Monthly Labor Review • February 2007 

Married Mothers in the Labor Force

The most striking feature of women’s labor market gains during the post-World War II period was the entry of married mothers into the work force. In 1948, only 

about 17 percent of married mothers were in the 

labor force. By the 1980s, labor force participation had become an integral part of their lives. In 

1985, for example, 61 percent of married mothers 

were working or looking for work. (See chart 1.) 

By 1995, their labor force participation rate had 

reached 70 percent. In fact, married mothers accounted for much of the increase in total labor 

force participation during the postwar period.1

In recent years, however, the labor force participation of married mothers, especially those 

with young children, has stopped its advance.2 In 

2005, the participation rate of married mothers 

with preschoolers was 60 percent, about 4 percentage points lower than its peak in 1997 and 1998.3

Married mothers with children under a year old 

(infants) showed the most dramatic changes. After reaching a peak of 59.2 percent in 1997, the 

participation rate for married mothers of infants 

fell by about 6 percentage points to 53.3 percent 

in 2000 and has shown no clear trend since then. 

In comparison, the participation rate of married 

mothers of school-age children (aged 6 to 17) fell 

by just 2 percentage points, from 77 percent in 

1997 to about 75 percent in 2005.4 (See chart 2.)

This article explores the characteristics of married mothers of infants and recent trends in their 

labor force participation. The data in this article 

are from the Current Population Survey (CPS), a 

monthly survey of 60,000 households that provides a large amount of demographic, family relationship, and labor force information.5

Trends in labor force participation

of married mothers of infants

Sharon R. Cohany 

and

Emy Sok

Following a long-term advance, the labor force activity of married

mothers of infants began to decline in the late 1990s for a variety

of demographic groups and since 2000 has been relatively stable

Profile of married mothers of infants 

Before investigating the trends in labor force participation rates among married mothers of infants, this article begins with a look at their demographic characteristics. In 2005, there were 

2.4 million married mothers whose youngest 

child was less than 1 year old. The characteristics 

of married mothers with infants vary somewhat 

from those of married mothers overall. Not surprisingly, those with infants were younger, on average, than married mothers in general. Among 

married mothers of infants, in 2005, about 79 

percent were under the age of 35. In contrast, just 

36 percent of all married mothers were under 35. 

(See tables 1 and 4.)

Married mothers aged 25 and older with infants are well educated, on average. Nearly half 

(47 percent) had a college degree, compared with 

35 percent of all married mothers of that age 

group.6 Another 26 percent of married mothers 

of infants had completed 1 to 3 years of college, 

compared with 29 percent of all mothers. The 

proportions of married mothers of infants who 

were white non-Hispanic (67 percent), black nonHispanic (7 percent), Asian non-Hispanic (7 percent), or Hispanic (18 percent) were very similar 

to those of other mothers.7 About 21 percent of 

mothers with infants were born outside the United States, also about the same as the proportion 

for all mothers. (See table 1.) 

Mothers of infants have more children, on average, than mothers of school-age children. For the 

mothers of infants, 27 percent had three or more 

children under age 18, compared with 16 percent 

Sharon R. Cohany and Emy 

Sok are economists in the 

Division of Labor Force 

Statistics, Bureau of Labor 

Statistics. E-mail: Cohany.

Sharon@bls.gov and Sok.

Emy@bls.gov
Married Mothers in the Labor Force

10 Monthly Labor Review • February 2007

Labor force participation rates of women by marital status and presence of children, 

March 1948–2005

Chart 1. Chart 1.

30.0

10.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

Percent Percent

1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005

65.0

60.0

55.0

50.0

70.0

75.0

80.0

65.0

60.0

55.0

70.0

75.0

80.0

50.0

With children, 6 to 17

Married women with children under 18

With children under 6

With children under 1

1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Chart 2.

All women, 16 and older

Married women with no children

All married women

Married women with children under age 18

40.0

30.0

20.0

0.0

10.0

50.0

60.0

70.0

80.0

1950 1955 1960

Labor force participation rates of married mothers by age of youngest child, 1994–2005

Percent Percent

40.0

20.0

0.0
Monthly Labor Review • February 2007 11

of mothers of school-age children. Among married mothers of 

infants, about one-third had just one child, compared with 44 

percent of mothers of school-age children. (See table 2.)

