1

Technical information: (202) 691-6378

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

Media contact: 691-5902

USDL 04-719

For release: 10:00 A.M. EDT

Tuesday, April 20, 2004

EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES IN 2003

In 2003, 8.1 percent of families had an unemployed member, an increase of 0.3 percentage point from

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

third consecutive year this measure rose; in 2000, the proportion of families with an unemployed member was

5.7 percent. Of the nation’s 75.3 million families, 82.0 percent had at least one employed member in 2003,

down by 0.4 percentage point from 2002.

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 nationwide.

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

present. For further information on the CPS, see the Technical Note.

Families and Unemployment

In an average week in 2003, 6.1 million families had at least one unemployed member, up from 5.8

million families the year before. The proportion of black families with an unemployed member (13.7 percent)

was higher than the proportion of white families (7.1 percent), Asian families (9.4 percent), and Hispanic

families (11.1 percent). (See table 1.)

Of the 6.1 million families with at least one unemployed member, 70.5 percent also had an employed

family member. Asian families with unemployment were most likely to have at least one member employed

(82.7 percent), followed by white families (73.6 percent), Hispanic families (70.1 percent), and black families

(57.3 percent). The percentage of black families with unemployment and at least one employed member fell

by 2.0 percentage points in 2003; the declines for white and Hispanic families were smaller. (See table 1.)

Among married-couple families with unemployed members, 81.5 percent had at least one employed

member in 2003, down by 0.6 percentage point from the prior year. There was little over-the-year change

in the proportion of families maintained by women that had unemployment and also included an employed

member (47.8 percent in 2003). Among families maintained by men, in contrast, the proportion rose by

2.1 percentage points to 60.8 percent. (See table 3.)

Families and Employment

In 2003, 82.0 percent of families had at least one employed member. Among Asian families, 89.1 percent had at least one employed member, as did 86.1 percent of Hispanic families and 82.3 percent of white

families. Black families were the least likely to contain an employed member (77.9 percent). The proportion

of such black families was 1.1 percentage points below the prior year’s level. (See table 1.)
2

Among married-couple families, 83.3 percent had an employed member in 2003, down by 0.2 percentage point from 2002. This proportion has declined each year since 1999. Both the husband and wife

worked in 50.9 percent of married-couple families in 2003. This proportion has declined since 1997, when

it was 53.4 percent. The proportion of married-couple families in which only the wife worked rose for the

third straight year, to 6.8 percent in 2003. The proportion in which only the husband worked was about

unchanged over the year at 20 percent; however, this statistic has risen by 0.8 percentage point since 2000.

(See table 2.)

Families with Children

There were 35.4 million families with children under age 18 in 2003. Of these, 90.3 percent had at least

one parent employed, down from 90.7 percent in 2002. All of the decline was among single-parent families.

Nearly 97 percent of married-couple families with children had at least one parent who was employed in

2003, the same as a year earlier. Both parents were employed in 60.7 percent of two-parent families, down

by 0.6 percentage point from the year before. In 30.5 percent of two-parent families, only the father was

employed, and, in 5.5 percent, only the mother worked. Both proportions edged up over the year and were

at their highest levels since the two series began in 1994. (See table 4.)

In 2003, the mother was employed in 71.9 percent of single-parent families maintained by women, while

the father was employed in 83.3 percent of single-parent families maintained by men. Both proportions were

lower than in the prior year. (See table 4.)

Mothers

The labor force participation rate for mothers with children under age 18 was 71.1 percent in 2003,

down by 0.7 percentage point from the prior year. The participation rate for married mothers declined by

0.4 percentage point to 68.6 percent, while that for unmarried mothers—those who were never married,

widowed, divorced, or separated—fell by 1.2 percentage points to 77.7 percent. (See table 5.)

The labor force participation rate for mothers of children younger than a year old fell by 2.4 percentage

points to 53.7 percent in 2003. This rate has fallen almost every year since 1998, when it was 57.9 percent.

