Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 08-0731 

 http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 

 For release: 10:00 A.M. (EDT) 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Friday, May 30, 2008 

EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES IN 2007 

In 2007, the share of families with an unemployed member was 6.3 percent, little changed from the 

prior year, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The 

proportion of families with an unemployed member remained lower than the recent peak of 8.1 percent 

in 2003. Of the nation’s 77.9 million families, the proportion that had at least one employed member 

was little changed in 2007 at 82.6 percent. 

These data on employment, unemployment, and family relationships are collected as part of the 

Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of approximately 60,000 households. 

Families include married-couple families, as well as families maintained by a man or woman with no 

spouse present. For further information about the CPS, see the Technical Note. 

Families and Unemployment

In 2007, 4.9 million families had at least one member who was unemployed, unchanged from 2006. 

The proportion of black families with an unemployed member was 10.8 percent in 2007, about twice the 

proportion among white (5.6 percent) and Asian (5.4 percent) families. Among Hispanic families, 8.5 

percent had an unemployed member. The proportions of white and Asian families with an unemployed 

member showed little or no change from 2006. The proportion of black families with an unemployed 

member edged down in 2007, while the percentage of Hispanic families with an unemployed member in 

2007 edged up over the year. (See table 1.) 

Among families with an unemployed member in 2007, 71.2 percent also had at least one employed 

member, up from 69.6 percent in 2006. Among married-couple families with unemployment in 2007, 

82.8 percent had an employed member, little changed over the year. For families maintained by women 

(no spouse present) with an unemployed member, the proportion that also contained an employed 

member rose from 47.3 percent in 2006 to 50.5 percent in 2007. For families maintained by men (no 

spouse present), the proportion was 60.7 percent in 2007, little changed from the prior year. (See tables 

1 and 3.) 

Families and Employment

In 2007, the proportion of families with at least one employed member (82.6 percent) was little 

changed from the prior year. There was little or no change in the proportion of families with employed 

members among white (82.7 percent), Asian (89.6 percent), and Hispanic (87.6 percent) families. 

News United States 

Department 

of Labor 
2 

Among black families, the proportion with employed members edged up in 2007 to 78.9 percent. (See 

table 1.) 

Among married-couple families, 83.7 percent had an employed member in 2007, about the same as 

in 2006. For families maintained by women, the proportion with an employed member increased from 

76.0 percent in 2006 to 76.9 percent in 2007. In families maintained by men, the proportion was up 

slightly to 85.7 percent. (See table 2.) 

In 2007, the proportion of married-couple families in which only the husband worked was 

unchanged at 19.8 percent. The proportion of married-couple families in which only the wife worked 

was little changed in 2007 (6.6 percent), as was the proportion of married-couple families that were 

dual-worker families (51.7 percent). (See table 2.) 

Families with Children

Nearly half of all families include children (sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children) 

under age 18. In 2007, 90.7 percent of the 35.9 million families with children under 18 had at least one 

employed parent; this proportion was little changed from 2006. In 2007, the mother was employed in 

72.8 percent of families maintained by women, slightly higher than in the prior year. For families 

maintained by men, the father was employed in 85.2 percent of those families, up from 83.5 percent in 

2006. Among married-couple families, the proportion that had an employed parent was unchanged in 

2007 at 97.3 percent. The proportion of married-couple families in which both parents were employed 

was little changed at 62.2 percent. (See table 4.) 

Mothers

The labor force participation rate—the percent of the population that was working or looking for 

work—for all mothers with children under 18 was 71.0 percent in 2007, essentially unchanged from the 

prior year. The participation rate remained below the recent peak of 72.3 percent in 2000. The 

participation rate of married mothers in 2007, at 68.8 percent, was little changed from 2006. The 

proportion of unmarried mothers—those who were widowed, divorced, separated, or never married—

who were in the labor force in 2007 was 76.5 percent, essentially unchanged from the prior year. (See 

table 5.) 

In 2007, the unemployment rate for all mothers with children under 18 was 4.6 percent. The jobless 

rate for married mothers was 3.0 percent, and the rate for unmarried mothers was 8.0 percent. These 

rates were little changed from the prior year. (See table 5.) 

