over.............................. 12,754 7,942 62.3 89 48 54.1 10,645 6,373 59.9

With children 6 to 17 years, only..... 14,379 9,494 66.0 172 123 71.6 11,596 7,346 63.4

16 to 34 years.................................. 3,546 2,447 69.0 107 81 75.3 2,654 1,755 66.1

35 years and o v er........................... 10,833 7,046 65.0 65 42 O 8,942 5,592 62.5

With children under 6 years.............. 12,214 6,003 49.1 521 201 38.6 10,382 5,000 48.2

16 to 34 years.................................. 10,293 5,107 49.6 497 195 39.3 8,679 4,219 48.6

35 years and o v er........................... 1,921 896 46.6 24 6 O 1,702 781 45.9

BLACK

Total............................................. 10,425 5,631 54.0 3,587 1,864 52.0 3,489 2,120 60.8

No children under 18 years................. 5,944 2,831 47.6 2,297 1,204 52.4 1,583 815 51.5

16 to 34 years .................................... 2,351 1,327 56.5 1,973 1,013 51.3 248 208 84.1

35 years and over.............................. 3,593 1,504 41.9 324 190 58.8 1,335 607 45.5

With children under 18 years .............. 4,481 2,800 62.5 1,290 660 51.2 1,906 1,305 68.5

16 to 34 years .................................... 2,791 1,707 61.2 1,134 564 49.7 1,017 713 70.1

35 years and over.............................. 1,691 1,093 64.6 155 96 62.1 890 592 66.6

With children 6 to 17 years, only..... 2,207 1,503 68.1 387 260 67.1 981 678 69.1

16 to 34 years.................................. 803 595 74.1 254 178 70.1 245 192 78.3

35 years and o v er........................... 1,403 908 64.7 133 82 61.3 735 485 66.0

With children under 6 years.............. 2,274 1,297 57.0 903 401 44.4 926 627 67.8

16 to 34 years.................................. 1,987 1,112 56.0 880 386 43.8 771 521 67.5

35 years and o v er........................... 287 185 64.4 22 15 O 155 107 69.1

H ISPA N IC ORIG IN

Total............................................. 4,978 2,372 47.7 1,213 639 52.7 2,657 1,247 46.9

No children under 18 years................. 2,473 1,191 48.1 1,028 574 55.8 852 402 47.2

16 to 34 years .................................... 1,180 698 59.2 893 491 55.0 218 156 71.6

35 years and over.............................. 1,293 493 38.1 134 83 61.5 633 246 38.8

With children under 18 years.............. 2,505 1,181 47.2 186 65 35.0 1,806 845 46.8

16 to 34 years .................................... 1,447 656 45.4 151 50 32.7 1,054 479 45.5

35 years and over.............................. 1,058 525 49.6 34 15 O 751 365 48.6

With children 6 to 17 years, only..... 1,123 629 56.0 50 31 O 764 409 53.5

16 to 34 years.................................. 318 201 63.2 28 18 0 209 126 60.5

35 years and o v er........................... 805 427 53.1 22 13 0 555 282 50.8

With children under 6 years.............. 1,382 553 40.0 136 34 25.3 1,041 436 41.9

16 to 34 years.................................. 1,128 455 40.3 123 32 25.5 845 353 41.8

35 years and o v er........................... 254 98 38.5 12 3 0 196 83 42.5

See footnotes at end of table.

46
Table B-5. M arital status o f wom en in the population and labor force by race, Hispanic origin, age, and presence and

age o f children, M arch 1983— Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Race, Hispanic origin, age of women,

and presence and age of own

children

Married, husband

absent Widowed Divorced

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian

labor

force

Civilian

labor

force

participation

rate

W HITE

Total.............................................. 2,114 1,237 58.5 9,435 1,809 19.2 5,777 4,343 75.2

No children under 18 years................. 1,016 574 56.4 9,035 1,576 17.4 3,352 2,415 72.1

16 to 34 years.................................... 352 266 75.7 28 18 0 773 726 93.9

35 years and over............................... 664 307 46.2 9,007 1,558 17.3 2,579 1,690 65.5

With children under 18 years .............. 1,097 664 60.5 400 234 58.5 2,425 1,928 79.5

16 to 34 years ..................................... 646 378 58.5 76 40 52.1 1,180 887 75.2

35 years and over............................... 451 286 63.3 323 194 60.0 1,246 1,041 83.5

With children 6 to 17 years, only..... 544 370 68.0 347 208 60.0 1,720 1,446 84.1

16 to 34 years................................... 160 112 70.0 43 19 (’) 583 481 82.5

35 years and o v e r........................... 384 258 67.1 304 189 62.1 1,137 965 84.9

With children under 6 years.............. 553 294 53.1 53 26 0 705 482 68.3

16 to 34 years................................... 486 266 54.7 34 21 O 597 406 68.1

35 years and o v e r........................... 67 28 (’) 19 5 (’) 108 76 69.7

BLACK

Total.............................................. 1,030 606 58.9 1,283 305 23.8 1,036 736 71.0

No children under 18 years................. 431 228 52.9 1,145 249 21.8 488 335 68.6

16 to 34 years ..................................... 60 42 0 3 2 (’) 67 61 O

35 years and over............................... 370 186 50.2 1,142 247 21.6 421 273 64.9

With children under 18 years.............. 599 378 63.2 138 55 40.0 548 401 73.2

16 to 34 years .................................... 343 216 63.1 20 12 0 277 203 73.1

35 years and over............................... 256 162 63.3 118 43 36.6 271 199 73.3

With children 6 to 17 years, only..... 333 235 70.5 114 41 36.0 392 290 73.9

16 to 34 years................................... 122 91 74.4 9 4 (’) 173 130 74.9

35 years and o v e r............................ 211 144 68.3 106 37 34.8 219 160 73.1

With children under 6 years.............. 266 144 54.0 24 14 (’) 156 111 71.5

16 to 34 years................................... 221 125 56.9 11 8 0 104 73 70.1

35 years and o v e r........................... 45 18 0 13 7 0 52 39 O

H ISPA N IC O R IG IN

Total.............................................. 381 144 37.7 332 82 24.6 395 261 66.2

No children under 18 years................. 138 45 32.9 274 53 19.5 182 116 63.8

16 to 34 years ..................................... 26 12 (’) 2 -

(') 40 38 O

35 years and over.............................. 112 33 29.4 272 53 19.6 143 79 55.2

With children under 18 years.............. 243 99 40.5 58 28 O 212 145 68.2

16 to 34 years ..................................... 133 61 45.4 12 6 0 96 60 62.9

