For release 10:00 a.m. (EDT) Thursday, May 27, 2010 USDL-10-0721 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 • cpsinfo@bls.gov • www.bls.gov/cps 

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 • PressOffice@bls.gov 

EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES – 2009 

The share of families with an unemployed member rose from 7.8 percent in 2008 to 12.0 percent in 

2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The proportion of families with an unemployed member in 2009 was at its highest level since the data series began in 1994. Of the nation's 78.4 

million families, 80.4 percent had at least one employed member in 2009, down by 1.8 percentage points 

from 2008. 

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 

There were 9.4 million families with at least one unemployed member in 2009, up from 6.1 million in 

2008. The proportion of families with an unemployed member was 6.3 percent in 2007; it rose to 7.8 

percent in 2008 and to 12.0 percent in 2009. (See table 1.) 

Black and Hispanic families were more likely to have an unemployed member (17.4 and 16.9 percent, 

respectively) than were white (11.1 percent) and Asian (11.4 percent) families in 2009. Most families 

with an unemployed member also have at least one family member who is employed. Among families 

with an unemployed member in 2009, 68.6 percent also had an employed member, compared with 70.8 

percent in 2008. (See table 1.) 

Among married-couple families with an unemployed member in 2009, 79.9 percent had an employed 

member, down from 82.5 percent in 2008. For families maintained by women (no spouse present) with 

an unemployed member, the proportion that also contained an employed member was lower in 2009 

(46.1 percent) than in 2008 (49.1 percent). For families maintained by men (no spouse present), the proportion fell to 52.6 percent in 2009 from 57.3 percent in 2008. (See table 3.) 

Families and Employment 

The share of families with an employed member was lower in 2009 (80.4 percent) than in 2008 (82.2 

percent). The likelihood of having an employed family member declined over the year for families of 

all major race and ethnicity groups. (See table 1.) 
- 2 - 

In 2009, families maintained by women with no spouse present were less likely to have an employed 

member (72.8 percent) than were married-couple families (82.4 percent) or families maintained by men 

with no spouse present (79.8 percent). The share of families with an employed member declined over 

the year for all family types. (See table 2.) 

Both the husband and wife were employed in 48.5 percent of married-couple families in 2009, compared with 51.4 percent in 2008. Married-couple families in which only the wife worked accounted for 

8.4 percent of all married-couple families in 2009, compared with 6.9 percent in 2008. The husband was 

the only employed member in 19.6 percent of married-couple families in 2009, essentially unchanged 

from a year earlier. (See table 2.) 

Families with Children 

Forty-four percent of all families included children (sons, daughters, step-children, and adopted children) under age 18. Among the 34.8 million families with children, 87.8 percent had an employed parent 

in 2009, down from 90.0 percent in 2008. The mother was employed in 67.8 percent of families maintained by women with no spouse present in 2009, and the father was employed in 76.6 percent of those 

maintained by men with no spouse present. Among married-couple families with children, 95.7 percent 

had an employed parent in 2009, down from 97.0 percent in 2008. Both the mother and father were employed in 58.9 percent of married-couple families with children in 2009, also lower than a year earlier. 

(See table 4.) 

Mothers 

The labor force participation rate—the percent of the population working or looking for work—for all 

mothers with children under 18 was 71.4 percent in 2009, unchanged from 2008. In 2009, the participation rate for married mothers with spouse present (69.6 percent) was lower than the rate for mothers 

in other marital statuses (75.8 percent). Married mothers were equally as likely to be employed as 

mothers in other marital statuses, but their unemployment rate was substantially lower—5.8 percent in 

2009, compared with 13.6 percent for mothers in other marital statuses. Unemployment rates increased 

in 2009 for mothers of all marital statuses. (See table 5.) 

Mothers with younger children are less likely to be in the labor force than mothers with older children. 