Trends among demographic groups

A decline in participation rates such as that experienced by married mothers of infants in the late 1990s can reflect a variety of 

factors, including weaker labor market conditions (such as slow 

earnings or job growth, employers having fewer job openings 

or offering fewer family-friendly policies); demographic changes (such as a shift in the group’s age, ethnicity, or foreign-born 

composition); changes in cultural or societal attitudes (a society 

might begin to place a higher value on stay-at-home mothers, 

for example); and shifts in personal preferences.8 Information 

on employers’ policies and individuals’ attitudes is not collected in the CPS, but the survey is a rich source of demographic

data. 

The subsections that follow discuss participation rate trends 

in several key demographic categories.

Table 1. Selected characteristics of married mothers by age of youngest child, annual averages, 1997 and 2005

[Numbers in thousands]

With children With children 6 Children 3 to 5,

Children under 3

under 18, total to 17, none none younger Total Children

Characteristic younger under 1

1997 2005 1997 2005 1997 2005 1997 2005 1997 2005

Married mothers, 16 years and

older, total ........................................... 25,704 25,942 13,792 14,231 4,863 4,760 7,049 6,951 2,448 2,398

Percent distribution ............................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Age

16 to 24 years .................................... 5.3 4.8 .3 .5 4.8 4.3 15.4 14.0 19.0 17.4

25 to 34 years .................................... 34.2 30.9 15.2 13.0 50.0 44.3 60.5 58.2 62.1 61.2

35 to 44 years .................................... 45.6 43.0 58.2 50.3 42.2 45.9 23.1 26.3 18.3 20.8

45 years and older ............................. 14.9 21.3 26.3 36.2 3.0 5.6 1.0 1.6 .5 .6

Race and Hispanic or

Latino ethnicity

White non-Hispanic ............................ 74.9 68.5 76.8 70.9 71.5 64.8 73.5 66.0 73.8 67.2

Black or African-American

non-Hispanic ..................................... 7.3 7.1 7.8 7.4 8.1 7.5 6.0 6.2 5.2 6.7

Asian non-Hispanic ............................ – 6.0 – 5.5 – 6.5 – 6.5 – 6.5

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ................ 12.3 16.9 10.2 14.6 14.7 19.7 14.7 19.5 14.9 18.0

Educational attainment1

(25 years and older)

Less than a high school diploma ....... 10.4 10.2 11.1 10.2 10.9 11.4 8.6 9.4 7.6 8.7

High school graduates,

no college ......................................... 33.1 26.4 36.2 29.6 33.0 24.4 25.9 20.2 23.7 18.5

Some college or associate

degree ............................................... 28.8 28.5 28.2 29.6 29.1 28.4 29.8 26.1 30.2 25.5

Bachelor’s degree and higher ........... 27.7 34.9 24.6 30.6 26.9 35.9 35.7 44.3 38.5 47.4

Nativity

Native born ......................................... 84.9 79.4 86.8 81.6 82.9 76.1 82.4 77.2 82.1 78.6

Foreign born ....................................... 15.1 20.6 13.2 18.4 17.1 23.9 17.6 22.8 17.9 21.4

Employment status

In labor force ........................................ 18,165 17,690 10,614 10,636 3,257 3,114 4,295 3,939 1,448 1,282

Labor force participation rate ........ 70.7 68.2 77.0 74.7 67.0 65.4 60.9 56.7 59.2 53.5

Employed............................................. 17,535 17,058 10,296 10,296 3,135 2,987 4,105 3,776 1,379 1,225

 Employment-population ratio ........... 68.2 65.8 74.7 72.3 64.5 62.7 58.2 54.3 56.3 51.1

Unemployed ........................................ 630 632 318 340 122 128 191 164 69 58

 Unemployment rate .......................... 3.5 3.6 3.0 3.2 3.7 4.1 4.4 4.2 4.8 4.5

Not in labor force ................................. 7,539 8,252 3,178 3,595 1,606 1,645 2,754 3,012 1,000 1,11

1 As percent of civilian noninstitutional population 25 years and

older.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because data for all groups

are not always presented and also due to rounding. Children refer

to own children and include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted

children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or other

related children, and all unrelated children living in the household.