35 years and over.............................. 110 38 34.6 46 22 0 116 84 72.5

With children 6 to 17 years, only..... 116 54 46.8 43 23 0 150 112 74.9

16 to 34 years................................... 33 19 (’) 3 2 <’) 45 35 O

35 years and o v er............................ 83 35 42.3 40 21 0 105 77 73.7

With children under 6 years.............. 127 44 34.7 15 6 (’) 62 32 O

16 to 34 years................................... 100 41 41.2 9 4 <’) 51 25 O

35 years and o v er............................ 27 3 0 7 1 0 12 7 O

' Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black

NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not population groups,

sum to totals because data for the "other races” group are not

47
(Numbers in thousands)______________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________

Table B-6. Num ber o f earners in fam ilies, relationship o f earners, and fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, and race,

M arch 1983

Family income in 1982

Type of family, number of earners,

relationship, and race Total Under

$1,000

$1,000

to

$1,999

$2,000

to

$2,999

$3,000

to

$4,999

$5,000

to

$6,999

$7,000

to

$9,999

$10,000

to

$12,999

TO T A L

All families........................................................................... 61,834 806 400 597 2,047 2,494 4,118 4,763

Married-couple families............................................................. 49,947 459 135 194 726 1,355 2,728 3,465

No earners .............................................................................. 6,427 295 38 54 318 672 1,071 1,010

One earner.............................................................................. 14,235 129 82 94 270 477 972 1,383

Husband ................................................................................ 11,575 45 42 60 187 347 718 1,041

Wife ...................................................................................... 2,048

613

53 39 30 69 109 214 295

Other family member........................................................... 30 1 4 14 21 40 47

Two earners............................................................................ 22,306 29 15 43 126 188 623 970

Husband and w ife................................................................ 19,579

2,167

15 7 32 113 157 554 865

Husband and other family member.................................. 3 6 4 6 22 47 73

Husband is not an earner.................................................. 560 10 2 7 7 9 22 32

Three or more earners.......................................................... 6,979 7 1 3 12 19 62 102

Husband and w ife................................................................ 5,808 3 - 2 10 12 36 76

Husband an earner, not wife ............................................ 982 - - 2 2 5 17 19

Husband is not an earner................................................... 189 4 1 - - 2 10 7

Families maintained by women.............................................. 9,828 286 242 390 1,234 1,035 1,212 1,138

No earners .............................................................................. 2,625 225 156 236 776 481 336 178

One earner.............................................................................. 4,568 57 86 148 387 485 689 745

Householder......................................................................... 3,546 45 77 131 292 395 550 605

Other family member.......................................................... 1,022 11 8 16 95 90 140 140

Two earners............................................................................ 2,634 4 1 8 71 69 187 215

Householder and other family member(s)....................... 2,319 2 1 6 67 . 58 146 200

Householder is not an earner........................................... 315 2 - 2 4 11 40 14

Families maintained by m en................................................... 2,059 61 23 13 86 103 178 160

No earners .............................................................................. 273 42 5 1 46 37 46 33

One earner.............................................................................. 915 19 13 8 33 55 99 82

Householder......................................................................... 746 13 8 7 28 50 75 65

Other family member........................................................... 169 7 5 2 6 5 24 17

Two earners............................................................................ 871 - 6 3 7 11 33 45

Householder and other family member(s)....................... 824 - 6 3 7 8 31 42

Householder is not an earner........................................... 46 “ “ “ 2 2 3

See footnotes at end of table.

48
Table B-6. Num ber o f earners in fam ilies, relationship o f earners, and fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, and race,

March 1983— Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Type of family, number of earners,

relationship, and race

Family income in 1982

Median

family

income

$13,000

to

$14,999

$15,000

to

$19,999

$20,000

to

$24,999

$25,000

to

$34,999

$35,000

to

$49,999

$50,000

and over

TO T A L

All families.......................................................................................... 2,983 7,505 7,596 11,998 9,822 6,704 $23,425

Married-couple families............................................................................ 2,267 5,930 6,411 10,731 9,124 6,420 26,213

No earners.............................................................................................. 509 944 598 525 236 157 12,141

One earner............................................................................................. 876 2,106 2,124 2,333 1,654 1,236 21,716

Husband ............................................................................................... 664 1,625 1,776 2,417 1,475 1,177 22,976

W ife....................................................................................................... 165 392 248 274 128 31 15,628

Other family member.......................................................................... 47 89 99 142 51 28 20,692

Two earners........................................................................................... 775 2,536 3,160 6,000 4,964 2,877 29,481

Husband and w ife............................................................................... 670 2,230 2,812 5,335 4,358 2,432 29,377

Husband and other family member................................................. 64 207 261 546 515 414 32,165

Husband is not an earner.................................................................. 41 99 87 119 92 31 22,841

Three or more earners.......................................................................... 107 343 529 1,372 2,270 2,151 41,152

Husband and w ife............................................................................... 93 258 442 1,160 1,898 1,817 41,415

Husband an earner, not wife............................................................ 9 62 64 175 331 298 41,247

Husband is not an earner.................................................................. 5 23 24 37 41 35 29,989

Families maintained by wom en.............................................................. 600 1,285 927 883 429 168 11,345

No earners.............................................................................................. 59 89 41 23 13 14 4,787

One earner............................................................................................. 371 712 443 304 105 38 11,773

Householder ........................................................................................ 298 557 344 185 49 17 11,421

Other family member.......................................................................... 72 155 99 119 56 21 13,318

Two earners........................................................................................... 170 484 443 557 311 116 21,238

Householder and other family member(s)...................................... 154 440 412 487 258 86 21,020

Householder is not an earner........................................................... 15 44 31 70 52 30 24,120

Families maintained by m en ................................................................... 116 291 259 384 270 115 19,968

No earners.............................................................................................. 6 24 14 14 5 - 7,331

One earner............................................................................................. 70 136 134 150 85 29 17,811

Householder........................................................................................ 62 111 107 128 65 29 17,975

Other family member.......................................................................... 8 25 27 22 20 1 17,089

Two earners........................................................................................... 39 130 111 219 180 86 27,276

Householder and other family member(s)...................................... 39 124 103 203 172 86 27,428

Householder is not an earner.......................................................... “ 7 8 16 8 0

See footnotes at end of table.