In 2009, the labor force participation rate of mothers with children under 6 years old (64.2 percent) was 

lower than the rate of those whose youngest child was 6 to 17 years old (77.3 percent). The participation 

rate of mothers with infants under a year old was 56.6 percent. The participation rate of married mothers 

of infants (56.1 percent) was slightly lower than for those with other marital statuses (57.8 percent). 

However, the unemployment rate for married mothers of infants, at 7.0 percent, was significantly lower 

than the rate for mothers with other marital statuses (22.3 percent). (See tables 5 and 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 2009 presented in this release are not strictly 

comparable with data for 2008 and earlier years because of the 

introduction in January 2009 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 decrease the 

December 2008 employment level by 407,000 and the 

unemployment level by 42,000. The updated controls had little 

or no effect on unemployment rates and other ratios. Additional 

information is available on the BLS Web site at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#pop. 

Information in this release will be made available to sensory 

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

5200; Federal Relay Service: (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. 

A full discussion of the reliability of data from the CPS and 

information on estimating standard errors is available at 

www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#reliability. 

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; separated; widowed; or divorced. Separated includes persons with 

legal separations, those living apart with intentions of obtaining 

a divorce, and other people permanently or temporarily 

separated because of marital discord. Married, spouse absent, 

includes married people living apart because either the husband 

or wife was employed and living at a considerable distance from 

home, was serving away from home in the Armed Forces, had 

moved to another area, or had a different place of residence for 

any other reason except separation as defined above. 

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, 2008-09

annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2008 2009

TOTAL

Total families ................................................................................................................ 77,943 78,361

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 64,058 63,010

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 82.2 80.4

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 59,116 57,037

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 13,884 15,351

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 17.8 19.6

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 6,104 9,381

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 7.8 12.0

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 4,319 6,438

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 70.8 68.6

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 3,830 5,460

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 62.7 58.2

White 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 63,490 63,774

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 52,273 51,494

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 82.3 80.7

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 48,271 46,629

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 11,217 12,280

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 17.7 19.3

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 4,506 7,089

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 7.1 11.1

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 3,332 5,072

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 74.0 71.5

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 2,955 4,294

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 65.6 60.6

Black or African American 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 9,297 9,318

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 7,290 7,022

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 78.4 75.4

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 6,622 6,265

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 2,006 2,296

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 21.6 24.6

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 1,188 1,624

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 12.8 17.4

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 686 886

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 57.8 54.5

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 605 748

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 50.9 46.0

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2008-09

annual averages—Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2008 2009

Asian 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 3,403 3,471

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 3,052 3,057

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 89.7 88.1

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 2,900 2,857

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 351 414

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 10.3 11.9

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 215 394

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 6.3 11.4

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 172 306

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 79.9 77.8

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 158 272

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 73.4 69.0

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 10,500 10,489

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 9,135 8,852

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 87.0 84.4

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 8,466 7,923

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 1,365 1,637

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 13.0 15.6

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 1,159 1,770

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 11.0 16.9

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 846 1,228

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 73.0 69.3

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 743 1,021

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 64.1 57.7

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, 2008-09 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2008 2009 2008 2009

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES 

 Total ...................................................................................... 58,125 58,124 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ......................................................... 48,541 47,876 83.5 82.4

 Husband only .......................................................................... 11,351 11,371 19.5 19.6

 Wife only ................................................................................. 4,036 4,909 6.9 8.4

 Husband and wife ................................................................... 29,854 28,211 51.4 48.5

 Other employment combinations ............................................ 3,300 3,384 5.7 5.8

 No member(s) employed .......................................................... 9,585 10,248 16.5 17.6

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

 Total ...................................................................................... 14,383 14,610 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ......................................................... 10,929 10,642 76.0 72.8

 Householder only .................................................................... 6,250 6,135 43.5 42.0

 Householder and other member(s) ......................................... 2,870 2,642 20.0 18.1

 Other member(s), not householder ........................................ 1,809 1,866 12.6 12.8

 No member(s) employed .......................................................... 3,454 3,968 24.0 27.2

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

 Total ...................................................................................... 5,435 5,627 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ......................................................... 4,589 4,492 84.4 79.8

