U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

MAY 2014 REPORT 1049

BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 1

Women in the Labor Force:

A Databook

Women’s participation in labor force activities 

has greatly expanded since the end of World 

War II. Immediately following the war, less 

than one-third of women were in the labor force. However, 

women soon began to participate in greater numbers, and 

their labor force participation rose rapidly from the 1960s 

through the 1980s before slowing in the 1990s. By 1999, 

women reached the peak of their labor force participation, 

60 percent. Since then, however, labor force participation 

among women has declined. Nonetheless, women’s labor 

force participation remains relatively high by historical 

standards, particularly among women with children, and 

a large share of women work full time and year round. In 

addition, women have increasingly attained higher levels 

of education: among women ages 25 to 64 who are in the 

labor force, the proportion with a college degree more 

than tripled from 1970 to 2012. Women’s earnings as a 

proportion of men’s earnings also have grown over time. 

In 1979, women working full time earned 62 percent of 

what men earned; in 2012, women’s earnings were 81 

percent of men’s.

This report presents historical and recent labor force 

and earnings data for women and men from the Current 

Population Survey (CPS), a national monthly survey of 

approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. 

Census Bureau for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

Unless otherwise noted, data are annual averages from the 

CPS. (For a detailed description of the source of the data 

and an explanation of concepts and definitions used, see

the Technical Notes at the end of this report.) 

Selected demographic 

characteristics 

In 2012, 57.7 percent of women were in the labor force, 

down 0.4 percentage point from 2011. Men’s labor force 

participation, which always has been much higher than that 

for women, also edged down in 2012, from 70.5 percent to 

70.2 percent. (See tables 1 and 2.)

CONTENTS

Highlights. . 

Statistical Tables. . . 

Technical Notes. . . . 

Errors were found in tables 22 and 33 of this report. The tables were reissued on December 9, 2016, to correct the data. 
2 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

The overall unemployment rate for women in 2012 was 7.9 

percent, compared with 8.2 percent for men. Both figures

were down from 2011. Women’s jobless rates varied by 

race and ethnicity. Asian women had the lowest rate (6.1 

percent), followed by White (7.0 percent), Hispanic (10.9 

percent), and Black (12.8 percent) women. (See table 3.)

Labor force participation varies by marital status and 

differs between women and men. Among women, divorced 

women had the highest labor force participation rate, 66.0 

percent. The rate for married women was 59.5 percent. For 

men, those who were married had the highest labor force 

participation, 74.6 percent. Divorced men had a labor force 

participation rate of 68.4 percent. (See table 4.) 

Among mothers, the labor force participation rate was 

higher for those with children 6 to 17 years old than for 

those with younger children. In 2012, the rate for mothers 

with children 6 to 17 years old was 76.0 percent. The rate 

for those with children under 6 years old was 64.7 percent, 

and the rate for mothers with children under 3 years old 

was lower, at 60.7 percent. (See table 5; data were collected 

in the 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement to the 

CPS.)

Unmarried mothers have higher labor force participation 

rates than married mothers. In March 2012, 75.8 percent of 

unmarried mothers with children under 18 years old were 

in the labor force, compared with 68.5 percent of married 

mothers with children in that age range. (See table 6; data 

were collected in the 2012 Annual Social and Economic 

Supplement to the CPS.)

The labor force participation rate of all mothers with 

children under 18 years of age was 70.9 percent in March 

2012, unchanged from a year earlier. (See tables 6 and 

7; data were collected in the 2012 Annual Social and 

Economic Supplement to the CPS.)

Educational attainment

The educational attainment of women ages 25 to 64 in the 

labor force has risen substantially over the past 40 years. 

In 2012, 38 percent of this group held college degrees, 

compared with 11 percent in 1970. About 7 percent of 

women had less than a high school diploma (i.e., did not 

graduate from high school) in 2012, down from 34 percent 

in 1970. (See table 9.)