49
(Numbers in thousands)

Table B-6. Num ber o f earners in fam ilies, relationship o f earners, and fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, and race,

M arch 1983— Continued

Family income in 1982

Type of family, number of earners,

relationship, and race Total Under

$1,000

$1,000

to

$1,999

$2,000

to

$2,999

$3,000

to

$4,999

$5,000

to

$6,999

$7,000

to

$9,999

$10,000

to

$12,999

White

All families........................................................................... 53,737 652 252 384 1,319 1,794 3,247 3,950

Married-couple families............................................................. 45,273 415 111 169 603 1,102 2,350 3,021

No earners .............................................................................. 5,879 259 30 44 262 534 944 944

One earner.............................................................................. 13,015 121 70 84 225 402 813 1,177

Husband ................................................................................ 10,684 39 37 53 154 297 618 902

Wife ....................................................................................... 1,770 51 32 27 60 85 164 235

Other family member........................................................... 562 30 1 4 11 20 31 40

Two earners............................................................................ 20,084 29 11 37 108 156 538 815

Husband and w ife................................................................ 17,591 15 7 26 96 136 484 736

Husband and other family member.................................. 2,013 3 2 4 4 15 38 57

Husband is not an earner................................................... 479 10 2 7 7 5 16 22

Three or more earners.......................................................... 6,295 7 - 3 8 10 54 84

Husband and w ife................................................................ 5,231 3 - 2 6 9 32 67

Husband an earner, not wife ............................................. 916 - - 2 2 2 17 11

Husband is not an earner................................................... 148 4 - - - - 5 6

Families maintained by women............................................... 6,783 196 126 203 660 616 758 800

No earners .............................................................................. 1,612 147 74 108 394 297 209 152

One earner.............................................................................. 3,190 47 52 89 222 285 424 509

Householder......................................................................... 2,432 38 50 79 171 233 336 412

Other family member........................................................... 758 9 2 10 51 52 88 97

Two earners............................................................................ 1,981 2 1 6 44 34 125 140

Householder and other family member(s)....................... 1,759 2 1 4 44 32 102 131

Householder is not an earner........................................... 221 - - 2 - 2 23 9

Families maintained by m en.................................................... 1,681 41 15 13 56 75 139 129

No earners.............................................................................. 216 28 2 1 35 29 37 26

One earner.............................................................................. 726 13 7 8 19 41 73 67

Householder......................................................................... 589 6 5 7 15 40 60 50

Other family member........................................................... 137 7 2 2 4 1 13 17

Two earners............................................................................ 740 - 6 3 2 6 29 37

Householder and other family member(s)....................... 704 - 6 3 2 6 27 34

Householder is not an earner........................................... 35 * “ - - 2 3

See footnotes at end of table.

50
Table B-6. Num ber o f earners in fam ilies, relationship o f earners, and fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, and race,

M arch 1983— Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Family income in 1982

Median

family

income

Type of family, number of earners,

relationship, and race $13,000

to

$14,999

$15,000

to

$19,999

$20,000

to

$24,999

$25,000

to

$34,999

$35,000

to

$49,999

$50,000

and over

W h ite

All families.......................................................................................... 2,578 6,603 6,731 10,836 9,051 6,340 $24,524

Married-couple families............................................................................ 2,046 5,356 5,783 9,810 8,433 6,074 26,713

No earners.............................................................................................. 481 905 576 509 234 157 12,710

One earner............................................................................................. 789 1,918 1,965 2,674 1,585 1,190 22,306

Husband ............................................................................................... 597 1,499 1,656 2,288 1,412 1,131 23,457

W ife....................................................................................................... 146 341 223 250 123 30 16,225

Other family member.......................................................................... 47 78 85 137 49 28 21,094

Two earners........................................................................................... 683 2,235 2,802 5,414 4,538 2,716 29,852

Husband and w ife............................................................................... 596 1,968

181

2,506

228

4,786

522

3,952

498

2,282

404

29,648

Husband and other family member................................................. 57 33,007

Husband is not an earner.................................................................. 31 86 69 106 88 30 23,843

Three or more earners.......................................................................... 92 297 440 1,212 2,075 2,012 41,793

Husband and w ife............................................................................... 81 222 369 1,020 1,731 1,690 41,983

Husband an earner, not w ife............................................................. 9 55 54 162 309 293 41,986

Husband is not an earner.................................................................. 2 21 16 31 35 29 31,693

Families maintained by wom en.............................................................. 444 1,020 739 691 374 155 13,145

No earners.............................................................................................. 57 85 40 23 13 14 5,490

One earner............................................................................................. 269 556 356 242 103 37 12,820

Householder........................................................................................ 216 429 268 138 47 16 12,278

Other family member.......................................................................... 52 127 88 104 56 21 15,711

Two earners........................................................................................... 119 379 343 426 258 104 22,053

Householder and other family member(s)...................................... 110 347 324 372 214 77 21,659

Householder is not sin earner........................................................... 9 32 19 54 44 27 27,639

Families maintained by m en ................................................................... 88 227 209 335 244 110 21,379

No earners.............................................................................................. 6 21 12 14 5 - 8,007

One earner............................................................................................. 51 111 100 133 72 29 18,709

Householder........................................................................................ 44 94 75 111 53 29 18,560

Other family member.......................................................................... 7 17 25 21 20 1 19,519

Two earners ........................................................................................... 30 95 97 188 167 81 28,515

Householder and other family member(s)...................................... 30 91 91 174 160 81 28,638

Householder is not an earner........................................................... 4 6 14 7 “ 0

See footnotes at end of table.

51
(Numbers in thousands)______ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Table B-6. Num ber of earners in fam ilies, relationship of earners, and fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, and race,

March 1983— Continued

Family income in 1982

Type of family, number of earners,

relationship, and race Total Under

£1,000

$1,000

to

51,999

$2,000

to

$2,998

$3,000

to

$4,999

$5,000

to

$6,999

$7,000

to

$9,999

$10,000

to

$12,999

8!ac M

All families........................................................................... 6,628 138 136 197 679 622 755 703

Married-couple families............................................................ 3,504 33 18 20 98 204 312 360

No earners .............................................................................. 435 28 4 5 50 115 101 49

One earner.............................................................................. 899 5 11 9 33 62 137 171

Husband ............................................................................... 620 4 5 7 23 41 86 115

Wife ....................................................................................... 238 2 6 2 7 21 43 51

Other family member.......................................................... 42 - - - 3 - 8 5

Two earners................................................... ........................ 1,683 - 2 6 15 22 69 123

Husband and w ife............................................................... 1,502 - - 6 13 13 54 100

Husband and other family member.................................. 114 - 2 - 2 7 8 13

Husband i< not an earner.................................................. 67 - - - - 2 6 10

Three or more earners ......................................................... 487 - 1 - - 6 5 17

Husband and w ife............................................................... 407 - - - - 1 3 9

Husband an earner, not wife ............................................ 49 - - - - 3 - 7

Husband is not an earner.................................................. 31 - 1 - - 2 2 1

Families maintained by women.............................................. 2,808 88 110 177 555 392 408 316

No earners .............................................................................. 964 76 77 123 374 170 115 24

One earner.............................................................................. 1,265 10 33 £2 156 188 242 226

Householder ......................................................................... 1,030 7 26 50 116 155 198 183

Other family member.......................................................... 236 2 6 2 40 33 44 43

Two earners ........................................................................... 579 2 - 2 25 34 51 66

Householder and other family member(s)....................... 495 - - 2 22 26 36 60

Householder is not an earner.................. ......................... 84 2 -■ - 3 8 14 6

Families maintained by m en................................................... 316 17 8 _ 26 25 35 27

No earners .............................................................................. 48 11 2 - 9 9 8 5

One earner.............................................................................. 166 6 5 - 14 11 23 15

Householder......................................................................... 138 6 3 - 12 8 13 15

Other family member.......................................................... 28 - 2 - 2 4 10 -

Two earners........................................................................... 102 - - - 3 5 3 6

Householder and other family member(s).......................