 Householder only .................................................................... 2,178 2,104 40.1 37.4

 Householder and other member(s) ......................................... 1,659 1,557 30.5 27.7

 Other member(s), not householder ........................................ 752 831 13.8 14.8

 No member(s) employed .......................................................... 845 1,135 15.6 20.2

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, 2008-09

annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2008 2009 2008 2009

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES

With unemployed member(s), total ....................................... 3,796 6,056 100.0 100.0

No member employed ...................................................... 663 1,218 17.5 20.1

Some member(s) employed ............................................. 3,133 4,838 82.5 79.9

Husband unemployed ....................................................... 1,439 2,808 37.9 46.4

Wife employed ................................................................ 927 1,799 24.4 29.7

Wife unemployed .............................................................. 1,114 1,630 29.3 26.9

Husband employed ......................................................... 975 1,397 25.7 23.1

Other family member unemployed ................................... 1,243 1,618 32.7 26.7

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

With unemployed member(s), total ....................................... 1,666 2,309 100.0 100.0

No member employed ...................................................... 849 1,244 50.9 53.9

Some member(s) employed ............................................. 817 1,065 49.1 46.1

Householder unemployed ................................................. 796 1,141 47.8 49.4

Other member(s) employed ............................................ 181 225 10.9 9.7

Other member(s) unemployed .......................................... 870 1,168 52.2 50.6

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

With unemployed member(s), total ....................................... 642 1,016 100.0 100.0

No member employed ...................................................... 274 482 42.7 47.4

Some member(s) employed ............................................. 368 535 57.3 52.6

Householder unemployed ................................................. 385 626 60.0 61.6

Other member(s) employed ............................................ 164 239 25.6 23.5

Other member(s) unemployed .......................................... 257 391 40.0 38.4

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, 2008-09 annual

averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2008 2009 2008 2009

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

 Total ............................................................................................. 35,154 34,762 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ........................................................................ 31,651 30,521 90.0 87.8

No parent employed ....................................................................... 3,504 4,241 10.0 12.2

Married-couple families .................................................................. 24,634 24,223 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ..................................................................... 23,890 23,179 97.0 95.7

 Mother employed ....................................................................... 16,615 16,055 67.4 66.3

 Both parents employed ............................................................ 15,295 14,269 62.1 58.9

 Mother employed, not father .................................................... 1,319 1,786 5.4 7.4

 Father employed, not mother .................................................... 7,275 7,124 29.5 29.4

 Neither parent employed ............................................................. 744 1,044 3.0 4.3

Families maintained by women 1 .................................................... 8,338 8,308 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ......................................................................... 5,954 5,632 71.4 67.8

 Mother not employed ................................................................... 2,384 2,677 28.6 32.2

Families maintained by men 1 ........................................................ 2,182 2,231 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .......................................................................... 1,806 1,710 82.8 76.6

 Father not employed .................................................................... 376 521 17.2 23.4

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

 Total ............................................................................................. 20,062 19,699 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ........................................................................ 18,212 17,465 90.8 88.7

No parent employed ....................................................................... 1,851 2,234 9.2 11.3

Married-couple families .................................................................. 13,771 13,449 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ..................................................................... 13,351 12,867 96.9 95.7

 Mother employed ....................................................................... 10,139 9,691 73.6 72.1

 Both parents employed ............................................................ 9,298 8,582 67.5 63.8

 Mother employed, not father .................................................... 841 1,109 6.1 8.2

 Father employed, not mother .................................................... 3,212 3,176 23.3 23.6

 Neither parent employed ............................................................. 420 582 3.1 4.3

Families maintained by women 1 .................................................... 5,031 4,928 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ......................................................................... 3,823 3,578 76.0 72.6

 Mother not employed ................................................................... 1,207 1,350 24.0 27.4

Families maintained by men 1 ........................................................ 1,260 1,321 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .......................................................................... 1,037 1,019 82.3 77.1

 Father not employed .................................................................... 223 302 17.7 22.9