Occupation and industry

In 2012, women accounted for 52 percent of all workers 

employed in management, professional, and related 

occupations, somewhat more than their share of total 

employment (47 percent). The share of women in specific

occupations within this large category varied. For example, 

20 percent of software developers and 31 percent of 

lawyers were women, whereas 61 percent of accountants 

and auditors and 81 percent of elementary and middle 

school teachers were women. (See table 11.) 

Employed Asian (47 percent) and White (43 percent) 

women were more likely to work in higher paying 

management, professional, and related occupations in 2012 

than were employed Black (34 percent) and Hispanic (26 

percent) women. Meanwhile, Hispanic (32 percent) and 

Black (28 percent) women were more likely than Asian (22 

percent) and White (20 percent) women to work in lower 

paying service occupations. (See table 12.)

In 2012, women accounted for more than half of all 

workers within several industry sectors: financial

activities (53 percent), education and health services 

(75 percent), leisure and hospitality (51 percent), and 

other services (52 percent). However, women were 

substantially underrepresented (relative to their share of 

total employment) in agriculture (26 percent), mining 

(13 percent), construction (9 percent), manufacturing (29 

percent), and transportation and utilities (23 percent). (See 

table 14.)

Earnings

In 2012, women who worked full time in wage and salary 

jobs had median usual weekly earnings of $691, which 

represented 81 percent of men’s median weekly earnings 

($854). Among women, earnings were higher for Asians 

($770) and Whites ($710) than for Blacks ($599) and 

Hispanics ($521). Women’s-to-men’s earnings ratios were 

higher for Blacks (90 percent) and Hispanics (88 percent) 

than for Whites (81 percent) and Asians (73 percent). 

(See table 16; note that the comparisons of earnings in 
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

this report are on a broad level and do not control for 

many factors that may be important in explaining earnings 

differences.) 

In 2012, female full-time wage and salary workers ages 

25 and older with only a high school diploma had median 

usual weekly earnings of $561, which represented 80 

percent of the earnings of women with an associate’s 

degree ($697) and 56 percent of the earnings of women 

with a bachelor’s degree or higher ($1,001). (See table 17.)

Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary 

workers were the highest in 2012 for female pharmacists 

($1,871), chief executives ($1,730), and lawyers ($1,636). 

(See table 18.)

Hours of work

In 2012, 26 percent of employed women usually worked 

part time—that is, less than 35 hours per week. In 

comparison, 13 percent of employed men usually worked 

part time. (See table 20.)

In general, employed women work fewer hours per week 

than men. On average, women worked 35.8 hours per week 

in 2012, compared with 40.8 hours for men. (See table 21.)

Of all women who worked at some point during calendar 

year 2011, 60 percent worked full time and year round, 

compared with 41 percent in 1970. For the same two years, 

the proportion of men who worked full time and year round 

rose slightly, from 66 percent in 1970 to 71 percent in 

2011. (See table 22; data were collected in the 1971 and 

2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplements to the CPS 

and reflect earnings and work experience in the previous

calendar year.) 

Married-couple families

Among married-couple families, 53 percent had earnings 

from both the wife and the husband in 2011, compared with 

44 percent in 1967. Couples in which only the husband 

worked represented 19 percent of married-couple families 

in 2011, versus 36 percent in 1967. (See table 23; data 

were collected in the 1968 and 2012 Annual Social and 

Economic Supplements to the CPS and reflect earnings and

work experience in the previous calendar year.)

In 2011, working wives contributed 37 percent of their 

families’ incomes, up by 10 percentage points from 1970, 

when wives’ earnings accounted for 27 percent of their 

families’ total income. The proportion of wives earning 

more than their husbands also has grown: in 1987, 18 

percent of working wives whose husbands also worked 

earned more than their spouses; in 2011, the proportion was 

28.1 percent. (See tables 24 and 25; data were collected 

in the 1971, 1988, and 2012 Annual Social and Economic 

Supplements to the CPS and reflect earnings and work

experience in the previous calendar year.)

Minimum wage and the working 

poor

In 2012, 6 percent of all women paid at an hourly rate, 

or approximately 2.3 million women, had earnings at or 

below the prevailing federal minimum wage ($7.25 per 

hour). Among women 25 years and older who were paid 

at an hourly rate, 4 percent had earnings at or below the 

minimum wage, compared with 15 percent of women ages 

16 to 24. (See table 26.)