Of the 3.3 million mothers with children under a year old, 55.1 percent were in the labor force in 

2007, little changed from 2006. The labor force participation rate for unmarried mothers with children 

under a year old in 2007 was 56.5 percent, little changed from 2006. The participation rate for married 

mothers with children under a year old, at 54.6 percent in 2007, also was little changed from a year 

earlier. The unemployment rate for all mothers of children under age 1 continued to trend down to 6.7 

percent in 2007. (See table 6.) 
3 

Changes to Weighting Procedure in Table 5 

The estimates for married men in table 5 of this news release were computed using a 

different weighting procedure than was used in past versions of this annual release. The 

new procedure results in estimates of married men that are higher than those based on the 

previous procedure. The weighting procedure change was implemented to a) introduce a 

consistent methodology for all person-based estimates in this release; b) provide 

consistency with estimates of married men presented in other BLS publications; and c) 

enable users of the public-use microdata files to replicate all estimates in this news 

release. 

The change also affected all totals in table 5 that include married men, such as total 

men and total married persons. Data for women and men of other marital statuses were 

not affected. The change also was applied to data for 2006 in table 5; therefore, 2006 

estimates presented in table 5 of this release do not match those published in the 

“Employment Characteristics of Families in 2006” news release (USDL 07-0673). 

For further information, contact the Division of Labor Force Statistics at 

cpsinfo@bls.gov or (202) 691-6378. 
Technical Note

The estimates in this release are based on annual average 

data from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a national 

sample survey of about 60,000 households conducted monthly 

for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the U.S. Census Bureau. 

The information relates to the labor force status of persons 16 

years old and over in the civilian noninstitutional population 

during an "average" week of the year.

The data for 2007 presented in this release are not strictly 

comparable with data for 2006 and earlier years because of the 

introduction in January 2007 of revised population controls used 

in the CPS. The effect of the revised population controls on the 

family estimates is unknown. However, the effect of the new 

controls on the monthly CPS estimates was to increase the 

December 2006 employment level by 153,000 and the 

unemployment level by 10,000. The updated controls had little 

or no effect on unemployment rates and other ratios. For 

additional information, see "Adjustments to Household Survey 

Population Estimates in January 2007," available on the Internet 

at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps07adj.pdf.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory 

impaired individuals upon request: Voice phone: (202) 691-

5200; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-877-8339.

Reliability of the estimates

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and 

nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire 

population, is surveyed, there is a chance that the sample 

estimates may differ from the "true" population values they 

represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability is 

measured by the standard error of the estimate. There is about a 

90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an estimate based 

on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6 standard errors from 

the "true" population value because of sampling error. BLS 

analyses are generally conducted at the 90-percent level of 

confidence.

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error. 

Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the 

failure to sample a segment of the population, inability to obtain 

information for all respondents in the sample, inability or 

unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information, 

and errors made in the collection or processing of the data. 

For a full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS

and for information on estimating standard errors, see the 

Household Data Section of "Explanatory Notes and Estimates of 

Error" at http://www.bls.gov/cps/eetech_methods.pdf.

Definitions

Definitions of the principal terms used in this release are 

presented below. 

Family. A family is a group of two or more persons residing

together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption. The 

count of families is for "primary" families only, that is, the 

householder and all other persons related to and residing with 

the householder. Families are classified either as marriedcouple families or as families maintained by women or men 

without spouses.

Householder. The householder is the family reference 

person. This is the person (or one of the persons) in whose 

name the housing unit is owned or rented. The relationship of 

other individuals in the household is defined in terms of 

relationship to the householder. The race or ethnicity of the

family is determined by that of the householder.

Married, spouse present; other marital status. These terms 

denote the marital status of individuals at the time of interview. 

Married, spouse present, refers to husbands and wives living 

together in the same household, even though one may be 

temporarily absent on business, on vacation, on a visit, in a 

hospital, or for other reasons. Other marital status includes 

persons who are never-married; married, spouse absent; widowed; or divorced. Married, spouse absent relates to persons 

who are separated due to marital problems, as well as husbands 

and wives who are living apart because one or the other was 

employed elsewhere, on duty with the Armed Forces, or any 

other reasons.

Children. Data on children refer to own children and 

include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children, of 

the husband, wife, or person maintaining the family. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, other related children, and all unrelated children living in the household.

