News

Bureau of Labor Statistics Washington, D.C. 20212 

United States 

Department 

of Labor 

Technical information: (202) 691-6378 USDL 09-0568 

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

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

Media contact: (202) 691-5902 Wednesday, May 27, 2009 

EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES IN 2008 

The share of families with an unemployed member rose from 6.3 percent in 2007 to 7.8 percent in 

2008, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today. The proportion of 

families with an unemployed member in 2008 neared the recent peak of 8.1 percent in 2003. Of the 

nation's 77.9 million families, 82.2 percent had at least one employed member in 2008, down by 0.4 

percentage point from 2007. 

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 6.1 million families with at least one unemployed member in 2008, up from 4.9 million 

in 2007. The proportion of families with an unemployed member rose from 6.3 percent in 2007 to 7.8 

percent in 2008. Black and Hispanic families were more likely to have an unemployed member (12.8 

and 11.0 percent, respectively) than were white (7.1 percent) and Asian (6.3 percent) families. 

Unemployment rose over the year among families of all types. (See table 1.) 

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

Among families with an unemployed member in 2008, 70.8 percent also had an employed member, 

compared with 71.2 percent in 2007. Among married-couple families with an unemployed member in 

2008, 82.5 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 edged lower from 50.5 percent in 2007 to 49.1 percent in 2008. For families maintained 

by men (no spouse present), the proportion fell from 60.7 percent in 2007 to 57.3 percent in 2008. (See 

tables 1 and 3.) 

Families and Employment

The share of families with an employed member was lower in 2008 (82.2 percent) than in 2007 

(82.6 percent). The likelihood of having an employed family member declined over the year for white, 

black, and Hispanic families and was little changed for Asian families. Asian families remained the 
2

most likely to have an employed member (89.7 percent) in 2008, followed by Hispanic families (87.0 

percent), white families (82.3 percent), and black families (78.4 percent). (See table 1.) 

In 2008, families maintained by women with no spouse present were less likely to have an employed member (76.0 percent) than were married-couple families (83.5 percent) or families maintained 

by men (84.4 percent). The share of families with an employed member was lower in 2008 than in 2007 

for all family types. (See table 2.) 

Both the husband and wife were employed in 51.4 percent of married-couple families in 2008, compared with 51.7 percent in 2007. Married-couple families in which only the wife worked accounted for 

6.9 percent of all married-couple families in 2008, compared with 6.6 percent in 2007. The husband 

was the sole employed member in 19.5 percent of families in 2008, compared with 19.8 percent in 2007. 

Families with Children

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

under age 18. Among the 35.2 million families with children, 90.0 percent had an employed parent in 

2008, down from 90.7 percent in 2007. The mother was employed in 71.4 percent of families maintained by women in 2008, and the father was employed in 82.8 percent of those maintained by men. 

Among married-couple families with children, 97.0 percent had an employed parent in 2008. Both 

the mother and father were employed in 62.1 percent of married-couple families with children. (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 2008, little changed from 71.0 percent in 2007. 

In 2008, the participation rate for married mothers with spouse present (69.5 percent) was lower than the 

rate for mothers in other marital statuses (76.0 percent). Married mothers were about as likely to be 

employed as mothers in other marital statuses, but their unemployment rates were lower—3.8 percent of 

married mothers were unemployed in 2008, compared with 9.5 percent of mothers with other marital 

statuses. Unemployment rates rose over the year 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 2008, the labor force participation rate of mothers with children under 6 years old (64.0 

percent) was lower than the rate of those whose youngest child was between 6 and 17 years old (77.3 

percent). The participation rate of mothers with infants under a year old was 56.4 percent. There was 

little difference between the participation rates of married mothers of infants and those with other 

marital statuses. However, the unemployment rate for married mothers of infants, at 5.0 percent, was 

lower than the rate for mothers with other marital statuses (16.5 percent). Jobless rates for all mothers 

increased in 2008. (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 2008 presented in this release are not strictly 

comparable with data for 2007 and earlier years because of the 

introduction in January 2008 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 2007 employment level by 598,000 and the 

unemployment level by 40,000. 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 2008," available on the Internet 

at http://www.bls.gov/cps/cps08adj.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 

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; 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, 2007-08

annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2007 2008

TOTAL

Total families ................................................................................................................ 77,894 77,943