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2008-09 annual

averages—Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2008 2009 2008 2009

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

 Total ............................................................................................. 15,092 15,063 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ........................................................................ 13,439 13,056 89.0 86.7

No parent employed ....................................................................... 1,653 2,007 11.0 13.3

Married-couple families .................................................................. 10,863 10,774 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ..................................................................... 10,539 10,312 97.0 95.7

 Mother employed ....................................................................... 6,476 6,364 59.6 59.1

 Both parents employed ............................................................ 5,998 5,688 55.2 52.8

 Mother employed, not father .................................................... 478 676 4.4 6.3

 Father employed, not mother .................................................... 4,063 3,948 37.4 36.6

 Neither parent employed ............................................................. 324 462 3.0 4.3

Families maintained by women 1 .................................................... 3,307 3,380 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ......................................................................... 2,131 2,053 64.4 60.8

 Mother not employed ................................................................... 1,176 1,327 35.6 39.2

Families maintained by men 1 ........................................................ 922 910 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .......................................................................... 769 691 83.4 75.9

 Father not employed .................................................................... 153 219 16.6 24.1

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. 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,

 2008-09 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

2008 2009

Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 65,655 29,142 36,513 64,854 28,778 36,076

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 53,506 27,422 26,085 52,748 26,985 25,763

Participation rate ....................................................................... 81.5 94.1 71.4 81.3 93.8 71.4

Employed .................................................................................... 51,017 26,380 24,637 48,621 24,989 23,632

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 77.7 90.5 67.5 75.0 86.8 65.5

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 43,967 25,338 18,629 41,003 23,583 17,419

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 7,050 1,042 6,008 7,618 1,406 6,212

Unemployed ............................................................................... 2,490 1,041 1,448 4,128 1,996 2,132

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 4.7 3.8 5.6 7.8 7.4 8.3

Married, spouse present

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 52,433 26,647 25,786 51,634 26,249 25,385

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 43,137 25,205 17,933 42,424 24,763 17,661

Participation rate ....................................................................... 82.3 94.6 69.5 82.2 94.3 69.6

Employed .................................................................................... 41,611 24,353 17,258 39,732 23,100 16,632

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 79.4 91.4 66.9 76.9 88.0 65.5

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 36,128 23,444 12,685 33,846 21,871 11,975

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 5,482 909 4,573 5,886 1,229 4,657

Unemployed ............................................................................... 1,527 852 675 2,692 1,663 1,029

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 3.5 3.4 3.8 6.3 6.7 5.8

Other marital status 3

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 13,222 2,495 10,727 13,221 2,529 10,691

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 10,369 2,217 8,152 10,325 2,223 8,102

Participation rate ....................................................................... 78.4 88.9 76.0 78.1 87.9 75.8

Employed .................................................................................... 9,406 2,027 7,379 8,889 1,889 7,000

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 71.1 81.3 68.8 67.2 74.7 65.5

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 7,838 1,894 5,944 7,157 1,712 5,445

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 1,568 133 1,435 1,732 177 1,555

Unemployed ............................................................................... 963 190 773 1,436 334 1,103

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 9.3 8.6 9.5 13.9 15.0 13.6

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 36,581 16,256 20,325 35,885 15,982 19,903

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 30,846 15,128 15,718 30,200 14,821 15,379

Participation rate ....................................................................... 84.3 93.1 77.3 84.2 92.7 77.3

Employed .................................................................................... 29,590 14,588 15,003 28,059 13,775 14,284

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 80.9 89.7 73.8 78.2 86.2 71.8

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 25,733 14,054 11,679 23,864 13,067 10,798

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 3,858 534 3,324 4,194 708 3,486

Unemployed ............................................................................... 1,255 541 715 2,141 1,046 1,095

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 4.1 3.6 4.5 7.1 7.1 7.1

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,

 2008-09 annual averages — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

2008 2009

Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 29,074 12,886 16,188 28,969 12,796 16,173

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 22,661 12,293 10,367 22,549 12,164 10,384