Employed. Employed persons are (a) all those who, during 

the survey reference week, did any work at all as paid employees, worked in their own business, profession, or on their 

own farm, or who worked 15 hours or more as unpaid workers 

in a family-operated enterprise; and (b) all those who did not 

work but had jobs or businesses from which they were temporarily absent due to illness, bad weather, vacation, child-care 

problems, labor disputes, or personal reasons, whether or not 

they were paid for the time off and whether or not they were 

seeking other jobs.

Unemployed. The unemployed are persons who had no 

employment during the reference week, were available for work 

at that time, and had made specific efforts to find employment 

sometime during the 4-week period ending with the reference 

week. Persons who were waiting to be recalled to a job from

which they had been laid off need not be looking for work to be 

classified as unemployed.

Civilian labor force. The civilian labor force comprises all 

persons classified as employed or unemployed.

Unemployment rate. The unemployment rate is the number 

unemployed as a percent of the civilian labor force.

Labor force participation rate. The labor force participation 

rate is the labor force as a percent of the population.
Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2006-07

annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2006 2007

TOTAL

Total families ................................................................................................................ 77,017 77,894

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 63,492 64,330

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 82.4 82.6

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 58,918 59,616

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 13,525 13,564

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 17.6 17.4

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 4,913 4,914

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 6.4 6.3

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 3,419 3,497

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 69.6 71.2

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 3,049 3,096

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 62.1 63.0

White 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 62,977 63,667

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 52,054 52,669

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 82.7 82.7

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 48,395 48,879

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 10,923 10,997

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 17.3 17.3

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 3,556 3,587

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 5.6 5.6

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 2,582 2,653

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 72.6 73.9

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 2,306 2,350

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 64.8 65.5

Black or African American 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 9,058 9,184

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 7,078 7,249

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 78.1 78.9

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 6,437 6,608

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 1,980 1,935

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 21.9 21.1

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 1,036 990

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 11.4 10.8

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 596 591

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 57.6 59.7

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 526 519

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 50.8 52.4

Asian 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 3,251 3,320

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 2,924 2,974

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 89.9 89.6

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 2,772 2,818

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 327 347

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 10.1 10.4

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 171 179

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 5.2 5.4

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 137 144

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 80.4 80.5

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 123 133

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 72.2 74.4

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2006-07

annual averages—Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2006 2007

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 9,905 10,332

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 8,641 9,048

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 87.2 87.6

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 8,129 8,492

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 1,264 1,285

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 12.8 12.4

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 793 876

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 8.0 8.5

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 544 619

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 68.6 70.6

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 491 554

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 61.9 63.2

1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.

 NOTE: The race or ethnicity of the family is determined by that of

the householder. Estimates for the above race groups (white, black or

African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are

not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as

Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Updated population controls

are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 2. Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2006-07 annual

averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2006 2007 2006 2007

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES 

 Total ......................................................................................... 57,509 58,145 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ............................................................ 48,196 48,676 83.8 83.7

 Husband only ............................................................................. 11,399 11,509 19.8 19.8

 Wife only .................................................................................... 3,754 3,858 6.5 6.6

 Husband and wife ...................................................................... 29,799 30,055 51.8 51.7

 Other employment combinations ............................................... 3,244 3,254 5.6 5.6

 No member(s) employed ............................................................. 9,313 9,469 16.2 16.3

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

 Total ......................................................................................... 14,208 14,423 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ............................................................ 10,796 11,087 76.0 76.9

 Householder only ....................................................................... 6,103 6,307 43.0 43.7

 Householder and other member(s) ............................................ 2,955 2,994 20.8 20.8

 Other member(s), not householder ............................................ 1,738 1,785 12.2 12.4

 No member(s) employed ............................................................. 3,412 3,336 24.0 23.1

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

 Total ......................................................................................... 5,300 5,327 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ............................................................ 4,500 4,568 84.9 85.7

 Householder only ....................................................................... 2,089 2,170 39.4 40.7

 Householder and other member(s) ............................................ 1,715 1,696 32.4 31.8

 Other member(s), not householder ............................................ 696 701 13.1 13.2

 No member(s) employed ............................................................. 800 759 15.1 14.3

1 No spouse present.

 NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 3. Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type,

2006-07 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2006 2007 2006 2007

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES

With unemployed member(s), total .................................................... 2,968 2,978 100.0 100.0

 No member employed .................................................................... 526 512 17.7 17.2

 Some member(s) employed ........................................................... 2,442 2,467 82.3 82.8

 Husband unemployed ................................................................. 1,061 1,110 35.7 37.3