Householder is not an earner...........................................

93 - - - 3 3 3 6

8 " ” “ * 2 “ -

See footnotes at end of table.

52
Table B-6. Num ber o f earners in fam ilies, relationship o f earners, and fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, and race,

March 1983—Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Type gi fam ly, number of earners,

relationship, and race

Family income in 1982

Median

family

income

$13,000

to

$14,999

$15,000

to

$19,999

$20,000

to

$24,999

$25,000

to

$34,999

$35,000

to

$49,999

$50,000

and over

Black

All families.......................................................................................... 344 743 706 927 507 173 $13,493

Married-couple families......................................... .................................. 180 459 495 716 447 161 20,678

No earners.............................................................................................. 27 31 , 13 12 - - 7,471

One earner............................................................................................. 66 153 116 110 20 7 13,655

Husband ............................................................................................... 49 96 84 88 17 6 14,238

W ife....................................................................................................... 17 47 19 19 2 - 12,454

Other family member.......................................................................... - 10 12 2 1 - 0

Two earners........................................................................................... 74 236 297 461 305 73 $24,962

Husband and w ife............................................................................... 57 207 252 436 292 71 26,105

Husband and other family member................................................. 7 17 29 17 10 2 20,170

Husband is not an earner.................................................................. 10 12 16 8 3 - 0

Three or more earners.......................................................................... 13 40 69 133 122 81 $31,959

Husband and w ife............................................................................... 10 33 56 115 103 76 32,900

Husband an earner, not wife............................................................. - 5 6 11 14 4 0

Husband is not an earner.................................................................. 4 2 7 6 5 1 0

Families maintained by wom en.............................................................. 136 233 173 166 44 10 $7,489

No earners.............................................................................................. 1 3 - - - - 4,069

One earner............................................................................................. 90 138 78 52 - - 9,419

Householder........................................................................................ 70 115 67 41 - - 9,370

Other family member.......................................................................... 20 23 10 12 - - 9,558

Two earners........................................................................................... 45 92 94 114 44 10 18,504

Householder and other family member(s)...................................... 39 82 83 100 38 7 18,780

Householder is not an earner........................................................... 6 10 12 13 6 3 16,218

Families maintained by m en ................................................................... 27 50 38 44 16 1 14,447

No earners.............................................................................................. - 3 - - - - O

One earner............................................................................................. 19 18 27 18 8 - $13,777

Householder........................................................................................ 18 12 25 17 8 - 14,263

Other family member.......................................................................... 1 6 2 1 - - 0

Two earners ........................................................................................... 8 29 11 27 8 1 $19,333

Householder and other family member(s)...................................... 8 26 9 26 8 1 19,376

Householder is not an earner.............................. ............................ 2 2 1 ~ 0

1 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. March of the subsequent year. Income and earner status refer to the

NOTE: Data on the number and type of families are collected in preceding calendar year.

53
Table B-7. Num ber o f children in fam ilies in March 1983 and m edian fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, em ploym ent

Type of family employment status of parents,

race, and Hispanic origin

Number of children (in thousands) Median family income (in dollars)

Total

6 to 17 years Under

6

years

Total

6 to 17 years Under

6

Total years

14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

Total 14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

TO TA L

Total.................................................................. 58,034 39,030 13,622 25,408 19,003 $23,017 $24,432 $26,800 $23,346 $20,514

Mother in labor force................................................ 31,884 22,995 8,408 14,587 8,889 25,356 26,490 28,900 25,165 23,022

Employed.................................................................. 28,398 20,688 7,652 13,036 7,710 26,714 27,700 30,014 26,409 24,349

Unemployed............................................................. 3,487 2,307 756 1,551 1,179 13,990 14,117 15,856 13,325 13,807

Mother not in labor force......................................... 25,062 15,194 4,798 10,396 9,868 20,139 21,531 23,291 20,818 18,255

In married-couple familes......................................... 46,084 30,344 10,404 19,940 15 740 26 831 28,808 'l l 3A3 ?7 23,389

Mother in labor force............................................. 25’166 17,794 6*477 11*317 7,312 29*462 30*964 33*508 29*658 25*931

Employed.............................................................. 22,944 16,390 6,023 10,367 6,554 30,226 31,582 34,093 30,273 26,986

Unemployed......................................................... 2,222 1,404 454 950 819 20 502 22*334 23 668 ?1

Mother not in labor force...................................... 20,918 12^550 3,927 8,623 8,368 23*465 25,292 27^535 24,410 21*224

Father in labor force.......... .................................... 43,150 28,364 9,619 18,746 14,786 27,638 29,631 32,416 28,294 23,981

Mother in labor force.......................................... 23,919 16,869 6,086 10,783 7,050 29,957 31,492 34,200 30,113 26,359

Employed........................................................... 21,871 15,582 5,686 9,896 6,289 30,652 32,047 34,679 30,685 27,333

Unemployed ...................................................... 2,048 1,287 400 886 761 21,439 23,613 25,833 22,603 18,541

Mother not in labor fo rce................................... 19,231 11,495 3,533 7,963 7,736 24,444 26,580 29,158 25,460 22,035

Father employed............................. ..................... 39,312 26,012 8,900 17,112 13,301 28,684 30,586 33,292 29,286 24,939

Mother in labor force ....................................... 21,783 15,458 5,646 9,812 6,326 30,882 32,373 35,002 31,017 27,402

Employed........................................................ 20,196 14,456 5,323 9,133 5,740 31,372 32,749 35,410 31,406 28,096

Unemployed.................................................... 1,587 1,002 322 679 586 23,933 26,638 29,386 25,464 19,625

Mother not in labor force................................. 17,529 10,554 3,254 7,300 6,975 25,599 27,726 30,177 26,661 23,093

Father unemployed........................... ................. 3,838 2,353 719 1,634 1,485 16,423 17,936 19,776 17,155 14,335

Mother in labor force ....................................... 2,136 1,411 440 971 724 19,748 20,462 21 716 20 044 18,572

Employed ........................................................ 1,675 1,126 363 764 549 20^954 21 >59 24*360 20*863 19^891