Participation rate ....................................................................... 77.9 95.4 64.0 77.8 95.1 64.2

Employed .................................................................................... 21,426 11,792 9,634 20,562 11,214 9,348

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 73.7 91.5 59.5 71.0 87.6 57.8

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 18,234 11,284 6,950 17,138 10,517 6,622

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 3,193 508 2,684 3,424 697 2,726

Unemployed ............................................................................... 1,234 501 733 1,987 950 1,036

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 5.4 4.1 7.1 8.8 7.8 10.0

WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 168,133 83,971 84,162 170,947 85,358 85,589

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 100,780 55,098 45,682 101,394 55,138 46,256

Participation rate ....................................................................... 59.9 65.6 54.3 59.3 64.6 54.0

Employed .................................................................................... 94,346 51,106 43,239 91,257 48,681 42,576

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 56.1 60.9 51.4 53.4 57.0 49.7

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 76,064 43,515 32,549 71,631 40,368 31,263

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 18,282 7,592 10,690 19,626 8,313 11,313

Unemployed ............................................................................... 6,435 3,992 2,443 10,137 6,457 3,680

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 6.4 7.2 5.3 10.0 11.7 8.0

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; married, spouse absent; 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. Detail 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, 2008-09 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

of labor

force

2008

TOTAL MOTHERS

With own children under 3 years old ...... 9,595 5,792 60.4 5,354 55.8 3,782 1,573 438 7.6

 2 years ............................................... 2,934 1,852 63.1 1,734 59.1 1,264 470 118 6.4

 1 year ................................................. 3,342 2,069 61.9 1,905 57.0 1,337 568 164 7.9

 Under 1 year ....................................... 3,319 1,871 56.4 1,715 51.7 1,180 535 156 8.4

Married, spouse present

With own children under 3 years old ...... 6,868 4,035 58.7 3,848 56.0 2,717 1,132 186 4.6

 2 years ............................................... 2,088 1,255 60.1 1,206 57.8 871 335 49 3.9

 1 year ................................................. 2,414 1,450 60.1 1,380 57.2 970 410 70 4.8

 Under 1 year ....................................... 2,366 1,330 56.2 1,263 53.4 875 388 67 5.0

Other marital status 3

With own children under 3 years old ...... 2,727 1,758 64.4 1,506 55.2 1,065 441 252 14.3

 2 years ............................................... 847 597 70.5 528 62.4 393 135 69 11.5

 1 year ................................................. 928 619 66.7 525 56.6 367 159 94 15.1

 Under 1 year ....................................... 953 542 56.8 452 47.5 305 147 89 16.5

2009

TOTAL MOTHERS

With own children under 3 years old ...... 9,476 5,787 61.1 5,191 54.8 3,626 1,565 595 10.3

 2 years ............................................... 2,848 1,855 65.1 1,693 59.4 1,195 498 162 8.7

 1 year ................................................. 3,398 2,104 61.9 1,880 55.3 1,314 566 224 10.6

 Under 1 year ....................................... 3,231 1,828 56.6 1,619 50.1 1,117 502 209 11.4

Married, spouse present

With own children under 3 years old ...... 6,784 4,047 59.7 3,780 55.7 2,657 1,123 267 6.6

 2 years ............................................... 2,053 1,288 62.7 1,208 58.8 858 350 80 6.2

 1 year ................................................. 2,425 1,465 60.4 1,369 56.4 963 406 96 6.6

 Under 1 year ....................................... 2,306 1,293 56.1 1,204 52.2 836 368 90 7.0

Other marital status 3

With own children under 3 years old ...... 2,693 1,740 64.6 1,411 52.4 969 442 328 18.9

 2 years ............................................... 795 567 71.3 485 61.0 337 148 82 14.4

 1 year ................................................. 973 639 65.6 511 52.5 351 160 127 20.0

 Under 1 year ....................................... 925 534 57.8 415 44.9 281 134 119 22.3

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; married, spouse absent; 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. Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Updated

population controls are introduced annually with the release of January data.