Among workers who were in the labor force for at least 

27 weeks in 2011, more women (5.5 million) than men 

(4.9 million) lived below the official poverty level. The

working-poor rate (the ratio of the working poor to all 

individuals who were in the labor force for at least 27 

weeks) was 8.0 percent for women and 6.2 percent for 

men. Black and Hispanic women were considerably 

more likely than White or Asian women to be among 

the working poor. The working-poor rates for Black and 

Hispanic women were 15.6 percent and 13.7 percent, 

respectively, compared with 6.7 percent for White women 

and 5.4 percent for Asian women. (See table 27; data are 

from the 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement 

to the CPS and reflect earnings and work experience in the

previous calendar year.)
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Other characteristics

Among 2012 high school graduates, young women (71 

percent) were more likely than young men (61 percent) to 

be enrolled in college in October 2012. (See table 30; data 

are from the October 2012 School Enrollment Supplement 

to the CPS.)

Young women 16 to 24 years old who were high school 

dropouts were much less likely to participate in the labor 

force (35.5 percent) in October 2012 than those who had 

graduated from high school between January and October 

2012 but were not enrolled in college (68.7 percent). 

(See table 30; data are from the October 2012 School 

Enrollment Supplement to the CPS.)

In October 2012, 40.5 percent of women ages 16 to 24 who 

were enrolled in either high school or college were in the 

labor force. Young men in the same age group who were 

enrolled in school had a lower labor force participation rate 

(36.1 percent). Among those not enrolled in school, women 

were less likely to be in the labor force than men (74.5 

percent, compared with 83.6 percent). (See table 31; data 

are from the October 2012 School Enrollment Supplement 

to the CPS.)

Multiple jobholders and the selfemployed

In 2012, 5.2 percent of employed women held more 

than one job. The rate for men was lower, at 4.6 percent. 

Multiple-jobholding rates for women and men have edged 

down in recent years and remain below the rates recorded 

in the mid-1990s. (See table 32.)

In 2012, 5.2 percent of working women in nonagricultural 

industries were self-employed, compared with 7.1 percent 

for their male counterparts. That same year, 40 percent of 

all self-employed workers were women, compared with 27 

percent in 1976. (See table 33.)

Foreign born

Foreign-born women were somewhat less likely than 

native-born women to be in the labor force in 2012 (54.8 

percent, compared with 58.2 percent). Of those in the 

labor force, foreign-born women were more likely to be 

unemployed than were native-born women (8.9 percent, 

as opposed to 7.7 percent). Foreign-born men were 

more likely to be in the labor force (78.5 percent) than 

native-born men (68.6 percent) and were less likely to be 

unemployed (7.5 percent, compared with 8.4 percent). (See 

table 34.)

Union membership

In 2012, 10.5 percent of female wage and salary workers 

were members of unions, compared with 12.0 percent of 

their male counterparts. For both men and women, the 

union membership rate in 2012 was lower than in 1983, but 

the rate has fallen much more for men over the 1983–2012 

period. (See table 35.)

Veterans

There were 11.0 million veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces 

in the labor force in 2012. About 1.1 million of them, or 10 

percent, were women. The unemployment rate for female 

veterans in 2012 was 8.3 percent. (See table 36.)

Women with disabilities

Of the 15.3 million women with disabilities in 2012, 2.6 

million, or 17.1 percent, were in the labor force. Nearly 

half of women with disabilities were age 65 and older; 

labor force participation among this age group was 5.0 

percent, compared with 28.9 percent among those ages 16 

to 64. For women with a disability who were age 16 and 

older, the unemployment rate was 13.7 percent, almost 

twice that for women without a disability (7.7 percent). 