Unemployed.................................................... 461 285 78 207 176 15,695 16,755 15,846 17,244 13,754

Mother not in labor force................................. 1,702 941 279 663 761 12,751 13,796 17,267 12,740 11,659

Father not in labor force....................................... 1,949 1,482 668 814 468 12,601 13,248 14,877 11,626 11,178

Mother in labor force.......................................... 843 672 326 346 171 17,736 17 613 16 293 16 666 18 264

Employed........................................................... 724 571 274 297 154 18357 18*640 19^493 17>75 19>80

Unemployed ...................................................... 119 101 52 49 18 12,673 13,160 0 0 ft

Mother not in labor fo rce................................... 1,106 810 342 468 296 9,527 9,875 $11,530 $8,754 $8,928

Father in Armed Forces........................................ 984 498 118 380 487 19,541 23,837 28,956 22,350 16,301

Mother in labor force.......................................... 404 253 65 188 151 23,565 27,254 (’) 25,897 18,349

Employed........................................................... 349 237 64 174 111 24,950 28,039 ft 26,926 18,143

Unemployed ...................................................... 56 16 1 14 40 0 0 0 0 ft

Mother not in labor fo rce................................... 580 245 52 192 336 $17,138 $19,267 0 $18,656 $14,900

In families maintained by women ........................... 10,862 7,845 2,801 5,044 3,017 7,912 9,070 $11,087 8,377 5,505

Mother in labor force............................................. 6,718 5,201 1,931 3,270 1,517 11,428 12,066 14,326 11,200 8,808

Employed.............................................................. 5,453 4,297 1,628 2,669 1,156 12,696 13,405 15,696 12,403 10,651

Unemployed......................................................... 1,264 904 302 601 361 5,127 5,511 6,822 5,118 3,929

Mother not in labor force...................................... 4,145 2,644 871 1,774 1,501 4,968 5,596 6,289 5,316 4,206

In families maintained by m e n ................................ 1,087 842 417 425 246 17,573 19,858 21,412 18,448 12,531

Father in labor force.............................................. 949 729 361 368 220 18,882 21,527 23,985 20,025 12,761

Employed.............................................................. 796 629 315 314 167 20,632 23,030 25,479 21,602 14,734

Unemployed......................................................... 153 101 46 55 53 9,152 9,730 0 0 ft

Father not in labor force....................................... 120 104 53 51 16 7,812 8,043 ft 0 ft

Father in Armed Forces........................................ 19 9 4 5 10 0 0 ft 0 ft

See footnotes at end of table.

54
Table B-7. Num ber o f children in fam ilies in March 1983 and m edian fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, em ploym ent

Number of children (in thousands) Median family income (in dollars)

Type of family employment status of parents,

race, and Hispanic origin

6 to 17 years Under 6 to 17 years Under

Total

Total 14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

6

years

Total

Total 14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

6

years

White

Total.................................................................. 48,526 32,546 11,375 21,171 15,980 $24,538 $26,327 $29,058 $24,923 $21,719

Mother in labor force................................................. 26,314 19,058 7,037 12,021 7,256 26,866 28,152 30,878 26,650 23,905

Employed.................................................................. 23,831 17,367 6,475 10,892 6,464 27,835 29,039 31,691 27,559 24,816

Unemployed............................................................. 2,482 1,691 561 1,129 792 16,972 17,609 18,776 16,976 15,822

Mother not in labor force......................................... 21,340 12,809 3,996 8,813 8,531 22,109 23,801 26,135 22,880 20,072

In married-couple familes.......................................... 40,814 26,814 9,208 17,606 14,000 27,380 29,498 32,410 28,099 23,644

Mother in labor force............................................. 21,840 15,517 5,697 9,820 6,323 29,986 31,625 34,529 30,120 26,097

Employed............................................................... 19,988 14,300 5,307 8,993 5,688 30,669 32,213 35,055 30,729 26,950

Unemployed.......................................................... 1,851 1,217 390 827 634 21,563 23,231 25,659 22,320 18,955

Mother not in labor force...................................... 18,975 11,298 3,511 7,786 7,677 24,141 26,259 28,723 25,210 21,786

Father in labor force.............................................. 38,512 25,240 8,617 16,623 13,273 28,044 30,193 33,226 28,739 24,110

Mother in labor force.......................................... 20,885 14,793 5,406 9,387 6,091 30,393 32,070 35,069 30,523 26,433

Employed............................................................ 19,160 13,672 5,059 8,613 5,489 31,022 32,589 35,585 31,090 27,248

Unemployed ....................................................... 1,724 1,121 347 774 603 22,434 24,431 28,006 23,155 19,258

Mother not in labor fo rce................................... 17,628 10,446 3,210 7,236 7,181 24,935 27,324 30,019 26,183 22,408

Father employed................................................... 35,307 23,310 8,025 15,284 11,997 29,006 31,049 33,997 29,642 25,021

Mother in labor fo rce........................................ 19,145 13,667 5,053 8,614 5,478 31,242 32,846 35,908 31,329 27,473

Employed......................................................... 17,814 12,787 4,768 8,019 5,027 31,660 33,200 36,240 31,708 27,971

Unemployed..................................................... 1,331 880 285 595 451 25,453 27,488 31,005 25,934 21,508

Mother not in labor force................................. 16,162 9,643 2,972 6,670 6,519 26,120 28,377 30,948 27,313 23,369

Father unemployed .............................................. 3,206 1,930 592 1,338 1,276 16,639 18,361 21,396 17,257 14,517

Mother in labor force ........................................ 1,739 1,126 353 773 613 20,429 21,702 24,411 20,786 18,718

Employed......................................................... 1,346 885 291 593 462 22,068 23,682 26,936 22,117 20,270

Unemployed..................................................... 393 241 62 179 152 15,610 16,964 O 17,252 13,664

Mother not in labor force................................. 1,466 804 238 566 662 13,059 13,896 $17,539 12,924 12,174

Father not in labor force........................................ 1,495 1,147 501 645 349 12,899 13,597 15,476 11,758 11,270

Mother in labor force........................................... 644 513 245 268 131 17,613 17,400 18,234 16,424 18,555

Employed............................................................ 549 428 204 224 121 18,671 18,459 19,452 17,329 19,567

Unemployed ...................................................... 95 85 41 44 11 12,601 12,628 O 0 0

Mother not in labor fo rce............................. ... 851 634 256 378 217 10,123 10,653 $13,030 $8,946 $9,118

Father in Armed Forces........................................ 807 428 90 339 378 19,668 25,381 32,562 23,210 16,273

Mother in labor force.......................................... 311 211 45 166 100 25,170 28,903 (’) 27,026 17,094

