Internet address:  http://stats.bls.gov/newsrels.htm
Technical information:  (202) 606-6378  USDL 98-217

                                        For release:  10:00 A.M. EDT
Media contact:                606-5902  Thursday May 21, 1998

                                     
              EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES IN 1997


     The share of all U.S. families with at least one worker rose by 0.8
percentage point to 82.2 percent in 1997, the U.S. Department of Labor's
Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.  Over the year, the proportion
of families with an unemployed person fell by 0.6 percentage point to 7.0
percent.
     
     The data in this release are based on information collected in the
Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of about 50,000
households that provides data on national employment and unemployment.  For
further information about this survey, see the Technical Note.  Some of the
highlights of the findings include:

--The number of dual-worker families--families in which both the husband
and wife worked--grew by 352,000 between 1996 and 1997, while the number of
"traditional" families--couples in which only the husband was employed--
declined by 145,000.

--The labor force participation rate of mothers increased from 70.8 percent
in 1996 to 71.9 percent in 1997, as the rate for unmarried mothers (single,
widowed, divorced, or separated) increased by 3.2 percentage points to 75.0
percent.

--Among mothers with children under a year old, 57.9 percent were working
or looking for work in 1997, compared with 54.3 percent the year before.

Families

     Over the year, the proportion of families with employed persons
increased by about 0.6 percentage point for white families and by nearly 2
percentage points for black and Hispanic families.  Nevertheless, black
families continued to be less likely to include an employed member (77.1
percent) than were either white (82.7 percent) or Hispanic families (84.1
percent).  These data include families whose members are beyond working
age.  (See table 1.)
     
     In an average week in 1997, about 4.9 million families--7.0 percent of
all families--had at least one person who was unemployed.  This proportion
was down from 7.6 percent in 1996.  The proportions of white and Hispanic
families who had at least one person unemployed declined by 0.6 and 1.4
percentage points, respectively, while that of black families was about
unchanged.
     
     Overall, married-couple families and families maintained by men were
more likely to include someone who was employed, about 83.8 and 85.9
percent, respectively, than were families maintained by women, 74.0
percent, in 1997.  The proportion of families maintained by men that
included a worker grew by 2.5 percentage points and that of families
maintained by women that included a worker increased by 2.3 percentage
points from 1996 to 1997.  (See table 2.)

                                  - 2 -

     The number of married-couple families in which someone was unemployed
fell by 320,000 to 3.1 million in 1997, while, among families maintained by
men or women, the number with unemployment was about unchanged. (See
table 3.)
     
     Among married-couple families with children, the number in which both
parents were employed increased by 165,000 for families whose youngest
child was school age (6 to 17 years of age).  The number was about
unchanged for married-couple families with pre-school children (under 6
years of age).  (See table 4.)
     
Mothers
     
     The labor force participation rate of married mothers stayed a little
below 71 percent.  Among mothers of children under 6, the labor force
participation rate increased by 1.6 percentage points to 64.8 percent.
Married mothers with children under a year old were more likely to be in
the labor force than their unmarried counterparts--59.2 and 54.0 percent,
respectively.  (See tables 5 and 6.)
     
     The unemployment rate of mothers with children under 18 fell by 0.4
percentage point to 5.5 percent.  This reflected a decline of 0.3
percentage point in the rate for mothers whose youngest child was school
age and a decrease of 0.6 percentage point in the rate for mothers with pre-
school children.  (See table 5.)
     
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
 |   Data shown in this release for 1997 incorporate revised population |
 |controls that were introduced into the household survey in January of |
 |that year.  The revised controls primarily reflect improvements in the|
 |estimation of demographic characteristics for immigrants and emigrants|
 |and result in increases of about 37,000 in the number of families and |
 |of about 7,000 in the number of mothers with children under 18.       |
 |Published estimates for 1996 have not been recalculated using the new |
 |population controls.  Changes for the data levels shown in the text of|
 |this release reflect an allowance for the effect of the revised       |
 |population controls and, therefore, may not agree with changes        |
 |calculated directly from the attached tables.                         |
  ----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 50,000
households conducted monthly for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the
Bureau of the Census.  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.