Dash indicates data are not available or do not meet publication criteria.
Married Mothers in the Labor Force

12 Monthly Labor Review • February 2007

1

Table 2. Percent distribution of married mothers by number of children and age of youngest child, annual

averages, 2000 and 2005

With children With children 6 Children 3 to 5,

Children under 3

under 18, total to 17, none none younger Total

Children

Number of children younger under 1

2000 2005 2000 2005 2000 2005 2000 2005 2000 2005

Percent ............................................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

One child ............................................ 38.4 38.0 43.8 44.4 26.2 24.9 35.8 33.9 37.6 35.4

Two children ...................................... 40.3 40.4 39.8 39.8 44.7 45.0 38.3 38.4 36.4 37.2

Three children .................................... 15.4 15.7 12.6 12.4 20.5 20.9 17.6 18.9 17.4 18.9

Four children ...................................... 4.2 4.3 2.9 2.5 6.2 6.9 5.6 6.2 5.5 5.8

Five or more children ........................ 1.5 1.5 .6 .7 2.5 2.4 2.6 2.7 3.0 2.7

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals due to rounding. Children refer

to own children and include sons, daughters, stepchildren and

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

or other related children, and all unrelated children living in the

household. Comparable data are not readily tabulated before 2000.

Educational attainment. The educational attainment of women 

has risen dramatically in the post-World War II period. For 

instance, among all women aged 25 and older, the proportion 

with at least 1 year of college more than tripled, rising from 

about 15 percent in 1960 to 53 percent in 2005.9 (Among men, 

this proportion almost tripled, going from 18 percent to 53 percent.) Labor force activity rose at every level of education. The 

participation rate for women with a college degree rose from 

about 57 percent in 1962 to 73 percent in 2005, while the rate 

for women with some college (but not a bachelor’s degree) went 

from 42 percent to 67 percent.10

The declines in labor force activity in the late 1990s by married mothers of infants have occurred across all educational levels and, for most groups, by about the same magnitude. After 

peaking at 71 percent in 1997, the participation rate of those 

with a college degree had fallen by about 9 percentage points 

by 2000. The participation rate for mothers with less than a 

high school diploma fell by 8 percentage points, as did the rate 

for those with some college. Since 2000, participation rates for 

these groups showed little change. High school graduates’ participation rates declined almost every year from 1997 to 2005. 

(See table 3.) 

Participation rates fell in all education categories for a variety 

of reasons. For college-educated women, there are two possible explanations that can be supported with CPS data.11 The first 

is that married women with college degrees typically have husbands with similar levels of education. These husbands are likely to be relatively high earners, providing their wives with more 

financial resources to draw upon and more choice about whether to work after the birth of children. So while college-educated 

mothers have a relatively large investment in human capital (that 

is, their formal education), they also are more able, on average, 

to afford to leave the work force, at least temporarily.12 (The effects of husbands’ earnings on their wives’ labor force participation are examined in more detail later in this section.) 

The second potential factor in the decline in labor force activity among college-educated mothers of infants that can be 

supported with CPS data is related to job demands. Women 

aged 25 and older with at least a bachelor’s degree who worked 

full time have a relatively lengthy workweek, averaging 42.2 

hours in 2005. Within this group, the workweek was particularly long for women with a professional or doctoral degree—

about 45 hours. These relatively heavy work hours, on average, may give highly educated women an incentive to step back 

from the work force once they become mothers.13 Husbands’ 

earnings and work demands explain only part of the changes in 

labor market attachment, however, as the overall statistics reflect many complex individual decisions that are only partly related to economic factors. 