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 64,330 64,058

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 82.6 82.2

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 59,616 59,116

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 13,564 13,884

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 17.4 17.8

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 4,914 6,104

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 6.3 7.8

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 3,497 4,319

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 71.2 70.8

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 3,096 3,830

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 63.0 62.7

White 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 63,667 63,490

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 52,669 52,273

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 82.7 82.3

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 48,879 48,271

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 10,997 11,217

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 17.3 17.7

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 3,587 4,506

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 5.6 7.1

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 2,653 3,332

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 73.9 74.0

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 2,350 2,955

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 65.5 65.6

Black or African American 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 9,184 9,297

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 7,249 7,290

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 78.9 78.4

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 6,608 6,622

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 1,935 2,006

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 21.1 21.6

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 990 1,188

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 10.8 12.8

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 591 686

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 59.7 57.8

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 519 605

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 52.4 50.9

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 1. Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2007-08

annual averages—Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic 2007 2008

Asian 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 3,320 3,403

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 2,974 3,052

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 89.6 89.7

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 2,818 2,900

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 347 351

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 10.4 10.3

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 179 215

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 5.4 6.3

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 144 172

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 80.5 79.9

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 133 158

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 74.4 73.4

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity 

Total families ................................................................................................................ 10,332 10,500

 With employed member(s) ......................................................................................... 9,048 9,135

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 87.6 87.0

 Some usually work full time 1 ............................................................................ 8,492 8,466

 With no employed member ........................................................................................ 1,285 1,365

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 12.4 13.0

 With unemployed member(s) .................................................................................... 876 1,159

 As percent of total families ................................................................................... 8.5 11.0

 Some member(s) employed .................................................................................... 619 846

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) .......................................... 70.6 73.0

 Some usually work full time 1 ................................................................................. 554 743

 As percent of families with unemployed member(s) ....................................... 63.2 64.1

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, 2007-08 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2007 2008 2007 2008

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES 

 Total ...................................................................................... 58,145 58,125 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ......................................................... 48,676 48,541 83.7 83.5

 Husband only .......................................................................... 11,509 11,351 19.8 19.5

 Wife only ................................................................................. 3,858 4,036 6.6 6.9

 Husband and wife ................................................................... 30,055 29,854 51.7 51.4

 Other employment combinations ............................................ 3,254 3,300 5.6 5.7

 No member(s) employed .......................................................... 9,469 9,585 16.3 16.5

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

 Total ...................................................................................... 14,423 14,383 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ......................................................... 11,087 10,929 76.9 76.0

 Householder only .................................................................... 6,307 6,250 43.7 43.5

 Householder and other member(s) ......................................... 2,994 2,870 20.8 20.0

 Other member(s), not householder ........................................ 1,785 1,809 12.4 12.6

 No member(s) employed .......................................................... 3,336 3,454 23.1 24.0

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

 Total ...................................................................................... 5,327 5,435 100.0 100.0

 Member(s) employed, total ......................................................... 4,568 4,589 85.7 84.4

 Householder only .................................................................... 2,170 2,178 40.7 40.1

 Householder and other member(s) ......................................... 1,696 1,659 31.8 30.5

 Other member(s), not householder ........................................ 701 752 13.2 13.8

 No member(s) employed .......................................................... 759 845 14.3 15.6

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, 2007-08

annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2007 2008 2007 2008

MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES

With unemployed member(s), total ....................................... 2,978 3,796 100.0 100.0

No member employed ...................................................... 512 663 17.2 17.5

Some member(s) employed ............................................. 2,467 3,133 82.8 82.5

Husband unemployed ....................................................... 1,110 1,439 37.3 37.9

Wife employed ................................................................ 725 927 24.3 24.4

Wife unemployed .............................................................. 902 1,114 30.3 29.3

Husband employed ......................................................... 783 975 26.3 25.7

Other family member unemployed ................................... 966 1,243 32.4 32.7

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN 1

With unemployed member(s), total ....................................... 1,416 1,666 100.0 100.0

No member employed ...................................................... 701 849 49.5 50.9

Some member(s) employed ............................................. 714 817 50.5 49.1

Householder unemployed ................................................. 650 796 45.9 47.8