(See table 37.)
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 5

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Statistical Tables Page

Selected demographic characteristics

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population, by age and gender, 2012 annual averages ...........7

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by gender, 

1948–2012 annual averages.................................................................................................................................................10

Table 3. Employment status, by race, age, gender, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012 annual averages ....................15

Table 4. Employment status, by marital status and gender, 2012 annual averages .............................................................17

Table 5. Employment status, by gender, presence and age of children, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 

March 2012 .........................................................................................................................................................................18

Table 6. Employment status of women, by presence and age of youngest child, marital status, race, and Hispanic 

or Latino ethnicity, March 2012...........................................................................................................................................20

Table 7. Employment status of women, by presence and age of youngest child, March 1975–March 2012......................23

Educational attainment

Table 8. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 25 to 64 years of age, by educational 

attainment and gender, 2012 annual averages .....................................................................................................................26

Table 9. Percent distribution of the civilian labor force 25 to 64 years of age, by educational attainment and 

gender, 1970–2012...............................................................................................................................................................27

Occupation and industry

Table 10. Employed persons, by major occupation and gender, 2011 and 2012 annual averages ......................................31

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages ..................................................33

Table 12. Employed women, by occupation, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012 annual averages ....................45

Table 13. Employed persons, by industry and gender, 2011 and 2012 annual averages.....................................................46

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages.......................................................49

Table 15. Employed women, by industry, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012 annual averages..........................56

Earnings

Table 16. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, in current dollars, by race, 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and gender, 1979–2012 annual averages...............................................................................57

Table 17. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers 25 years and older, by 

educational attainment and gender, 2012 annual averages .................................................................................................59

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and 

gender, 2012 annual averages .............................................................................................................................................61

Table 19. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by industry and gender, 2012

annual averages....................................................................................................................................................................74

Hours of work

Table 20. Employed persons, by full- and part-time status and gender, 1970–2012 annual averages ...............................75

Table 21. Average weekly hours at work in all industries and in nonagricultural industries, by gender, 

1976–2012 annual averages.................................................................................................................................................79

Table 22. Work experience of the population, by gender and full- and part-time status, selected years, 1970–2011 .........80
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Statistical Tables continued— Page

Married-couple families

Table 23. Married-couple families, by number and relationship of earners, 1967–2011 ...................................................81

Table 24. Contribution of wives’ earnings to family income, 1970–2011..........................................................................83

Table 25. Wives who earn more than their husbands, 1987–2011......................................................................................84

Minimum wage and working poor

Table 26. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal minimum 

wage, by selected characteristics, 2012 annual averages....................................................................................................85

Table 27. Working poor: Poverty status of people in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, by age, gender, race, and 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2011......................................................................................................................................87

Worker displacement and tenure

Table 28. Displaced workers, by age, gender, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and employment status 

in January 2012...................................................................................................................................................................89

Table 29. Employed wage and salary workers, by age, gender, and median years of tenure with current employer 

for selected years, 1998–2012.............................................................................................................................................90

Other characteristics

Table 30. Labor force status of 2012 high school graduates and 2011–2012 high school dropouts 16 to 24 years old, 

by school enrollment and gender, October 2012 ................................................................................................................91

Table 31. Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old, by school enrollment, gender, and educational 

attainment, October 2012....................................................................................................................................................92

Table 32. Multiple jobholders and multiple jobholding rates, by gender, 1994–2012 annual averages.............................93

Table 33. Unincorporated self-employed persons in nonagricultural industries, by gender, 1976–2012 annual 

averages...............................................................................................................................................................................94

Table 34. Employment status of the native-born and foreign-born civilian noninstitutional population, by age 

and gender, 2012 annual averages ......................................................................................................................................95

Table 35. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers, by gender, annual averages, 1983–2012...................97

Table 36. Employment status of persons 18 years and over by veteran status, period of service, and gender, 

2012 annual averages.......................................................................................................................................................... 99

Table 37. Employment and disability status of persons, by gender and age, 2012 annual averages.................................101
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 7

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population, by age and gender, 2012 

annual averages 

(Numbers in thousands)