Among mothers with less education, their lower average earnings mean that they are less able to afford child care. At the same 

time, their opportunity costs of not working are lower. However, 

as with the college graduates, why these mothers have lower rates 

of labor force activity now as compared with a few years ago is a 

question that cannot be answered fully by economic measures. 

Race and ethnicity. Race and Hispanic ethnicity are important 

factors in married mothers’ labor force participation. Married 

black or African-American mothers of young children historically have been more likely to work or look for work than have 

either married white or Asian mothers, and far more likely to 

work than married Hispanic mothers. In 2005, 65 percent of 

black non-Hispanic married mothers of infants were in the labor 

force, compared with 58 percent among white non-Hispanic 

married mothers, 51 percent among Asian non-Hispanic mothers, and 34 percent among Hispanic mothers. The participation 

rate of white mothers fell by 4.5 percentage points since 1997, 

while the rate for black mothers stayed about the same. (Strictly 
Monthly Labor Review • February 2007 13

comparable data for Asians from the CPS are not available prior 

to 2000.) Hispanic mothers’ labor force participation rate fell by 

about 6 percentage points between the late 1990s and 2005.

Foreign born and native born. Since the mid-1990s, the CPS has 

collected information monthly on whether individuals were born 

in the United States or in another country. These data show that 

mothers who were born abroad are much less likely to be in the 

labor force than are mothers who were born in the United States. 

As can be seen in table 3, just 35 percent of immigrant married 

mothers of infants were either working or looking for work in 

2005, compared with 59 percent of native-born mothers. The 

labor force participation rate of immigrant mothers declined by 

about 6 percentage points since 1997—about the same as the 

decline among native-born mothers (5 percentage points).

The relatively low participation rates for Hispanic and foreign-born married mothers of infants are especially noteworthy 

for this analysis because their numbers have been growing. The 

proportion accounted for by Hispanics rose from 15 percent in 

1997 to 18 percent in 2005, while the proportion accounted for 

by immigrants rose from 18 percent to 21 percent over the same 

period. (See table 4.) This suggests that the growth in these two 

groups could be partly responsible for the overall decline in married mothers’ participation. Further analysis, however, showed 

that the rise in the groups’ share of the population explains only 

a small part of the overall decline in participation rates. Because 

these subgroups represent a minority of married mothers of infants, their effect on the overall participation rate of these mothers has been modest, despite their growth in numbers and their 

relatively low levels of labor force participation.14

Age of mother. Labor force participation rates of mothers rise along 

with the age of the mother. Young mothers have especially low 

participation rates. In 2005, about 43 percent of married mothers 

aged 16 to 24 with an infant were in the labor force, more than 

10 percentage points lower than the rates for mothers aged 25 to 

34 and 35 to 44. All age groups saw declining labor force activity 

in the late 1990s. From 1997 to 2000, the participation rate of 

mothers aged 16 to 24 fell by 2 percentage points, and the rate 

for those aged 25 to 34 fell by 6 percentage points, while the rate 

NOTE: Children refer to own children and include sons, daughters,

stepchildren, and adopted children. Not included are nieces,

nephews, grandchildren, or other related children, and all unrelated

children living in the household. Dash indicates data are not

available or do not meet publication criteria.

Table 3. Labor force participation rates of married mothers of infants by selected characteristics,

annual averages, 1994–2005

[In percent]

Characteristic 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Married mothers of infants,

16 years and older, total ........... 55.9 57.0 55.9 59.2 57.6 55.8 53.3 53.8 54.7 52.9 51.7 53.5

Age

 16 to 24 years ........................... 45.5 46.6 44.4 47.6 47.8 45.5 45.4 45.9 44.3 43.9 39.7 42.6

 25 to 34 years ........................... 58.2 60.0 58.6 62.2 60.7 59.4 56.2 55.7 57.1 54.5 53.7 55.5

 35 to 44 years ........................... 61.0 60.4 59.4 60.5 57.9 55.4 53.2 55.6 57.1 55.7 55.9 56.5

 45 years and older .................... 77.6 59.8 73.8 67.9 43.9 64.3 44.6 51.8 47.3 54.7 65.5 63.6