Other member(s) employed ............................................ 144 181 10.2 10.9

Other member(s) unemployed .......................................... 766 870 54.1 52.2

FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN 1

With unemployed member(s), total ....................................... 520 642 100.0 100.0

No member employed ...................................................... 205 274 39.3 42.7

Some member(s) employed ............................................. 316 368 60.7 57.3

Householder unemployed ................................................. 294 385 56.6 60.0

Other member(s) employed ............................................ 137 164 26.3 25.6

Other member(s) unemployed .......................................... 226 257 43.4 40.0

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, 2007-08 annual

averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2007 2008 2007 2008

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

 Total ............................................................................................. 35,856 35,154 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ........................................................................ 32,538 31,651 90.7 90.0

No parent employed ....................................................................... 3,318 3,504 9.3 10.0

Married-couple families .................................................................. 25,125 24,634 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ..................................................................... 24,459 23,890 97.3 97.0

 Mother employed ....................................................................... 16,855 16,615 67.1 67.4

 Both parents employed ............................................................ 15,627 15,295 62.2 62.1

 Mother employed, not father .................................................... 1,228 1,319 4.9 5.4

 Father employed, not mother .................................................... 7,604 7,275 30.3 29.5

 Neither parent employed ............................................................. 666 744 2.7 3.0

Families maintained by women 1 .................................................... 8,554 8,338 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ......................................................................... 6,224 5,954 72.8 71.4

 Mother not employed ................................................................... 2,330 2,384 27.2 28.6

Families maintained by men 1 ........................................................ 2,177 2,182 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .......................................................................... 1,855 1,806 85.2 82.8

 Father not employed .................................................................... 322 376 14.8 17.2

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

 Total ............................................................................................. 20,361 20,062 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ........................................................................ 18,619 18,212 91.4 90.8

No parent employed ....................................................................... 1,742 1,851 8.6 9.2

Married-couple families .................................................................. 13,823 13,771 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ..................................................................... 13,435 13,351 97.2 96.9

 Mother employed ....................................................................... 10,126 10,139 73.3 73.6

 Both parents employed ............................................................ 9,341 9,298 67.6 67.5

 Mother employed, not father .................................................... 785 841 5.7 6.1

 Father employed, not mother .................................................... 3,309 3,212 23.9 23.3

 Neither parent employed ............................................................. 388 420 2.8 3.1

Families maintained by women 1 .................................................... 5,224 5,031 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ......................................................................... 4,070 3,823 77.9 76.0

 Mother not employed ................................................................... 1,155 1,207 22.1 24.0

Families maintained by men 1 ........................................................ 1,314 1,260 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .......................................................................... 1,115 1,037 84.9 82.3

 Father not employed .................................................................... 199 223 15.1 17.7

See footnotes at end of table.
Table 4. Families with own children: Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 2007-08 annual

averages—Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

Number Percent distribution

2007 2008 2007 2008

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

 Total ............................................................................................. 15,495 15,092 100.0 100.0

Parent(s) employed ........................................................................ 13,918 13,439 89.8 89.0

No parent employed ....................................................................... 1,576 1,653 10.2 11.0

Married-couple families .................................................................. 11,302 10,863 100.0 100.0

 Parent(s) employed ..................................................................... 11,024 10,539 97.5 97.0

 Mother employed ....................................................................... 6,729 6,476 59.5 59.6

 Both parents employed ............................................................ 6,287 5,998 55.6 55.2

 Mother employed, not father .................................................... 442 478 3.9 4.4

 Father employed, not mother .................................................... 4,295 4,063 38.0 37.4

 Neither parent employed ............................................................. 278 324 2.5 3.0

Families maintained by women 1 .................................................... 3,329 3,307 100.0 100.0

 Mother employed ......................................................................... 2,154 2,131 64.7 64.4

 Mother not employed ................................................................... 1,175 1,176 35.3 35.6

Families maintained by men 1 ........................................................ 863 922 100.0 100.0

 Father employed .......................................................................... 740 769 85.7 83.4

 Father not employed .................................................................... 123 153 14.3 16.6

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,

 2007-08 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

2007 2008

Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 66,801 29,684 37,117 65,655 29,142 36,513

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 54,370 28,002 26,368 53,506 27,422 26,085

Participation rate ....................................................................... 81.4 94.3 71.0 81.5 94.1 71.4