For married mothers with children under age 1, the participation rate continued its downward trend, falling by

1.8 percentage points in 2003 to 52.9 percent. The participation rate for unmarried mothers with children

under age 1 fell by 4.7 percentage points to 56.2 percent. (See table 6.)

The unemployment rate for unmarried mothers with children under age 18 rose to 10.2 percent in 2003,

from 9.5 percent in 2002. There was little change in the jobless rate for married mothers, at 4.0 percent in

2003. (See table 5.)

The jobless rate of unmarried mothers of children under age 1 rose from 19.6 percent in 2002 to

20.5 percent in 2003. In contrast, the unemployment rate for married mothers of children under age 1 fell

from 6.0 percent to 5.1 percent. (See table 6.)
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 2003 presented in this release reflect revised CPS

population controls introduced in January 2003 and are not

strictly comparable with data for 2002 and earlier years. For a

discussion of the revised population controls and the impact that

their introduction had on CPS data, see “Revisions to the Current

Population Survey Effective in January 2003” in the February

2003 issue of Employment and Earnings and available at

http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf on the BLS Web site.

Information in this release will be made available to sensory

impaired individuals upon request: Voice phone: 202-691-5200;

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

Reliability of the estimates

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling and

nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than the entire

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

estimates may differ from the “true” population values they

represent. The exact difference, or sampling error, varies

depending on the particular sample selected, and this variability

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

about a 90-percent chance, or level of confidence, that an

estimate based on a sample will differ by no more than 1.6

standard errors from the “true” population value because of

sampling error. BLS analyses are generally conducted at the

90-percent level of confidence.

The CPS data also are affected by nonsampling error.

Nonsampling error can occur for many reasons, including the

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

information for all respondents in the sample, inability or

unwillingness of respondents to provide correct information,

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

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

and information on estimating standard errors, see the

“Explanatory Notes and Estimates of Error” section of

Employment and Earnings.

Definitions

The principal definitions used in this release are described

below.

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

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

count of families is for “primary” families only, that is, the householder and all other persons related to and residing with the

householder. Families are classified either as married-couple families or as families maintained by women or men without spouses.

Householder. The householder is the family reference

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

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

other individuals in the household is defined in terms of

relationship to the householder. 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, stepchildren, 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, childcare 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,

2002-03 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2002 2003

TOTAL

Total families ................................................................................................................................ 74,169 75,301

 With employed member(s) ..................................................................................................... 61,121 61,761

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 82.4 82.0

 Some usually work full time 1 ........................................................................................ 56,742 57,229

 With no employed member .................................................................................................... 13,048 13,540

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 17.6 18.0

 With unemployed member(s) ................................................................................................. 5,809 6,079

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 7.8 8.1

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................................. 4,126 4,285

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ...................................................... 71.0 70.5

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................................. 3,668 3,790

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ................................................... 63.1 62.3

White 2

Total families ................................................................................................................................ 61,494 61,995

 With employed member(s) ..................................................................................................... 50,785 51,002

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 82.6 82.3

 Some usually work full time 1 ........................................................................................ 47,193 47,356

 With no employed member .................................................................................................... 10,709 10,993

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 17.4 17.7

 With unemployed member(s) ................................................................................................. 4,275 4,411

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 7.0 7.1

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................................. 3,164 3,245

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ...................................................... 74.0 73.6

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................................. 2,808 2,873

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ................................................... 65.7 65.1

Black or African American 2

Total families ................................................................................................................................ 8,845 8,869

 With employed member(s) ..................................................................................................... 6,987 6,906

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 79.0 77.9

 Some usually work full time 1 ........................................................................................ 6,390 6,270

 With no employed member .................................................................................................... 1,858 1,963

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 21.0 22.1

 With unemployed member(s) ................................................................................................. 1,162 1,213

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 13.1 13.7

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................................. 689 695

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ...................................................... 59.3 57.3

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................................. 611 612

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ................................................... 52.6 50.5

Asian 2

Total families ................................................................................................................................ 3,032 2,880

 With employed member(s) ..................................................................................................... 2,707 2,566