 Wife employed ......................................................................... 679 725 22.9 24.3

 Wife unemployed ........................................................................ 898 902 30.3 30.3

 Husband employed .................................................................. 772 783 26.0 26.3

 Other family member unemployed .............................................. 1,010 966 34.0 32.4

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

With unemployed member(s), total .................................................... 1,429 1,416 100.0 100.0

 No member employed ................................................................... 753 701 52.7 49.5

 Some member(s) employed .......................................................... 675 714 47.3 50.5

 Householder unemployed ......................................................... 688 650 48.2 45.9

 Other member(s) employed .................................................. 132 144 9.3 10.2

 Other member(s) unemployed .................................................. 740 766 51.8 54.1

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

 With unemployed member(s), total .................................................. 516 520 100.0 100.0

 No member employed ................................................................... 215 205 41.7 39.3

 Some member(s) employed .......................................................... 301 316 58.3 60.7

 Householder unemployed ......................................................... 284 294 55.0 56.6

 Other member(s) employed .................................................. 118 137 22.8 26.3

 Other member(s) unemployed .................................................. 232 226 45.0 43.4

1 No spouse present.

 NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family

type, 2006-07 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2006 2007 2006 2007

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

 Total ................................................................................................ 35,605 35,856 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ............................................................................ 32,216 32,538 90.5 90.7

No parent employed ........................................................................... 3,388 3,318 9.5 9.3

Married-couple families ...................................................................... 25,022 25,125 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ......................................................................... 24,344 24,459 97.3 97.3

 Mother employed .......................................................................... 16,721 16,855 66.8 67.1

 Both parents employed ............................................................... 15,516 15,627 62.0 62.2

 Mother employed, not father ....................................................... 1,205 1,228 4.8 4.9

 Father employed, not mother ........................................................ 7,623 7,604 30.5 30.3

 Neither parent employed ................................................................. 678 666 2.7 2.7

Families maintained by women 1 ....................................................... 8,407 8,554 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ............................................................................ 6,054 6,224 72.0 72.8

 Mother not employed ...................................................................... 2,352 2,330 28.0 27.2

Families maintained by men 1 ............................................................ 2,176 2,177 100.0 100.0

 Father employed ............................................................................. 1,818 1,855 83.5 85.2

 Father not employed ....................................................................... 359 322 16.5 14.8

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

 Total ................................................................................................ 20,283 20,361 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ............................................................................ 18,446 18,619 90.9 91.4

No parent employed ........................................................................... 1,837 1,742 9.1 8.6

Married-couple families ...................................................................... 13,752 13,823 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ......................................................................... 13,356 13,435 97.1 97.2

 Mother employed .......................................................................... 10,016 10,126 72.8 73.3

 Both parents employed ............................................................... 9,245 9,341 67.2 67.6

 Mother employed, not father ....................................................... 771 785 5.6 5.7

 Father employed, not mother ........................................................ 3,339 3,309 24.3 23.9

 Neither parent employed ................................................................. 396 388 2.9 2.8

Families maintained by women 1 ....................................................... 5,195 5,224 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ............................................................................ 3,976 4,070 76.5 77.9

 Mother not employed ...................................................................... 1,219 1,155 23.5 22.1

Families maintained by men 1 ............................................................ 1,336 1,314 100.0 100.0

 Father employed ............................................................................. 1,114 1,115 83.4 84.9

 Father not employed ....................................................................... 222 199 16.6 15.1

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family

type, 2006-07 annual averages—Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2006 2007 2006 2007

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

 Total ................................................................................................ 15,322 15,495 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ............................................................................ 13,770 13,918 89.9 89.8

No parent employed ........................................................................... 1,551 1,576 10.1 10.2

Married-couple families ...................................................................... 11,270 11,302 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ......................................................................... 10,989 11,024 97.5 97.5

 Mother employed .......................................................................... 6,705 6,729 59.5 59.5

 Both parents employed ............................................................... 6,271 6,287 55.6 55.6

 Mother employed, not father ....................................................... 434 442 3.8 3.9

 Father employed, not mother ........................................................ 4,284 4,295 38.0 38.0

 Neither parent employed ................................................................. 281 278 2.5 2.5

Families maintained by women 1 ....................................................... 3,212 3,329 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ............................................................................ 2,078 2,154 64.7 64.7

 Mother not employed ...................................................................... 1,133 1,175 35.3 35.3