Employed............................................................ 279 200 44 156 79 26,527 29,390 0 27,648 16,945

Unemployed ...................................................... 32 11 1 9 21 (’) (') 0 O (’)

Mother not in labor force ................................... 496 217 45 173 278 $17,739 $19,464 0 $18,710 $15,892

In families maintained by wom en........................... 6,839 5,053 1,825 3,228 1,786 9,246 10,929 $13,611 9,890 6,013

Mother in labor force............................................. 4,474 3,541 1,340 2,201 933 12,714 13,642 16,317 12,279 9,954

Employed............................................................... 3,843 3,068 1,168 1,899 776 13,757 14,679 17,323 13,168 11,008

Unemployed .......................................................... 631 473 171 302 157 5,942 7,046 7,902 5,781 4,517

Mother not in labor force...................................... 2,365 1,512 485 1,027 853 5,254 5,843 6,498 5,583 4,282

In families maintained by men ................................ 873 679 342 337 194 19,008 21,668 24,410 20,359 13,409

Father in labor force.............................................. 772 601 307 294 170 20,282 23,382 26,172 21,594 13,784

Employed............................................................... 681 544 281 264 136 21,614 24,578 27,018 22,660 15,185

Unemployed .......................................................... 91 57 27 30 34 10,937 O 0 O O

Father not in labor force....................................... 86 70 32 38 15 7,894 (’) 0 (’) 0

Father in Armed Forces........................................ 15 7 2 4 9 O 0 O (’) O

See footnotes at end of table.

55
Table B-7. Num ber o f children in fam ilies in March 1983 and m edian fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, em ploym ent

Type of family employment status of parents,

race, and Hispanic origin

•

Number of children (in thousands) Median family income (in dollars)

Total

6 to 17 years Under

6

years

Total

6 to 17 years Under

6

Total years

14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

Total 14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

Black

Total.................................................................. 7,692 5,266 1,884 3,382 2,426 $11,667 $12,205 $13,256 $11,643 $10,475

Mother in labor force............... ................................. 4,524 3,200 1,137 2,063 1,324 16,586 16,663 18,054 15,780 16,440

Employed.................................................................. 3,641 2,672 979 1,693 969 19,522 19,568 20,071 19,240 19,414

Unemployed............................................................. 883 528 158 370 355 6,553 6,002 7,976 5,644 9,056

Mother not in labor force......................................... 2,975 1,921 680 1,240 1,054 6,845 7,448 8,269 6,965 5,693

In married-couple familes......................................... 3,769 2,546 915 1,631 1,223 21,949 22,771 23,044 22,607 20,119

Mother in labor force.............................................. 2,467 1,677 602 1,075 789 24,873 25,684 25,435 25,812 23,373

Employed............................................................... 2,161 1,535 554 980 627 26,103 26,377 26,335 26,400 25,436

Unemployed.......................................................... 305 143 48 94 163 17,275 17,564 0 16,482 17,134

Mother not in labor force...................................... 1,302 869 313 556 433 14,545 15,694 $16,455 15,222 12,516

Father in labor force.............................................. 3,333 2,256 765 1,491 1,077 22,992 23,884 24,460 23,554 21,039

Mother in labor force.......................................... 2,253 1,530 522 1,008 723 25,700 26,603 26,762 26,527 23,780

Employed........................................................... 1,977 1,394 476 918 582 26,858 27,301 27,741 27,084 25,757

Unemployed ...................................................... 277 136 46 89 141 17,011 17,390 0 15,849 16,840

Mother not in labor fo rce................................... 1,080 726 243 484 354 16,315 17,591 $19,098 16,713 13,334

Father employed.................................................. 2,853 1,942 664 1,277 912 24,293 25,235 25,888 24,862 22,326

Mother in labor force ....................................... 1,950 1,318 453 865 632 26,995 28,003 28,302 27,852 24,620

Employed......................................................... 1,732 1,220 419 800 513 27,994 28,487 28,967 28,243 26,775

Unemployed..................................................... 218 98 34 64 120 17,200 19,370 0 0 16,764

Mother not in labor force................................. 903 624 211 413 279 17,345 18,266 $19,845 $17,374 15,044

Father unemployed............................................. 480 315 100 214 165 15,232 15,964 15,527 16,270 12,321

Mother in labor force ....................................... 303 212 69 143 91 16,900 16,704 O 17,638 17,374

Employed......................................................... 244 175 57 118 70 17,069 16,990 0 18,012 (')

Unemployed..................................................... 59 37 12 25 21 0 O O O O

Mother not in labor force................................. 177 103 31 71 74 $10,815 $11,815 O O O

Father not in labor force....................................... 320 244 130 115 76 12,958 13,433 $14,239 $12,344 $12,179

Mother in labor force.......................................... 154 123 67 56 31 20,205 20,266 O O O

Employed............................................................ 147 121 65 56 26 20,595 20,382 0 O O

Unemployed ....................................................... 7 2 2 - 5 (’) O 0 0 0

Mother not in labor fo rce................................... 166 121 62 59 45 $8,729 $8,630 0 0 0

Father in Armed Forces........................................ 115 45 21 25 70 19.954 0 0 0 0

Mother in labor fo rce.......................................... 59 24 13 11 35 (’) O 0 0 (1)

Employed............................................................ 37 19 13 6 18 O (’) (1) 0 0

Unemployed ....................................................... 22 5 - 5 17 O 0 0 (’) 0

Mother not in labor force ................................... 56 21 8 13 34 0 0 (1) 0 0

In families maintained by women ........................... 3,730 2,574 902 1,672 1,156 $6,108 $6,796 $7,878 $6,439 $4,842

Mother in labor force............................................. 2,057 1,522 534 988 535 8,538 8,915 10,258 8,486 6,733

Employed............................................................... 1,480 1,137 424 712 343 10,590 10,861 11,610 10,442 8,995

Unemployed.......................................................... 577 386 110 276 192 4,129 4,497 4,934 4,315 3,741

Mother not in labor force...................................... 1,673 1,052 368 684 621 4,602 4,894 5,710 4,720 4,111

In families maintained by men ................................ 193 146 67 79 48 9,584 9,884 O 9,846 0

Father in labor force.............................................. 165 119 49 70 46 10,682 14,104 O O O

Employed.............................................................. 105 77 32 46 28 16,547 17,853 (’) 0 (’)

Unemployed......................................................... 60 42 17 24 18 (’) 0 (’) (’) 0

Father not in labor force....................................... 25 25 16 8 - 0 0 (’) • 0 (’)

Father in Armed Forces........................................ 4 2 2 2 O 0 0 0 0

See footnotes at end of table.