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 89.3 89.1

 Some usually work full time 1 ........................................................................................ 2,562 2,424

 With no employed member .................................................................................................... 325 315

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 10.7 10.9

 With unemployed member(s) ................................................................................................. 272 271

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 9.0 9.4

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................................. 213 224

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ...................................................... 78.3 82.7

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................................. 194 197

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ................................................... 71.3 72.7

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

2002-03 annual averages — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2002 2003

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total families ................................................................................................................................ 8,650 9,185

 With employed member(s) ..................................................................................................... 7,485 7,907

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 86.5 86.1

 Some usually work full time 1 ........................................................................................ 6,989 7,383

 With no employed member .................................................................................................... 1,165 1,277

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 13.5 13.9

 With unemployed member(s) ................................................................................................. 965 1,020

 As percent of total families ............................................................................................... 11.2 11.1

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................................. 686 715

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ...................................................... 71.1 70.1

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................................. 615 640

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ................................................... 63.7 62.7

1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs. 2 Beginning in 2003, families where the householder selected

this race group only; families where the householder selected more

than one race group are excluded. Prior to 2003, families where

the householder selected more than one race group were included

in the group that the householder identified as their main race. Also

beginning in 2003, data for Asians exclude Pacific Islanders.

 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. In addition, persons whose ethnicity

is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race and,

therefore, are classified by ethnicity as well as by race. Detail may

not sum to totals due to rounding. Data for 2003 reflect revised

population controls used in the Current Population Survey.
Table 2. Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 2002-03 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2002 2003 2002 2003

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES

 Total ................................................................................................................... 56,280 57,074 100.0 100.0

Member(s) employed, total .................................................................................... 46,976 47,535 83.5 83.3

 Husband only ....................................................................................................... 11,174 11,403 19.9 20.0

 Wife only .............................................................................................................. 3,613 3,863 6.4 6.8

 Husband and wife ................................................................................................ 28,873 29,077 51.3 50.9

 Other employment combinations ......................................................................... 3,317 3,193 5.9 5.6

No member(s) employed ........................................................................................ 9,303 9,539 16.5 16.7

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

 Total ................................................................................................................... 13,215 13,450 100.0 100.0

Members(s) employed, total ................................................................................... 10,169 10,187 77.0 75.7

 Householder only ................................................................................................. 5,944 5,987 45.0 44.5

 Householder and other member(s) ...................................................................... 2,559 2,539 19.4 18.9

 Other member(s), not householder ...................................................................... 1,666 1,660 12.6 12.3

No member(s) employed ........................................................................................ 3,047 3,263 23.1 24.3

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

 Total ................................................................................................................... 4,674 4,777 100.0 100.0

Members(s) employed, total ................................................................................... 3,976 4,039 85.1 84.6

 Householder only ................................................................................................. 1,939 1,954 41.5 40.9

 Householder and other member(s) ...................................................................... 1,440 1,427 30.8 29.9

 Other member(s), not householder ...................................................................... 598 658 12.8 13.8

No member(s) employed ........................................................................................ 698 739 14.9 15.5

1 No spouse present.

 NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Data for

2003 reflect revised population controls used in the Current

Population Survey.
Table 3. Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 

2002-03 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2002 2003 2002 2003

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES

With unemployed member(s), total ........................................................................ 3,772 3,857 100.0 100.0

 No member employed .......................................................................................... 676 713 17.9 18.5

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................. 3,096 3,144 82.1 81.5

 Husband unemployed ........................................................................................ 1,523 1,600 40.4 41.5

 Wife employed ................................................................................................. 993 1,023 26.3 26.5

 Wife unemployed ............................................................................................... 1,117 1,129 29.6 29.3

 Husband employed .......................................................................................... 969 991 25.7 25.7

 Other family member unemployed ..................................................................... 1,133 1,129 30.0 29.3

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

With unemployed member(s), total ........................................................................ 1,504 1,612 100.0 100.0

 No member employed .......................................................................................... 787 842 52.3 52.2

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................. 717 770 47.7 47.8