  Information in this release will be made available to sensory impaired
individuals upon request.  Voice phone: 202-606-STAT; TDD phone:
202-606-5897; TDD message referral phone number: 1-800-326-2577.

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 the February 1994 and subsequent issues of
Employment and Earnings.

Definitions

  The principal definitions used in this release are described briefly 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.

  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, vacation, on a visit,
in a hospital, etc.  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, adopted, and step-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.


     Table 1.  Employment and unemployment in families by race and Hispanic origin, 1996-97 annual averages
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
                                       Characteristic                                          1996              1997      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                                           TOTAL                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
     Total families....................................................................       69,203            69,714     
                                                                                                                           
         With employed member(s).......................................................       56,342            57,289     
               As percent of total families............................................         81.4              82.2     
               Some usually work full time(1)..........................................       52,249            53,226     
         With no employed member.......................................................       12,860            12,425     
               As percent of total families............................................         18.6              17.8     
                                                                                                                           
         With unemployed member(s).....................................................        5,270             4,913     
               As percent of total families............................................          7.6               7.0     
           Some member(s) employed.....................................................        3,678             3,445     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         69.8              70.1     
           Some usually work full time(1)..............................................        3,265             3,070     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         62.0              62.5     
                                                                                                                           
                                           White                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
     Total families....................................................................       58,315            58,514     
                                                                                                                           
         With employed member(s).......................................................       47,882            48,378     
               As percent of total families............................................         82.1              82.7     
               Some usually work full time(1)..........................................       44,522            45,069     
         With no employed member.......................................................       10,434            10,135     
               As percent of total families............................................         17.9              17.3     
                                                                                                                           
         With unemployed member(s).....................................................        3,896             3,566     
               As percent of total families............................................          6.7               6.1     
           Some member(s) employed.....................................................        2,875             2,632     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         73.8              73.8     
           Some usually work full time(1)..............................................        2,557             2,353     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         65.6              66.0     
                                                                                                                           
                                           Black                                                                           
                                                                                                                           
     Total families....................................................................        8,149             8,308     
                                                                                                                           
         With employed member(s).......................................................        6,137             6,409     
               As percent of total families............................................         75.3              77.1     
               Some usually work full time(1)..........................................        5,563             5,810     
         With no employed member.......................................................        2,012             1,899     
               As percent of total families............................................         24.7              22.9     
                                                                                                                           
         With unemployed member(s).....................................................        1,121             1,104     
               As percent of total families............................................         13.8              13.3     
           Some member(s) employed.....................................................          627               631     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         55.9              57.2     
           Some usually work full time(1)..............................................          553               553     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         49.3              50.1     
                                                                                                                           
                                      Hispanic origin                                                                      
                                                                                                                           
     Total families....................................................................        6,465             6,779     
                                                                                                                           
         With employed member(s).......................................................        5,312             5,701     
               As percent of total families............................................         82.2              84.1     
               Some usually work full time(1)..........................................        4,917             5,285     
         With no employed member.......................................................        1,153             1,078     
               As percent of total families............................................         17.8              15.9     
                                                                                                                           
         With unemployed member(s).....................................................          841               789     
               As percent of total families............................................         13.0              11.6     
           Some member(s) employed.....................................................          563               532     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         66.9              67.4     
           Some usually work full time(1)..............................................          497               473     
                  As percent of families with unemployed member(s).....................         59.1              59.9     

       1 Usually work 35 hours or more a week at all jobs.
         NOTE;  Detail for the above race and Hispanic-origin groups will not sum  to totals because data for the "other
     races" group are not presented and Hispanics are included in both the white and black population groups.  Data for
     1997 are not strictly comparable with data for 1996 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised
     population controls in the household survey in January 1997.  Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.