Employed .................................................................................... 52,373 27,216 25,157 51,017 26,380 24,637

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 78.4 91.7 67.8 77.7 90.5 67.5

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 45,336 26,282 19,053 43,967 25,338 18,629

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 7,037 933 6,104 7,050 1,042 6,008

Unemployed ............................................................................... 1,998 786 1,211 2,490 1,041 1,448

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 3.7 2.8 4.6 4.7 3.8 5.6

Married, spouse present

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 53,432 27,205 26,227 52,433 26,647 25,786

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 43,824 25,784 18,041 43,137 25,205 17,933

Participation rate ....................................................................... 82.0 94.8 68.8 82.3 94.6 69.5

Employed .................................................................................... 42,625 25,134 17,492 41,611 24,353 17,258

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 79.8 92.4 66.7 79.4 91.4 66.9

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 37,120 24,332 12,788 36,128 23,444 12,685

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 5,505 802 4,704 5,482 909 4,573

Unemployed ............................................................................... 1,199 650 549 1,527 852 675

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 2.7 2.5 3.0 3.5 3.4 3.8

Other marital status 3

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 13,369 2,479 10,890 13,222 2,495 10,727

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 10,546 2,219 8,328 10,369 2,217 8,152

Participation rate ....................................................................... 78.9 89.5 76.5 78.4 88.9 76.0

Employed .................................................................................... 9,747 2,082 7,665 9,406 2,027 7,379

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 72.9 84.0 70.4 71.1 81.3 68.8

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 8,216 1,950 6,266 7,838 1,894 5,944

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 1,531 132 1,400 1,568 133 1,435

Unemployed ............................................................................... 799 137 662 963 190 773

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 7.6 6.2 8.0 9.3 8.6 9.5

WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS, NONE YOUNGER

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 36,983 16,384 20,599 36,581 16,256 20,325

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 31,179 15,269 15,910 30,846 15,128 15,718

Participation rate ....................................................................... 84.3 93.2 77.2 84.3 93.1 77.3

Employed .................................................................................... 30,176 14,866 15,310 29,590 14,588 15,003

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 81.6 90.7 74.3 80.9 89.7 73.8

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 26,288 14,378 11,910 25,733 14,054 11,679

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 3,888 488 3,400 3,858 534 3,324

Unemployed ............................................................................... 1,003 403 600 1,255 541 715

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 3.2 2.6 3.8 4.1 3.6 4.5

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,

 2007-08 annual averages — Continued

(Numbers in thousands)

Characteristic

2007 2008

Total Men Women Total Men Women

WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 29,818 13,299 16,518 29,074 12,886 16,188

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 23,192 12,733 10,458 22,661 12,293 10,367

Participation rate ....................................................................... 77.8 95.7 63.3 77.9 95.4 64.0

Employed .................................................................................... 22,197 12,350 9,847 21,426 11,792 9,634

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 74.4 92.9 59.6 73.7 91.5 59.5

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 19,048 11,904 7,143 18,234 11,284 6,950

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 3,149 446 2,704 3,193 508 2,684

Unemployed ............................................................................... 995 383 611 1,234 501 733

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 4.3 3.0 5.8 5.4 4.1 7.1

WITH NO OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS

Civilian noninstitutional population ................................................. 165,066 82,489 82,577 168,133 83,971 84,162

Civilian labor force ........................................................................ 98,754 54,134 44,620 100,780 55,098 45,682

Participation rate ....................................................................... 59.8 65.6 54.0 59.9 65.6 54.3

Employed .................................................................................... 93,674 51,039 42,635 94,346 51,106 43,239

Employment-population ratio .................................................... 56.7 61.9 51.6 56.1 60.9 51.4

Full-time workers 1 .............................................................. 75,755 43,752 32,003 76,064 43,515 32,549

Part-time workers 2 ............................................................. 17,919 7,286 10,632 18,282 7,592 10,690

Unemployed ............................................................................... 5,080 3,095 1,984 6,435 3,992 2,443

Unemployment rate .................................................................. 5.1 5.7 4.4 6.4 7.2 5.3

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.
Table 6. Employment status of mothers with own children under 3 years old by single year of age of youngest child and

marital status, 2007-08 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

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

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

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.