Race and Hispanic or

Latino ethnicity

White non-Hispanic ...................... 59.0 59.4 59.1 62.0 60.1 58.8 55.4 57.1 57.4 56.6 56.3 57.5

Black or African-American

non-Hispanic .............................. 61.9 66.2 64.8 63.2 69.0 68.9 64.6 68.8 66.5 59.8 58.8 64.6

Asian non-Hispanic ..................... – – – – – – 54.0 47.5 53.8 50.9 41.1 51.4

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ......... 38.9 41.0 38.8 45.0 39.6 37.1 39.3 38.2 39.9 37.5 37.7 34.3

Educational attainment

(25 years and older)

Less than a high school diploma 27.8 31.7 31.5 35.3 33.0 27.6 27.1 28.2 26.4 25.6 28.2 28.2

High school graduates,

no college ................................... 53.4 54.5 51.9 52.4 52.9 52.7 50.5 48.9 51.7 47.3 46.7 46.5

Some college or associate

degree ........................................ 63.4 62.0 61.9 64.9 64.3 62.3 57.1 60.9 60.2 55.0 59.3 58.8

Bachelor’s degree and higher..... 67.8 68.1 67.6 70.6 65.7 65.0 62.0 61.5 62.7 63.9 59.9 62.9

Nativity

Native born ................................... – – 59.6 63.0 60.8 59.7 57.2 58.1 59.1 58.1 57.3 58.5

Foreign born ................................. – – 37.5 41.4 40.8 38.4 36.4 36.0 37.7 34.6 32.3 35.0
Married Mothers in the Labor Force

14 Monthly Labor Review • February 2007

for older mothers (aged 35 to 44) fell by 7 percentage points.15

Since 2000, the rates for younger mothers have continued 

to trend downward, while the rates for other mothers have 

shown little change.

Mothers under age 35 with infants accounted for a declining share of all married mothers of infants over the 

period from 1997 to 2005, while mothers aged 35 to 44 

years accounted for an increasing one. A rising proportion of older mothers in the population would have raised 

the overall participation rate of mothers, other factors remaining unchanged. However, the falling participation 

rates of older mothers offset any upward pressure attributable to their increasing share of the population.

Number of children. The more children a woman has, the 

less likely she is to be in the labor force. Among married mothers of infants, those whose infant was their only 

child had a participation rate of 60 percent in 2005. This 

compared with a rate of 55 percent for those with two 

children and 46 percent for those with three children. 

(See table 5.) Since 2000, there has been a small increase 

in the number of married mothers of infants who have 

other children at home.16 According to Cenus Bureau 

tabulations, there has been virtually no change in the 

Table 4. Selected characteristics of married mothers of infants, annual averages, 1994–2005

[Numbers in thousands]

Characteristic 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

Married mothers of infants, 16

years and older, total ................. 2,666 2,541 2,553 2,448 2,544 2,392 2,461 2,360 2,363 2,381 2,441 2,398

Percent distribution ...................... 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0

Age

16 to 24 years .............................. 22.2 22.5 20.6 19.0 19.0 19.9 20.0 18.7 18.2 17.2 17.8 17.4

25 to 34 years .............................. 61.8 60.5 61.6 62.1 61.7 59.4 58.3 59.1 60.5 62.0 61.0 61.2

35 to 44 years .............................. 15.6 16.5 17.4 18.3 18.7 19.8 20.9 21.3 20.5 20.0 20.5 20.8

45 years and older ...................... .4 .6 .3 .5 .7 .8 .8 .9 .9 .7 .6 .6

Race and Hispanic or

Latino ethnicity

White non-Hispanic ...................... 74.9 76.7 73.5 73.8 75.0 71.7 70.6 68.0 69.5 67.6 66.9 67.2

Black or African-American

non-Hispanic .............................. 6.4 6.0 5.9 5.2 6.0 6.9 6.6 6.9 6.1 5.7 5.2 6.7

Asian non-Hispanic ..................... – – – – – – 5.2 4.7 6.0 6.4 6.7 6.5

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity ......... 14.4 13.7 15.3 14.9 13.6 15.4 16.9 19.3 17.5 18.5 19.3 18.0