 Householder unemployed .................................................................................. 737 791 49.0 49.1

 Other member(s) employed ............................................................................. 147 162 9.8 10.0

 Other member(s) unemployed ........................................................................... 767 821 51.0 50.9

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

With unemployed member(s), total ........................................................................ 533 610 100.0 100.0

 No member employed .......................................................................................... 220 239 41.3 39.2

 Some member(s) employed ................................................................................. 313 371 58.7 60.8

 Householder unemployed .................................................................................. 303 340 56.8 55.7

 Other member(s) employed ............................................................................. 129 158 24.2 25.9

 Other member(s) unemployed ........................................................................... 230 270 43.2 44.3

1 No spouse present.

 NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Data for

2003 reflect revised population controls used in the Current

Population Survey.
Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type,

2002-03 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2002 2003 2002 2003

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

 Total ................................................................................................................. 35,240 35,428 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ............................................................................................ 31,955 32,002 90.7 90.3

No parent employed ........................................................................................... 3,285 3,426 9.3 9.7

Married-couple families ...................................................................................... 25,191 25,383 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed .......................................................................................... 24,372 24,553 96.7 96.7

 Mother employed ........................................................................................... 16,773 16,820 66.6 66.3

 Both parents employed ................................................................................ 15,439 15,420 61.3 60.7

 Mother employed, not father ........................................................................ 1,334 1,400 5.3 5.5

 Father employed, not mother ......................................................................... 7,599 7,733 30.2 30.5

 Neither parent employed .................................................................................. 819 830 3.3 3.3

Families maintained by women 1 ....................................................................... 8,053 8,069 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ............................................................................................. 5,910 5,804 73.4 71.9

 Mother not employed ....................................................................................... 2,143 2,265 26.6 28.1

Families maintained by men 1 ............................................................................ 1,995 1,975 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .............................................................................................. 1,673 1,645 83.9 83.3

 Father not employed ........................................................................................ 323 331 16.2 16.8

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS,

NONE YOUNGER

 Total ................................................................................................................. 20,042 20,125 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ............................................................................................ 18,313 18,309 91.4 91.0

No parent employed ........................................................................................... 1,728 1,814 8.6 9.0

Married-couple families ...................................................................................... 13,891 13,917 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed .......................................................................................... 13,459 13,473 96.9 96.8

 Mother employed ........................................................................................... 10,230 10,214 73.6 73.4

 Both parents employed ................................................................................ 9,386 9,323 67.6 67.0

 Mother employed, not father ........................................................................ 844 890 6.1 6.4

 Father employed, not mother ......................................................................... 3,229 3,261 23.2 23.4

 Neither parent employed .................................................................................. 432 443 3.1 3.2

Families maintained by women 1 ....................................................................... 4,959 5,009 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ............................................................................................. 3,856 3,851 77.8 76.9

 Mother not employed ....................................................................................... 1,102 1,157 22.2 23.1

Families maintained by men 1 ............................................................................ 1,193 1,199 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .............................................................................................. 998 985 83.7 82.2

 Father not employed ........................................................................................ 194 214 16.3 17.8

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

 Total ................................................................................................................. 15,197 15,302 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ............................................................................................ 13,641 13,692 89.8 89.5

No parent employed ........................................................................................... 1,557 1,608 10.2 10.5

Married-couple families ...................................................................................... 11,300 11,466 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed .......................................................................................... 10,913 11,080 96.6 96.6

 Mother employed ........................................................................................... 6,543 6,607 57.9 57.6

 Both parents employed ................................................................................ 6,053 6,097 53.6 53.2

 Mother employed, not father ........................................................................ 490 510 4.3 4.4

 Father employed, not mother ......................................................................... 4,370 4,474 38.7 39.0

 Neither parent employed .................................................................................. 388 385 3.4 3.4

Families maintained by women 1 ....................................................................... 3,094 3,061 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ............................................................................................. 2,054 1,953 66.4 63.8

 Mother not employed ....................................................................................... 1,040 1,107 33.6 36.2