Families maintained by men 1 ............................................................ 840 863 100.0 100.0

 Father employed ............................................................................. 704 740 83.8 85.7

 Father not employed ....................................................................... 136 123 16.2 14.3

1 No spouse present.

 NOTE: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and

adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren,

and other related and unrelated children. Data may not sum to totals

due to rounding. Updated population controls are introduced annually

with the release of January data.
Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 2006-07

annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

2006 2007

Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................... 65,941 29,449 36,492 66,801 29,684 37,117

 Civilian labor force ........................................................... 53,590 27,730 25,861 54,370 28,002 26,368

 Participation rate ........................................................ 81.3 94.2 70.9 81.4 94.3 71.0

 Employed ......................................................................... 51,561 26,948 24,614 52,373 27,216 25,157

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 78.2 91.5 67.4 78.4 91.7 67.8

 Full-time workers 1 ..................................................... 44,634 26,033 18,601 45,336 26,282 19,053

 Part-time workers 2 .................................................... 6,927 914 6,013 7,037 933 6,104

 Unemployed .................................................................... 2,029 782 1,247 1,998 786 1,211

 Unemployment rate .............................................. 3.8 2.8 4.8 3.7 2.8 4.6

Married, spouse present

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................... 52,930 26,908 26,022 53,432 27,205 26,227

 Civilian labor force ........................................................... 43,336 25,494 17,842 43,824 25,784 18,041

 Participation rate ........................................................ 81.9 94.7 68.6 82.0 94.8 68.8

 Employed ......................................................................... 42,134 24,854 17,280 42,625 25,134 17,492

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 79.6 92.4 66.4 79.8 92.4 66.7

 Full-time workers 1 ..................................................... 36,649 24,074 12,575 37,120 24,332 12,788

 Part-time workers 2 .................................................... 5,485 780 4,705 5,505 802 4,704

 Unemployed .................................................................... 1,202 640 562 1,199 650 549

 Unemployment rate .............................................. 2.8 2.5 3.1 2.7 2.5 3.0

Other marital status 3

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................... 13,010 2,541 10,470 13,369 2,479 10,890

 Civilian labor force ........................................................... 10,255 2,236 8,019 10,546 2,219 8,328

 Participation rate ........................................................ 78.8 88.0 76.6 78.9 89.5 76.5

 Employed ......................................................................... 9,427 2,094 7,333 9,747 2,082 7,665

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 72.5 82.4 70.0 72.9 84.0 70.4

 Full-time workers 1 ..................................................... 7,985 1,960 6,026 8,216 1,950 6,266

 Part-time workers 2 .................................................... 1,442 134 1,308 1,531 132 1,400

 Unemployed .................................................................... 827 142 686 799 137 662

 Unemployment rate .............................................. 8.1 6.3 8.5 7.6 6.2 8.0

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................... 36,530 16,212 20,318 36,983 16,384 20,599

 Civilian labor force ........................................................... 30,675 15,091 15,585 31,179 15,269 15,910

 Participation rate ........................................................ 84.0 93.1 76.7 84.3 93.2 77.2

 Employed ......................................................................... 29,643 14,690 14,952 30,176 14,866 15,310

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 81.1 90.6 73.6 81.6 90.7 74.3

 Full-time workers 1 ..................................................... 25,835 14,206 11,629 26,288 14,378 11,910

 Part-time workers 2 .................................................... 3,808 485 3,323 3,888 488 3,400

 Unemployed .................................................................... 1,032 400 632 1,003 403 600

 Unemployment rate .............................................. 3.4 2.7 4.1 3.2 2.6 3.8

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................... 29,411 13,237 16,174 29,818 13,299 16,518

 Civilian labor force ........................................................... 22,915 12,639 10,276 23,192 12,733 10,458

 Participation rate ........................................................ 77.9 95.5 63.5 77.8 95.7 63.3

 Employed ......................................................................... 21,919 12,257 9,661 22,197 12,350 9,847

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 74.5 92.6 59.7 74.4 92.9 59.6

 Full-time workers 1 ..................................................... 18,800 11,828 6,972 19,048 11,904 7,143

 Part-time workers 2 .................................................... 3,119 430 2,689 3,149 446 2,704

 Unemployed .................................................................... 997 382 615 995 383 611

 Unemployment rate .............................................. 4.3 3.0 6.0 4.3 3.0 5.8