Educational attainment 1

(25 years and older)

Less than a high school diploma. 9.1 7.2 8.8 7.6 7.4 7.8 8.0 8.9 7.7 9.4 8.7 8.7

High school graduates,

no college ................................... 28.0 26.5 24.9 23.7 23.6 23.7 21.5 21.6 20.9 19.4 20.0 18.5

Some college or associate

degree ........................................ 29.5 29.6 29.2 30.2 28.0 27.9 28.9 27.7 26.0 25.6 26.5 25.5

Bachelor’s degree and higher..... 33.4 36.7 37.1 38.5 41.0 40.6 41.5 41.8 45.5 45.6 44.8 47.4

Nativity

Native born ................................... – – 83.1 82.1 83.9 82.0 81.2 80.6 79.4 78.1 77.6 78.6

Foreign born ................................. – – 16.9 17.9 16.1 18.0 18.8 19.4 20.6 21.9 22.4 21.4

Employment status

Labor force .................................. 1,489 1,449 1,426 1,448 1,465 1,336 1,312 1,270 1,292 1,260 1,262 1,282

Participation rate ................... 55.9 57.0 55.9 59.2 57.6 55.8 53.3 53.8 54.7 52.9 51.7 53.5

Employment............................... 1,396 1,363 1,351 1,379 1,404 1,285 1,259 1,212 1,216 1,196 1,203 1,225

Employment-population ratio 52.4 53.6 52.9 56.3 55.2 53.7 51.2 51.4 51.5 50.2 49.3 51.1

Unemployment .......................... 93 86 75 69 61 51 53 58 77 64 59 58

Unemployment rate .............. 6.3 6.0 5.3 4.8 4.2 3.8 4.1 4.6 5.9 5.1 4.7 4.5

Not in labor force ......................... 1,176 1,091 1,126 1,000 1,079 1,056 1,149 1,090 1,071 1,121 1,179 1,115

1

 As percent of civilian noninstitutional population 25 years and

older.

NOTE: Detail may not sum to totals because data for all groups

are not always presented and also due to rounding. Children

refer to own children and include sons, daughters, stepchildren,

and adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews,

granchildren, or other related children, and all unrelated children

living in the household. Dash indicates data are not available or do

not meet publication standards.
Monthly Labor Review • February 2007 15

ceeded inflation over the period from 1997 to 2005.

Despite the uneven earnings growth of men 25 years 

and older, nearly all quintiles showed participation rates for 

mothers of infants that remained lower in 2005 than they 

had been in 1997. The only exception was the group of mothers whose husbands were in the lowest quintile of earnings; 

their participation rate was essentially unchanged.19 Mothers of infants with husbands in the highest quintile and in 

the second-lowest quintile had the largest declines in their 

participation rates—9 and 8 percentage points, respectively. 

(See table 6.) 

AFTER A LENGTHY AND DRAMATIC ADVANCE, labor 

force participation rates for married mothers of infants 

peaked in 1997 and have been relatively stable since 2000. 

This pattern held across most demographic categories. 

Groups with a history of lower participation rates for 

women—such as Hispanics and the foreign born—account 

for a growing share of the population, but this has served to 

lower participation rates only modestly for married mothers 

of infants overall.

number of children overall per married-couple family 

since around 1980.17

Earnings of husbands. Women whose husbands are relatively 

highly paid might be expected to have greater choice about 

whether to work when they have children. In fact, married 

mothers of infants whose husbands’ earnings were in the 

highest quintile (top 20 percent) had one of the lowest participation rates—48 percent in 2005. Wives whose husbands 

had the lowest earnings (bottom 20 percent) had a similar 

rate—about 47 percent. Wives whose husbands were in 

the middle earnings quintile had the highest participation 

rate—64 percent.