     Table 2.  Families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 1996-97 annual averages
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                   Number                   Percent distribution     
                              Characteristic                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                            1996            1997            1996            1997     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
                         MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
         Total.......................................................      53,214          53,248          100.0           100.0     
                                                                                                                                     
     Member(s) employed, total.......................................      44,448          44,641           83.5            83.8     
       Husband only..................................................      10,103           9,959           19.0            18.7     
       Wife only.....................................................       2,846           2,839            5.3             5.3     
       Husband and wife..............................................      28,077          28,422           52.8            53.4     
       Other employment combinations.................................       3,422           3,421            6.4             6.4     
     No member(s) employed...........................................       8,766           8,607           16.5            16.2     
                                                                                                                                     
                     FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1)                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                     
         Total.......................................................      12,264          12,524          100.0           100.0     
                                                                                                                                     
     Members(s) employed, total......................................       8,788           9,263           71.7            74.0     
       Householder only..............................................       4,964           5,282           40.5            42.2     
       Householder and other member(s)...............................       2,385           2,484           19.4            19.8     
       Other member(s), not householder..............................       1,438           1,497           11.7            12.0     
     No member(s) employed...........................................       3,477           3,261           28.4            26.0     
                                                                                                                                     
                      FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1)                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
         Total.......................................................       3,724           3,942          100.0           100.0     
                                                                                                                                     
     Members(s) employed, total......................................       3,106           3,385           83.4            85.9     
       Householder only..............................................       1,614           1,703           43.3            43.2     
       Householder and other member(s)...............................       1,076           1,228           28.9            31.2     
       Other member(s), not householder..............................         416             455           11.2            11.5     
     No member(s) employed...........................................         618             557           16.6            14.1     

       1 No spouse present.
         NOTE;  Data for 1997 are not strictly comparable with data for 1996 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised
     population controls in the household survey in January 1997.  Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.



     Table 3.  Unemployment in families by presence and relationship of employed members and family type, 1996-97 annual averages
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                   Number                   Percent distribution     
                              Characteristic                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                            1996            1997            1996            1997     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
                         MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
     With unemployed member(s), total................................       3,378           3,056          100.0           100.0     
       No member employed............................................         601             530           17.8            17.3     
       Some member(s) employed.......................................       2,777           2,526           82.2            82.7     
         Husband unemployed..........................................       1,207           1,048           35.7            34.3     
           Wife employed.............................................         746             651           22.1            21.3     
         Wife unemployed.............................................       1,016             906           30.1            29.6     
           Husband employed..........................................         891             787           26.4            25.8     
         Other family member unemployed..............................       1,155           1,102           34.2            36.1     
                                                                                                                                     
                     FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY WOMEN(1)                                                                                 
                                                                                                                                     
     With unemployed member(s), total................................       1,485           1,456          100.0           100.0     
       No member employed............................................         809             782           54.5            53.7     
       Some member(s) employed.......................................         676             674           45.5            46.3     
         Householder unemployed......................................         670             694           45.1            47.7     
           Other member(s) employed..................................         102             122            6.9             8.4     
         Other member(s) unemployed..................................         569             572           38.3            39.3     
                                                                                                                                     
                      FAMILIES MAINTAINED BY MEN(1)                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                     
     With unemployed member(s), total................................         407             400          100.0           100.0     
       No member employed............................................         182             156           44.7            39.0     
       Some member(s) employed.......................................         224             244           55.0            61.0     
         Householder unemployed......................................         200             197           49.1            49.2     
           Other member(s) employed..................................          67              77           16.5            19.2     
         Other member(s) unemployed..................................         206             204           50.6            51.0     

       1 No spouse present.
         NOTE;  Data for 1997 are not strictly comparable with data for 1996 and earlier years because of the introduction of revised
     population controls in the household survey in January 1997.  Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding.



     Table 4.  Families with own children; Employment status of parents by age of youngest child and family type, 1996-97 annual
     averages
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                                   Number                   Percent distribution     
                              Characteristic                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                     
                                                                            1996            1997            1996            1997     
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          
                     WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS                                                                                
                                                                                                                                     
         Total.......................................................      33,980          34,129          100.0           100.0     
       Parent(s) employed............................................      30,296          30,761           89.2            90.1     
       No parent employed............................................       3,683           3,369           10.8             9.9     
                                                                                                                                     
       Married-couple families.......................................      24,818          24,762          100.0           100.0     
         Parent(s) employed..........................................      23,960          23,987           96.5            96.9     
           Mother employed...........................................      16,949          17,013           68.3            68.7     
             Both parents employed...................................      15,851          15,964           63.9            64.5     
             Mother employed, not father.............................       1,099           1,049            4.4             4.2     
           Father employed, not mother...............................       7,010           6,974           28.2            28.2     
         Neither parent employed.....................................         858             775            3.5             3.1     
                                                                                                                                     