56
Table B-7. Num ber o f children in fam ilies in March 1983 and m edian fam ily incom e in 1982 by type o f fam ily, em ploym ent

Number of children (in thousands) Median family income (in dollars)

Type of family employment status of parents,

race, and Hispanic origin

6 to 17 years Under 6 to 17 years Under

Total

Total 14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

6

years

Total

Total 14 to 17

years

6 to 13

years

6

years

H is p a n ic o rig in

Total.................................................................. 5,095 3,347 1,023 2,324 1,748 $14,776 $15,568 $16,320 $15,229 $13,127

Mother in labor force................................................. 2,233 1,611 510 1,101 621 19,719 19,627 20,045 19,452 19,982

Employed.................................................................. 1,831 1,340 441 899 491 21,337 20,776 21,158 20,606 22,631

Unemployed............................................................. 401 271 69 202 130 13,342 14,638 0 14,127 12,246

Mother not in labor force.......................................... 2,777 1,676 487 1,189 1,101 11,423 11,899 $12,280 11,779 10,769

In married-couple familes.......................................... 3,722 2,372 675 1,697 1,350 18,686 19,510 21,181 16,946 16,983

Mother in labor force.............................................. 1,684 1,164 347 818 519 23,830 24,367 26,334 23,641 22,749

Employed............................................................... 1,370 953 299 653 417 25,708 26,140 27,640 25,504 24,845

Unemployed.......................................................... 314 212 47 164 102 16,503 17,829 ( ’ ) 17,339 14,121

Mother not in labor force....................................... 2,039 1,208 329 879 830 14,785 15,787 $17,377 15,101 13,339

Father in labor force............................................... 3,460 2,191 610 1,581 1,269 19,225 20,163 22,329 19,456 17,422

Mother in labor force........................................... 1,612 1,112 329 784 499 23,961 24,598 26,850 23,793 22,726

Employed............................................................ 1,314 915 287 628 399 25,880 26,395 28,012 25,729 24,813

Unemployed ....................................................... 298 197 42 156 100 16,628 18,078 0 17,345 14,054

Mother not in labor fo rce.................................... 1,848 1,078 282 797 769 15,416 16,517 $18,326 15,852 13,840

Father employed................................................... 2,954 1,878 530 1,348 1,076 20,513 21,351 23,664 20,419 19,037

Mother in labor force ........................................ 1,354 943 285 658 412 25,272 25,666 28,744 24,454 24,587

Employed......................................................... 1,167 817 257 560 350 26,751 27,065 29,205 26,201 26,080

Unemployed..................................................... 187 126 27 99 61 16,862 17,692 0 16,183 0

Mother not in labor force.................................. 1,600 935 245 690 664 16,650 17,680 $19,435 17,030 $14,877

Father unemployed.............................................. 506 313 80 232 193 12,685 13,901 13,798 13,941 10,216

Mother in labor fo rce........................................ 257 170 44 126 88 16,260 17,893 0 18,731 14,137

Employed......................................................... 147 98 29 69 49 16,202 16,967 0 0 0

Unemployed..................................................... 111 72 15 57 39 16,316 0 0 0 0

Mother not in labor force................................. 248 143 36 107 105 9,714 $10,392 0 $9,983 $8,953

Father not in labor force........................................ 204 155 63 92 48 11,343 11,461 ( ') 9,961 O

Mother in labor force........................................... 55 43 17 26 12 0 0 0 ( ') O

Employed............................................................ 40 29 11 18 12 O O 0 0 ( ’ )

Unemployed ....................................................... 15 14 6 9 - 0 0 0 ( ') 0

Mother not in labor fo rce................................... 149 112 46 66 36 $9,519 $9,846 0 ( ') ( ’ )

Father in Armed Forces......................................... 59 26 3 24 33 (') 0 0 0 0

Mother in labor force........................................... 17 9 2 7 8 0 ( ') ( 1) 0 C )

Employed............................................................ 15 9 2 7 6 0 0 0 0 0

Unemployed ....................................................... 1 - - - 1 0 ( ') 0 0 0

Mother not in labor fo rce.................................... 42 17 1 16 25 0 0 0 0 0

In families maintained by wom en........................... 1,287 915 322 594 372 $6,678 $7,725 $8,181 $7,455 $5,246

Mother in labor force............ ................................. 549 447 163 284 102 10,055 10,740 12,642 10,204 6,956

Employed............................................................... 461 388 142 246 74 11,141 11,737 13,396 11,128 0

Unemployed.......................................................... 87 59 21 38 28 5,349 0 0 0 0

Mother not in labor force....................................... 738 468 158 310 270 5,565 $5,978 $6,252 $5,810 $4,916

In families maintained by m en ................................ 86 59 26 33 26 12,493 (') O O 0

Father in labqr farce............................................... 65 41 16 25 24 O 0 0 0 C )

Employed............................................................... 50 32 15 17 18 C ) (’) O (') 0

Unemployed.......................................................... 16 9 1 8 6 0 O 0 (') 0

Father not in labor force....................................... 16 16 10 6 - 0 O 0 0 (')

Father in Armed Forces........................................ 4 2 - 2 2 0 0 0 0 0

Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.

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 on children in families are collected in March of the subsequent

year. Data on income refer to the preceding calendar year.

57
Table B-8. Number of families with children in March 1983 and median family Income in 1982 by type of family, employment

statue of mother, race. Hispanic origin, and age of children____________________ ____________________________________

Type of family, employment status of mother,

race, and Hispanic origin

Number of families (in thousands) Median family income in 1982 On dollars)

With

children

under 18

years

With children 6 to 17 only

With

children

under 6

years

With

children

under 18

years

With children 6 to 17 only

With

children

under 6

years Total

With

children

14 to 17

years,

only

With

children

6 to 13

years

Total

With

children

14 to 17

years,

only

With

children

6 to 13

years

TOTAL

Married-couple families............................................ 24.371 12,906 4,014 8,893 11,465 $27,538 $31,044 $33,832 $29,960 $23,856

Mother in labor force............................................. 13,992 8,244 2,605 5,639 5,748 30,027 32,767 36,442 31,458 26,301

Employed.............................................................. 12,834 7,688 2,472 5,216 5,145 30,768 33,291 36,947 31,944 27,288

Unemployed.......................................................... 1,158 556 133 423 603 20,922 24,803 23,488 25,296 18,477

Mother not in labor force...................................... 10,379 4,662 1,408 3,254 5,717 23,893 27,723 29,547 26,932 21,520

Families maintained by women............................... 6,040 3,746 1,147 2,599 2,294 8,712 11,190 13,786 10,430 5,834

Mother in labor force............................................. 4,047 2,780 867 1,913 1,266 12,067 13,435 16,420 12,292 9,191

Employed.............................................................. 3,347 2,374 758 1,616 973 13,337 14,749 17,484 13,576 11,004