Families maintained by men 1 ............................................................................ 803 776 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .............................................................................................. 674 659 83.9 84.9

 Father not employed ........................................................................................ 129 116 16.1 14.9

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. Detail may not sum to totals

due to rounding. Data for 2003 reflect revised population controls

used in the Current Population Survey.
Table 5. Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children 

under 18, 2002-03 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

2002 2003

Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................ 64,399 28,137 36,263 64,932 28,402 36,530

 Civilian labor force ...................................................... 52,566 26,529 26,036 52,727 26,739 25,988

 Participation rate ..................................................... 81.6 94.3 71.8 81.2 94.1 71.1

 Employed .................................................................. 50,022 25,474 24,549 50,103 25,638 24,466

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 77.7 90.5 67.7 77.2 90.3 67.0

 Full-time workers 1 .................................................. 42,884 24,644 18,240 42,880 24,762 18,118

 Part-time workers 2 ................................................. 7,138 829 6,308 7,223 876 6,347

 Unemployed .............................................................. 2,543 1,056 1,488 2,624 1,101 1,523

 Unemployment rate ................................................. 4.8 4.0 5.7 5.0 4.1 5.9

Married, spouse present

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................ 51,947 25,781 26,166 52,476 26,049 26,427

 Civilian labor force ...................................................... 42,492 24,425 18,067 42,776 24,638 18,138

 Participation rate ..................................................... 81.8 94.7 69.0 81.5 94.6 68.6

 Employed .................................................................. 40,867 23,533 17,334 41,128 23,712 17,416

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 78.7 91.3 66.2 78.4 91.0 65.9

 Full-time workers 1 .................................................. 35,180 22,825 12,356 35,315 22,954 12,360

 Part-time workers 2 ................................................. 5,687 708 4,979 5,813 757 5,056

 Unemployed .............................................................. 1,625 893 733 1,648 926 722

 Unemployment rate ................................................. 3.8 3.7 4.1 3.9 3.8 4.0

Other marital status 3

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................ 12,452 2,355 10,096 12,455 2,354 10,102

 Civilian labor force ...................................................... 10,073 2,103 7,970 9,950 2,100 7,850

 Participation rate ..................................................... 80.9 89.3 78.9 79.9 89.2 77.7

 Employed .................................................................. 9,155 1,941 7,215 8,975 1,926 7,050

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 73.5 82.4 71.5 72.1 81.8 69.8

 Full-time workers 1 .................................................. 7,704 1,820 5,885 7,566 1,807 5,759

 Part-time workers 2 ................................................. 1,451 122 1,329 1,411 118 1,291

 Unemployed .............................................................. 918 163 755 976 175 800

 Unemployment rate ................................................. 9.1 7.8 9.5 9.8 8.3 10.2

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS,

NONE YOUNGER

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................ 35,829 15,580 20,250 35,943 15,653 20,290

 Civilian labor force ...................................................... 30,371 14,541 15,830 30,362 14,572 15,790

 Participation rate ..................................................... 84.8 93.3 78.2 84.5 93.1 77.8

 Employed .................................................................. 29,122 14,023 15,099 29,040 14,008 15,032

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 81.3 90.0 74.6 80.8 89.5 74.1

 Full-time workers 1 .................................................. 25,225 13,586 11,638 25,116 13,558 11,557

 Part-time workers 2 ................................................. 3,898 437 3,461 3,925 450 3,475

 Unemployed .............................................................. 1,249 518 731 1,322 564 758

 Unemployment rate ................................................. 4.1 3.6 4.6 4.4 3.9 4.8

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................ 28,570 12,557 16,013 28,988 12,749 16,240

 Civilian labor force ...................................................... 22,194 11,988 10,206 22,365 12,167 10,198

 Participation rate ..................................................... 77.7 95.5 63.7 77.2 95.4 62.8

 Employed .................................................................. 20,900 11,450 9,450 21,063 11,630 9,433

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 73.2 91.2 59.0 72.7 91.2 58.1