Among men 25 years and older who worked full time, the 

earnings increase from 1997 to 2005 for those in the ninth 

decile (that is, just 10 percent have higher earnings) was nearly four times that of the men in the first decile (the lowest 

10 percent)—about 37 percent, compared with 10 percent 

(in nominal dollars). The inflation rate during the period, as 

measured by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), was about 22 percent.18 In fact, only men 

with earnings above the median had pay increases that exTable 5. Labor force participation rates of married mothers of infants by number of children,

annual averages, 2000–05

Number of children 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005

All married mothers of infants ....................................... 53.3 53.8 54.7 52.9 51.7 53.5

One child ..................................................................... 57.2 60.1 63.1 61.1 57.4 59.5

Two children .............................................................. 55.8 55.0 53.0 54.0 53.7 54.8

Three children ............................................................ 47.4 48.1 48.3 41.5 43.6 46.1

Four children .............................................................. 38.2 37.6 43.5 39.8 40.2 40.6

Five or more children ................................................. 37.1 28.7 31.6 30.9 32.9 36.6

NOTE: Children refer to own children and include sons,

daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children. Not included are

nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or other related children, and all

unrelated children living in the household. Comparable data are

not readily tabulated before 2000.

Table 6. Labor force participation rates of married mothers of infants by earnings quintiles of

their husbands, annual averages, selected years

Quintile of husbands’ 1994 1997 2000 2005 weekly earnings

All mothers of infants with an employed husband.. 58.1 57.7 53.4 53.3

Lowest 20 percent ................................................ 54.0 47.3 46.5 46.9

Second 20 percent ................................................ 61.5 59.2 60.4 51.3

Middle 20 percent ................................................... 62.9 66.2 58.4 64.4

Fourth 20 percent .................................................. 61.2 59.4 55.5 56.5

Highest 20 percent ................................................. 50.7 56.3 46.4 47.7

NOTE: Labor force participation rates shown are for married

mothers of infants whose husbands were employed in a wage

and salary job. Earnings data measure usual weekly earnings and

exclude the self-employed. Children refer to own children and

include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children. Not

included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, or other related

children, and all unrelated children living in the household.
Married Mothers in the Labor Force

16 Monthly Labor Review • February 2007

later years use data as of March of the respective years rather than annual averages, which began to be produced for educational attainment data only in 1992.

10 Educational Attainment of Workers: March 1962, Special Labor Force Report No. 30 (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1963). For historical comparability, these participation rates are for age 18 and older. 

11 On the other hand, higher income mothers have greater opportunity 

costs associated with not working and also are more able to afford child care. 

For a study of the relationship between wives’ employment growth and husbands’ earnings, see Chinhui Juhn and Kevin M. Murphy, “Wage Inequality 

and Family Labor Supply,” Journal of Labor Economics, January 1997, pp. 72–97.

12 Press coverage has featured college-educated women who are having difficulty finding jobs after an absence from the work force to raise children, especially 

jobs at or near their former levels of pay and responsibility. Examples are “Getting Back on Track,” Newsweek, September 25, 2006; “After Years Off, Women 

Struggle to Revive Careers,” The Wall Street Journal, May 6, 2004; “Workplaces 

Prepare for Reentry,” The Washington Post, March 20, 2005; “The Baby Sabbatical,” American Demographics, February 1, 2002. The unemployment rate for college-educated mothers of infants was essentially the same in 1997 and 2005—

around 2 percent. The jobless rate for all women was 5 percent in both years.

13 Although the CPS does not include measures of overwork or 

stress, in a study by the Families and Work Institute entitled “Overwork 

in America” (Executive Summary, 2004), women reported feeling overworked somewhat more often than men. Another study by the institute, 

“Highlights of the National Study of the Changing Workforce” (Executive Summary, 2002), found significantly higher levels of interference between one’s work and family life compared with 25 years earlier.

14 Shift-share calculations found that had the proportions of four selected population groups stayed the same between 1997 and 2005, the labor force participation rate of married mothers of infants would have been 

54.6 percent in 2005 instead of 53.5 percent. The groups were Hispanic native-born, Hispanic foreign-born, non-Hispanic foreign-born, and nativeborn non-Hispanic mothers of infants. These groups are mutually exclusive 

and include all married mothers of infants. In 2005, nearly 60 percent of 

Hispanic married mothers of infants were born outside the United States, 

while one-half of foreign-born married mothers of infants were Hispanic.