Unemployed......................................................... 700 406 109 297 294 4,992 5,725 7,267 5,397 3,944

Mother not in labor force...................................... 1,993 966 280 685 1,028 4,707 5,595 6,026 5,468 4,150

Families maintained by m en.................................... 747 541 251 290 206 17,463 20,340 21,540 19,436 12,303

White

Married-couple families............................................ 21,702 11,529 3,596 7,933 10,173 27,990 31,659 34,858 30,391 24,079

Mother in labor force............................................. 12,223 7,297 2,345 4,952 4,926 30,448 33,330 37,336 31,850 26,473

Employed.............................................................. 11,257 6,805 2,235 4,570 4,452 31,114 33,853 37,717 32,369 27,293

Unemployed ......................................................... 966 492 110 381 474 21,926 25,556 25,921 25,500 19,207

Mother not in labor force...................................... 9,480 4,232 1,251 2,982 5,247 24,532 28,644 30,916 27,691 22,022

Families maintained by women............................... 3,959 2,580 819 1,761 1,379 10,423 12,747 15,980 11,644 6,280

Mother in labor force............................................. 2,782 2,000 652 1,348 782 13,287 14,862 17,705 13,413 10,302

Employed.............................................................. 2,408 1,759 579 1,181 649 14,357 15,811 18,527 14,480 11,266

Unemployed......................................................... 373 240 73 167 133 5,837 7,390 (’) 6,953 4,441

Mother not in labor force...................................... 1,178 580 167 413 597 4,874 5,862 $6,633 5,605 4,217

Families maintained by m en.................................... 604 442 212 230 162 18,681 21,931 23,467 21,088 13,016

Black

Married-couple families............................................ 1,911 996 327 669 915 22,812 24,687 22,967 25,610 20,895

Mother in labor force............................................. 1,306 690 202 489 616 26,000 27,976 26,783 28,338 23,797

Employed.............................................................. 1,151 645 184 461 506 27,212 28,388 27,901 28,538 25,596

Unemployed......................................................... 155 45 18 28 110 17,615 (’) (’) (’) 16,913

Mother not in labor force..................................... .’ 605 306 126 180 299 14,664 $16,057 $15,390 $16,525 13,093

Families maintained by women............................... 1,923 1,069 298 771 854 6,350 7,903 8,789 7,591 5,066

Mother in labor force............................................. 1,159 715 190 525 444 8,996 10,210 11,506 9,545 7,258

Employed.............................................................. 861 569 163 405 292 11,171 11,699 12,451 11,273 10,175

Unemployed......................................................... 298 146 27 119 151 4,007 4,473 0 4,641 3,789

Mother not in labor force...................................... 765 354 108 246 411 4,432 4,836 $4,701 4,870 4,024

Families maintained by m en.................................... 129 90 37 53 40 11,126 13,919 O O O

Hispanic origin

Married-couple families............................................ 1,691 729 171 558 962 19,255 21,361 $23,734 $20,581 $17,670

Mother in labor force............................................. 790 390 90 301 399 24,333 25,732 28,600 24,892 23,284

Employed.............................................................. 649 324 80 245 325 25,906 27,000 29,234 26,398 24,937

Unemployed......................................................... 141 66 10 56 75 17,507 (’) 0 0 14,977

Mother not in labor force...................................... 901 338 81 257 563 15,100 $17,419 $18,575 $16,991 13,731

Families maintained by women............................... 585 325 83 242 260 6,653 8,904 10,113 8,677 5,180

Mother in labor force............................................. 282 196 52 144 86 10,720 12,448 0 11,801 6,938

Employed.............................................................. 237 172 41 131 66 11,811 13,432 0 12,758 O

Unemployed......................................................... 45 24 11 13 21 0 0 0 0 (’)

Mother not in labor force..................... ................ 303 130 32 98 174 $5,085 $5,715 0 $5,646 $4,667

Families maintained by m en.................................... 54 34 14 19 20 (’) 0 (’) O 0

1 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000. Data on the number and type of families are collected in March of the

NOTE: Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not subsequent year. Income and earner status refer to the preceding

sum to totals because data for the "other races" group are not presented calendar year,

and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population group.

58
Employment Projections

for1995

US Department ot Labor 

Bureau ot Labor Statistics 

March 1964

BLS projections

of employment

Growth in employment, output, income,

and demand over the next decade is

discussed in this collection of four articles from the M o n th ly L a b o r R eview .

Additional detailed tables supplement

the articles.

Subjects include:

• The labor force—expected changes

in size and composition.

• Industry output and employment.

• Gross national product and inc o m e -p ro je c te d trends and

major underlying assumptions.

• Distribution of demand—changing

patterns in the major sectors of

consumption, business investment, government expenditures,

and foreign trade.

The following Bis

regional offices will

expedite orders

Suite 1603 1371 Peachtree Street, N.E. 2nd Floor You may also send your

John F. Kennedy Atlanta, Ga. 30367 555 Griffin Square Bldg., order directly to

Federal Bldg.,

Boston, Mass. 02203

Dallas, Tex. 75202 Superintendent of

Documents

U.S. Government Printing

Suite 3400 9th Floor 911 Walnut Street Office

1515 Broadway

New York, N.Y. 10036

P.O. Box 13309

Philadelphia, Pa. 19101

Federal Office Bldg.,

230 S. Dearborn Street

Chicago, III. 60604

Kansas City, Mo. 64106

450 Golden Gate Ave.

Box 36017

San Francisco, Calif. 94102

Washington, D.C. 20402

Ordar form P lease send ________________________________________ cop ies o f E m p lo y m e n t P ro je c tio n s fo r 19 95, B u lletin 2197.

g po S to ck N o. 029-001 -02805-9 a t $5.50 each fo r a to ta l o f ____________________.

□ Enclosed is a ch eck or m o ney o rd er p ayab le to th e S u p erin te n d e n t o f D o cu m en ts

□ C h arg e to m y g po A cco u n t N o. ________________________________________

□ C h arg e to m y M a s te rC a rd * A cco u n t N o. _____________________________ E xp iration d a te ________________________

□ C h arg e to m y V IS A * A cco u n t N o _______________________________________E xp iration d a te __________________________

* Available only on orders sent directly to the Superintendent of Documents

Name

Organization

(if applicable)

Street address

City, State,

Zip
Bureau of Labor Statistics

Regional Offices

Region I

Suite 1603

John F. Kennedy 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, N.E.

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

Griffin Square Building

Dallas, Tex. 75202

Phone: (214) 767-6971

Regions VII and VIII

911 Walnut Street

Kansas City, Mo. 64106

Phone: (816) 374-2481

Regions IX and X

450 Golden Gate Avenue

Box 36017

San Francisco, Calif. 94102

Phone: (415) 556-4678