       Families maintained by women(1)...............................       7,469           7,623          100.0           100.0     
         Mother employed.............................................       4,919           5,276           65.9            69.2     
         Mother not employed.........................................       2,550           2,347           34.1            30.8     
                                                                                                                                     
       Families maintained by men(1).................................       1,692           1,745          100.0           100.0     
         Father employed.............................................       1,417           1,498           83.7            85.8     
         Father not employed.........................................         275             247           16.3            14.2     
                                                                                                                                     
                     WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS,                                                                                
                               NONE YOUNGER                                                                                          
                                                                                                                                     
         Total.......................................................      18,694          18,989          100.0           100.0     
       Parent(s) employed............................................      16,892          17,274           90.4            91.0     
       No parent employed............................................       1,802           1,714            9.6             9.0     
                                                                                                                                     
       Married-couple families.......................................      13,257          13,442          100.0           100.0     
         Parent(s) employed..........................................      12,786          13,000           96.4            96.7     
           Mother employed...........................................       9,896          10,061           74.6            74.8     
             Both parents employed...................................       9,210           9,379           69.5            69.8     
             Mother employed, not father.............................         687             682            5.2             5.1     
           Father employed, not mother...............................       2,890           2,939           21.8            21.9     
         Neither parent employed.....................................         470             442            3.5             3.3     
                                                                                                                                     
       Families maintained by women(1)...............................       4,393           4,531          100.0           100.0     
         Mother employed.............................................       3,221           3,393           73.3            74.9     
         Mother not employed.........................................       1,172           1,138           26.7            25.1     
                                                                                                                                     
       Families maintained by men(1).................................       1,044           1,015          100.0           100.0     
         Father employed.............................................         885             881           84.8            86.8     
         Father not employed.........................................         160             134           15.3            13.2     
                                                                                                                                     
                       WITH CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                     
         Total.......................................................      15,286          15,141          100.0           100.0     
       Parent(s) employed............................................      13,405          13,487           87.7            89.1     
       No parent employed............................................       1,881           1,654           12.3            10.9     
                                                                                                                                     
       Married-couple families.......................................      11,562          11,320          100.0           100.0     
         Parent(s) employed..........................................      11,174          10,988           96.6            97.1     
           Mother employed...........................................       7,053           6,952           61.0            61.4     
             Both parents employed...................................       6,641           6,585           57.4            58.2     
             Mother employed, not father.............................         412             368            3.6             3.3     
           Father employed, not mother...............................       4,121           4,034           35.6            35.6     
         Neither parent employed.....................................         388             333            3.4             2.9     
                                                                                                                                     
       Families maintained by women(1)...............................       3,076           3,092          100.0           100.0     
         Mother employed.............................................       1,699           1,882           55.2            60.9     
         Mother not employed.........................................       1,378           1,209           44.8            39.1     
                                                                                                                                     
       Families maintained by men(1).................................         648             729          100.0           100.0     
         Father employed.............................................         532             617           82.1            84.6     
         Father not employed.........................................         115             112           17.7            15.4     

       1 No spouse present.
         NOTE;  Own children include sons, daughters, step-children and adopted children.  Not included are nieces, nephews,
     grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children.  Data for 1997 are not strictly comparable with data for 1996 and
     earlier years because of the introduction of revised population controls in the household survey in January 1997.  Detail may
     not sum to totals due to rounding.


     Table 5.  Employment status of the population by sex, marital status, and presence and age of own children under 18, 1996-97 
     annual averages
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                        
                                                                                                                                        
                                                                            1996                                   1997                 
                        Characteristic                                                                                                  
                                                                                                                                        
                                                             Total         Men         Women        Total         Men         Women   
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                
               WITH OWN CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                        
         Civilian noninstitutional population...........    62,733       27,319       35,415       62,787       27,349       35,438   
           Civilian labor force.........................    50,866       25,803       25,063       51,343       25,877       25,466   
               Participation rate.......................      81.1         94.5         70.8         81.8         94.6         71.9   
             Employed...................................    48,521       24,933       23,588       49,178       25,111       24,067   
                 Employment-population ratio............      77.3         91.3         66.6         78.3         91.8         67.9   
               Full-time workers(1).....................    41,164       24,085       17,080       41,934       24,306       17,628   
               Part-time workers(2).....................     7,356          848        6,508        7,244          806        6,439   
             Unemployed.................................     2,345          870        1,475        2,165          766        1,399   
               Unemployment rate........................       4.6          3.4          5.9          4.2          3.0          5.5   
                                                                                                                                        