 Full-time workers 1 .................................................. 17,660 11,058 6,602 17,764 11,203 6,561

 Part-time workers 2 ................................................. 3,240 392 2,848 3,299 426 2,872

 Unemployed .............................................................. 1,294 538 757 1,302 538 765

 Unemployment rate ................................................. 5.8 4.5 7.4 5.8 4.4 7.5

WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................ 151,715 74,993 76,722 154,714 76,510 78,204

 Civilian labor force ...................................................... 90,971 49,644 41,327 92,319 50,036 42,284

 Participation rate ..................................................... 60.0 66.2 53.9 59.7 65.4 54.1

 Employed .................................................................. 85,187 46,154 39,034 86,233 46,294 39,939

 Employment-population ratio ................................ 56.1 61.5 50.9 55.7 60.5 51.1

 Full-time workers 1 .................................................. 68,574 39,319 29,254 69,073 39,245 29,827

 Part-time workers 2 ................................................. 16,614 6,834 9,779 17,160 7,049 10,111

 Unemployed .............................................................. 5,784 3,491 2,293 6,087 3,741 2,345

 Unemployment rate ................................................. 6.4 7.0 5.5 6.6 7.5 5.5

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

persons.

 NOTE: See NOTE, table 4.
Table 6. Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child and marital status,

2002-03 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

2002

TOTAL MOTHERS

With own children under 3 years old ............ 9,350 5,632 60.2 5,181 55.4 3,513 1,667 451 8.0

 2 years ........................................................ 2,949 1,895 64.3 1,758 59.6 1,234 524 137 7.2

 1 year .......................................................... 3,310 2,003 60.5 1,852 56.0 1,241 610 151 7.5

 Under 1 year ............................................... 3,091 1,734 56.1 1,571 50.8 1,038 533 163 9.4

Married, spouse present

With own children under 3 years old ............ 7,073 4,071 57.6 3,869 54.7 2,572 1,297 203 5.0

 2 years ........................................................ 2,201 1,333 60.6 1,274 57.9 870 404 59 4.4

 1 year .......................................................... 2,509 1,446 57.6 1,379 55.0 902 477 67 4.6

 Under 1 year ............................................... 2,363 1,292 54.7 1,216 51.5 800 416 77 6.0

Other marital status 3

With own children under 3 years old ............ 2,278 1,562 68.6 1,313 57.6 941 372 248 15.9

 2 years ........................................................ 748 562 75.1 484 64.7 364 120 77 13.7

 1 year .......................................................... 802 557 69.5 473 59.0 340 134 84 15.1

 Under 1 year ............................................... 728 443 60.9 356 48.9 237 118 87 19.6

2003

TOTAL MOTHERS

With own children under 3 years old ............ 9,450 5,563 58.9 5,115 54.1 3,430 1,685 446 8.0

 2 years ........................................................ 2,987 1,896 63.5 1,752 58.7 1,205 547 143 7.5

 1 year .......................................................... 3,353 1,997 59.6 1,842 54.9 1,223 619 154 7.7

 Under 1 year ............................................... 3,110 1,670 53.7 1,521 48.9 1,002 519 149 8.9

Married, spouse present

With own children under 3 years old ............ 7,165 4,068 56.8 3,872 54.0 2,529 1,342 197 4.8

 2 years ........................................................ 2,243 1,350 60.2 1,281 57.1 853 428 69 5.1

 1 year .......................................................... 2,541 1,458 57.4 1,395 54.9 906 488 64 4.4

 Under 1 year ............................................... 2,381 1,260 52.9 1,196 50.2 770 426 64 5.1

Other marital status 3

With own children under 3 years old ............ 2,287 1,495 65.4 1,244 54.4 902 341 250 16.7

 2 years ........................................................ 744 546 73.4 471 63.3 352 118 75 13.7

 1 year .......................................................... 813 539 66.3 448 55.1 317 131 91 16.9

 Under 1 year ............................................... 730 410 56.2 325 44.5 233 92 84 20.5

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

 NOTE: See NOTE, table 4.