15 There are relatively few teenage married mothers of infants, accounting for 

about 10 percent of the 16- to 24-year age group and just about 2 percent of the total.

16 The year 2000 is used for comparison because the data are more readily 

tabulated beginning in that year.

17 U.S. Census Bureau, table FM-3, “Average Number of Own Children 

Under 18 Per Family, by Type of Family: 1955 to Present.” http://www.census.

gov/population/socdemo/hh-fam/fm3.pdf.

18 Unpublished tabulations from the Current Population Survey, available 

from the Division of Labor Force Statistics, Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

19 Earnings data in the CPS are collected from one-quarter of the sample 

each month. CPS earnings estimates include wage and salary workers only and 

exclude the self-employed. The earnings data presented here are further restricted to married fathers of infants. 

Notes

1 For a detailed description of trends in labor force participation since 

World War II, see Abraham Mosisa and Steven Hipple, “Trends in labor force participation in the United States,” Monthly Labor Review, October 2006, pp. 35–57. For the latest BLS labor force projections, see Mitra 

Toossi, “Labor force projections to 2014: retiring boomers,” Monthly Labor 

Review, November 2005, pp. 25–44. Longer term perspectives on women’s 

changing roles are presented in Mitra Toossi, “A century of change: U.S. labor force from 1950 to 2050,” Monthly Labor Review, May 2002, pp. 15–28; 

and Claudia Goldin, “The Quiet Revolution That Transformed Women’s 

Employment, Education, and Family,” The American Economic Review, Papers and Proceedings of the One Hundred Eighteenth Annual Meeting of the 

American Economic Association, Boston, MA, January 6–8, 2006, May 2006. 

2 Data prior to 1994 are from the Annual Social and Economic Supplement (formerly called the Annual Demographic Supplement) to the Current Population Survey. Starting in 1994, data are annual averages compiled from monthly estimates, unless otherwise noted. 

3 The labor force participation rate is the labor force level for a particular group divided by the civilian noninstitutional population of that 

group. The labor force is the sum of the employed plus the unemployed. 

4 Previous interruptions in the growth of women’s participation rates were 

analyzed in two articles by Howard Hayghe: “Are women leaving the labor force?” 

Monthly Labor Review, July 1994, pp. 37–39; and “Developments in women’s 

labor force participation,” Monthly Labor Review, September 1997, pp. 41–46. 

5 In this article, a mother is defined as a woman with one or more own 

children under the age of 18 with whom she lives. Children include sons, 

daughters, adopted children, and stepchildren. Not included are nieces, 

nephews, grandchildren, other related children, and unrelated children. A 

married mother is a mother whose husband is present in the household. 

6 Educational attainment data from the CPS are typically confined to persons 25 years and older, an age at which most people have completed their 

formal education. 

7 In this article, data by race are for non-Hispanic persons. Persons who are identified as Hispanic, an ethnic category, can be of any race.

8 The cost of child care has been identified as a significant factor in a 

mother’s decision to return to work. See Lisa Barrow, “An Analysis of Women’s 

Return-to-Work Decisions Following First Birth,” Federal Reserve Bank of 

Chicago, September 1998. Other research finds that working and non-working women have different values. See Mahshid Jalilvand, “Married women, work, and values,” Monthly Labor Review, August 2000. A link between 

women’s falling participation rate and a weakened demand for labor is examined in Heather Boushey, “Are Women Opting Out? Debunking the Myth,” 

Center for Economic and Policy Research, Briefing paper, November 2005.

9 From a table on the Census Bureau Web site: http://www.census.gov/

population/socdemo/education/cps2005/tabA-1.xls. In 1992, the categories 

used to classify educational attainment were revised to reflect the highest degree or diploma attained rather than the number of years of school completed. 

For a detailed description of the change, see Robert Kominski and Paul Siegel, 

“Measuring education in the Current Population Survey,” Monthly Labor Review, September 1993, pp. 34–38. The comparisons between 1950, 1960, and