                    Married, spouse present                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                        
         Civilian noninstitutional population...........    51,128       25,349       25,779       50,995       25,292       25,704   
           Civilian labor force.........................    42,185       24,043       18,141       42,192       24,027       18,165   
               Participation rate.......................      82.5         94.8         70.4         82.7         95.0         70.7   
             Employed...................................    40,743       23,305       17,438       40,918       23,383       17,535   
                 Employment-population ratio............      79.7         91.9         67.6         80.2         92.5         68.2   
               Full-time workers(1).....................    34,732       22,559       12,173       35,042       22,685       12,357   
               Part-time workers(2).....................     6,011          747        5,265        5,877          698        5,179   
             Unemployed.................................     1,441          738          703        1,273          644          630   
               Unemployment rate........................       3.4          3.1          3.9          3.0          2.7          3.5   
                                                                                                                                        
                    Other marital status(3)                                                                                             
                                                                                                                                        
         Civilian noninstitutional population...........    11,606        1,970        9,636       11,791        2,057        9,734   
           Civilian labor force.........................     8,680        1,759        6,921        9,151        1,850        7,301   
               Participation rate.......................      74.8         89.3         71.8         77.6         89.9         75.0   
             Employed...................................     7,777        1,628        6,149        8,259        1,728        6,531   
                 Employment-population ratio............      67.0         82.6         63.8         70.0         84.0         67.1   
               Full-time workers(1).....................     6,432        1,526        4,907        6,893        1,621        5,272   
               Part-time workers(2).....................     1,344          101        1,244        1,367          107        1,261   
             Unemployed.................................       903          132          772          891          123          770   
               Unemployment rate........................      10.4          7.5         11.2          9.7          6.6         10.5   
                                                                                                                                        
               WITH OWN CHILDREN 6 TO 17 YEARS,                                                                                         
                         NONE YOUNGER                                                                                                   
                                                                                                                                        
         Civilian noninstitutional population...........    33,411       14,601       18,809       33,997       14,822       19,175   
           Civilian labor force.........................    28,221       13,645       14,576       28,812       13,877       14,935   
               Participation rate.......................      84.5         93.5         77.5         84.7         93.6         77.9   
             Employed...................................    27,123       13,229       13,894       27,752       13,480       14,273   
                 Employment-population ratio............      81.2         90.6         73.9         81.6         90.9         74.4   
               Full-time workers(1).....................    23,267       12,810       10,456       23,885       13,071       10,814   
               Part-time workers(2).....................     3,857          418        3,438        3,868          409        3,459   
             Unemployed.................................     1,097          416          681        1,060          397          662   
               Unemployment rate........................       3.9          3.0          4.7          3.7          2.9          4.4   
                                                                                                                                        
                  WITH CHILDREN UNDER 6 YEARS                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                        
         Civilian noninstitutional population...........    29,323       12,718       16,605       28,789       12,526       16,263   
           Civilian labor force.........................    22,645       12,158       10,487       22,530       12,000       10,531   
               Participation rate.......................      77.2         95.6         63.2         78.3         95.8         64.8   
             Employed...................................    21,398       11,704        9,694       21,426       11,632        9,794   
                 Employment-population ratio............      73.0         92.0         58.4         74.4         92.9         60.2   
               Full-time workers(1).....................    17,898       11,274        6,623       18,049       11,235        6,814   
               Part-time workers(2).....................     3,500          430        3,070        3,376          397        2,980   
             Unemployed.................................     1,247          454          794        1,105          368          737   
               Unemployment rate........................       5.5          3.7          7.6          4.9          3.1          7.0   
                                                                                                                                        