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 2006-07

annual averages — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

2006 2007

Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ....................................... 162,874 81,156 81,718 165,066 82,489 82,577

 Civilian labor force ........................................................... 97,837 53,525 44,312 98,754 54,134 44,620

 Participation rate ........................................................ 60.1 66.0 54.2 59.8 65.6 54.0

 Employed ......................................................................... 92,866 50,554 42,312 93,674 51,039 42,635

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 57.0 62.3 51.8 56.7 61.9 51.6

 Full-time workers 1 ..................................................... 75,054 43,274 31,780 75,755 43,752 32,003

 Part-time workers 2 .................................................... 17,812 7,280 10,532 17,919 7,286 10,632

 Unemployed .................................................................... 4,971 2,971 2,000 5,080 3,095 1,984

 Unemployment rate .............................................. 5.1 5.6 4.5 5.1 5.7 4.4

1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. 2 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs. 3 Includes never married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons.

 NOTE: 2006 estimates for total and for men differ from those published in the

"Employment Characteristics of Families in 2006" news release (USDL

07-0673) due to a change in the weights for the estimates of married men. Own

children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. Not

included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated

children. Data may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population

controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.
Table 6. Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child and marital status, 2006-07

annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Civilian

noninstitutional

population

Civilian labor force

Total Percent of

population

Employed Unemployed

Total Percent of

population

Full-time

workers 1

Part-time

workers 2 Number Percent oflabor force

2006

TOTAL MOTHERS

With own children under 3 years old ........ 9,431 5,675 60.2 5,315 56.4 3,751 1,564 360 6.3

 2 years ................................................. 2,864 1,847 64.5 1,746 61.0 1,280 466 101 5.5

 1 year ................................................... 3,318 2,006 60.5 1,883 56.7 1,305 577 123 6.1

 Under 1 year ......................................... 3,248 1,822 56.1 1,686 51.9 1,166 520 136 7.4

Married, spouse present

With own children under 3 years old ........ 6,998 4,076 58.2 3,933 56.2 2,756 1,177 143 3.5

 2 years ................................................. 2,114 1,305 61.7 1,265 59.8 910 354 40 3.1

 1 year ................................................... 2,494 1,456 58.4 1,404 56.3 962 442 52 3.6

 Under 1 year ......................................... 2,390 1,315 55.0 1,264 52.9 883 381 51 3.9

Other marital status 3

With own children under 3 years old ........ 2,433 1,600 65.7 1,382 56.8 996 386 217 13.6

 2 years ................................................. 750 543 72.3 481 64.2 369 112 61 11.3

 1 year ................................................... 824 550 66.7 479 58.1 344 135 71 13.0

 Under 1 year ......................................... 859 507 59.0 422 49.2 283 139 85 16.7

2007

TOTAL MOTHERS

With own children under 3 years old ........ 9,659 5,721 59.2 5,354 55.4 3,783 1,571 367 6.4

 2 years ................................................. 2,812 1,808 64.3 1,694 60.2 1,225 469 114 6.3

 1 year ................................................... 3,501 2,068 59.1 1,938 55.4 1,350 589 130 6.3

 Under 1 year ......................................... 3,346 1,845 55.1 1,721 51.4 1,208 513 123 6.7

Married, spouse present

With own children under 3 years old ........ 7,018 4,027 57.4 3,888 55.4 2,730 1,157 140 3.5

 2 years ................................................. 2,076 1,281 61.7 1,230 59.2 881 349 51 4.0

 1 year ................................................... 2,536 1,433 56.5 1,388 54.7 954 434 46 3.2

 Under 1 year ......................................... 2,406 1,313 54.6 1,270 52.8 896 374 43 3.3

Other marital status 3

With own children under 3 years old ........ 2,641 1,694 64.1 1,466 55.5 1,052 414 227 13.4

 2 years ................................................. 736 528 71.6 464 63.1 344 120 63 12.0

 1 year ................................................... 965 635 65.8 551 57.1 396 155 84 13.2

 Under 1 year ......................................... 940 531 56.5 451 48.0 312 139 80 15.1

1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. 2 Usually work less than 35 hours a week at all jobs. 3 Includes never married, divorced, separated, and widowed persons.

 NOTE: Own children include sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children. 

Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated

children. Data may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated population controls are

introduced annually with the release of January data.