                WITH NO CHILDREN UNDER 18 YEARS                                                                                         
                                                                                                                                        
         Civilian noninstitutional population...........   135,902       66,931       68,970      138,365       68,385       69,980   
           Civilian labor force.........................    81,618       44,736       36,882       83,524       45,847       37,677   
               Participation rate.......................      60.1         66.8         53.5         60.4         67.0         53.8   
             Employed...................................    76,717       41,748       34,969       78,917       43,045       35,873   
                 Employment-population ratio............      56.5         62.4         50.7         57.0         62.9         51.3   
               Full-time workers(1).....................    60,920       35,200       25,719       62,902       36,452       26,449   
               Part-time workers(2).....................    15,797        6,548        9,250       16,016        6,592        9,424   
             Unemployed.................................     4,901        2,988        1,913        4,606        2,802        1,804   
               Unemployment rate........................       6.0          6.7          5.2          5.5          6.1          4.8   

       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, 1996-97 annual averages
     
     (Numbers in thousands)
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                           Civilian labor force                             
                                                                                                                                            
                                                                                                                                            
                                               Civilian                                       Employed                   Unemployed    
                  Characteristic            noninstitutio-            Percent                                                             
                                            nal population               of                                                     Per-           
                                                             Total   populati-           Percent  Full-time Part-time           cent    
                                                                         on      Total      of    workers(- workers(-  Number    of    
                                                                                        populati-     1)        2)             labor   
                                                                                            on                                 force      
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      
                       1996                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                          
                  TOTAL MOTHERS                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                          
         With children under 3 years old...      9,610        5,710      59.4     5,252     54.7     3,543     1,708     458     8.0 
           2 years.........................      2,899        1,836      63.3     1,694     58.4     1,168       526     142     7.7 
           1 year..........................      3,333        2,040      61.2     1,885     56.6     1,268       617     155     7.6 
           Under 1 year....................      3,378        1,834      54.3     1,673     49.5     1,107       565     161     8.8 
                                                                                                                                          
             Married, spouse present                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                          
         With children under 3 years old...      7,203        4,343      60.3     4,143     57.5     2,762     1,381     201     4.6 
           2 years.........................      2,150        1,362      63.3     1,303     60.6       876       427      60     4.4 
           1 year..........................      2,500        1,555      62.2     1,489     59.6       993       496      66     4.2 
           Under 1 year....................      2,553        1,426      55.9     1,351     52.9       893       458      75     5.3 
                                                                                                                                          
             Other marital status(3)                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                            
         With children under 3 years old...      2,407        1,367      56.8     1,111     46.2       782       328     256    18.7 
           2 years.........................        749          473      63.2       391     52.2       292        99      82    17.3 
           1 year..........................        833          486      58.3       397     47.7       275       121      89    18.3 
           Under 1 year....................        825          408      49.5       323     39.2       215       108      85    20.8 
                                                                                                                                          
                       1997                                                                                                               
                                                                                                                                          
                  TOTAL MOTHERS                                                                                                           
                                                                                                                                            
         With children under 3 years old...      9,347        5,738      61.4     5,306     56.8     3,560     1,746     432     7.5 
           2 years.........................      2,871        1,890      65.8     1,763     61.4     1,208       555     127     6.7 
           1 year..........................      3,306        2,012      60.9     1,851     56.0     1,205       646     161     8.0 
           Under 1 year....................      3,170        1,836      57.9     1,692     53.4     1,147       545     144     7.8 
                                                                                                                                          
             Married, spouse present                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                           
         With children under 3 years old...      7,049        4,296      60.9     4,105     58.2     2,718     1,387     191     4.4 
           2 years.........................      2,142        1,380      64.4     1,327     62.0       883       444      53     3.8 
           1 year..........................      2,459        1,468      59.7     1,399     56.9       890       509      69     4.7 
           Under 1 year....................      2,448        1,448      59.2     1,379     56.3       945       434      69     4.8 
                                                                                                                                          
             Other marital status(3)                                                                                                      
                                                                                                                                          
         With children under 3 years old...      2,297        1,445      62.9     1,201     52.3       842       361     241    16.7 
           2 years.........................        729          511      70.1       436     59.8       325       112      74    14.5 
           1 year..........................        847          545      64.3       452     53.4       315       138      92    16.9 
           Under 1 year....................        721          389      54.0       313     43.4       202       111      75    19.3 

       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, divorced, separated and widowed persons.
         NOTE:  See NOTE, table 4.