16 years and older ......... 243,284 154,975 63.7 142,469 58.6 12,506 8.1 88,310

16 to 19 years ...................16,984 5,823 34.3 4,426 26.1 1,397 24.0 11,162

16 to 17 years.................8,891 1,952 22.0 1,419 16.0 533 27.3 6,939

18 to 19 years........................... 8,093 3,870 47.8 3,007 37.2 863 22.3 4,223

20 to 24 years................ 21,799 15,462 70.9 13,408 61.5 2,054 13.3 6,337

25 to 54 years...................124,314 101,253 81.4 94,150 75.7 7,103 7.0 23,061

25 to 34 years................... 40,975 33,465 81.7 30,701 74.9 2,764 8.3 7,510

25 to 29 years..............20,653 16,792 81.3 15,293 74.0 1,500 8.9 3,860

30 to 34 years..............20,322 16,673 82.0 15,408 75.8 1,265 7.6 3,650

35 to 44 years.................... 39,642 32,734 82.6 30,576 77.1 2,158 6.6 6,908

35 to 39 years.............19,025 15,658 82.3 14,560 76.5 1,098 7.0 3,367

40 to 44 years.............20,617 17,076 82.8 16,016 77.7 1,060 6.2 3,541

45 to 54 years....................43,697 35,054 80.2 32,874 75.2 2,181 6.2 8,643

45 to 49 years..............21,359 17,456 81.7 16,371 76.6 1,086 6.2 3,902

50 to 54 years.............22,339 17,598 78.8 16,503 73.9 1,095 6.2 4,741

55 to 64 years............... 38,318 24,710 64.5 23,239 60.6 1,470 5.9 13,608

55 to 59 years.............. 20,574 14,908 72.5 14,015 68.1 892 6.0 5,667

60 to 64 years.............. 17,743 9,802 55.2 9,224 52.0 578 5.9 7,941

65 years and older.......... 41,869 7,727 18.5 7,245 17.3 482 6.2 34,142

65 to 69 years.............. 13,801 4,427 32.1 4,133 29.9 295 6.7 9,373

70 to 74 years.............. 9,853 1,917 19.5 1,794 18.2 124 6.4 7,936

75 years and older........ 18,216 1,383 7.6 1,319 7.2 64 4.6 16,833

Not in 

labor 

force

Employed Unemployed

Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Total

Age

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Civilian labor force

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force
8 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population, by age and gender, 2012 

annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

16 years and older ......... 125,941 72,648 57.7 66,914 53.1 5,734 7.9 53,293

16 to 19 years ...................8,327 2,883 34.6 2,274 27.3 609 21.1 5,444

16 to 17 years.................4,341 1,003 23.1 760 17.5 242 24.2 3,338

18 to 19 years........................... 3,986 1,880 47.2 1,514 38.0 367 19.5 2,106

20 to 24 years................ 10,910 7,352 67.4 6,460 59.2 891 12.1 3,559

25 to 54 years...................63,355 47,200 74.5 43,840 69.2 3,361 7.1 16,154

25 to 34 years................... 20,770 15,382 74.1 14,094 67.9 1,288 8.4 5,388

25 to 29 years..............10,437 7,765 74.4 7,073 67.8 692 8.9 2,672

30 to 34 years..............10,333 7,617 73.7 7,021 67.9 597 7.8 2,716

35 to 44 years.................... 20,226 15,127 74.8 14,093 69.7 1,034 6.8 5,100

35 to 39 years............. 9,716 7,156 73.7 6,630 68.2 526 7.3 2,560

40 to 44 years.............10,510 7,970 75.8 7,462 71.0 508 6.4 2,540

45 to 54 years....................22,358 16,692 74.7 15,653 70.0 1,039 6.2 5,667

45 to 49 years..............10,909 8,251 75.6 7,738 70.9 513 6.2 2,658

50 to 54 years.............11,449 8,440 73.7 7,915 69.1 525 6.2 3,009

55 to 64 years............... 19,902 11,830 59.4 11,171 56.1 659 5.6 8,071

55 to 59 years.............. 10,653 7,171 67.3 6,773 63.6 398 5.6 3,482

60 to 64 years.............. 9,249 4,660 50.4 4,399 47.6 261 5.6 4,589

65 years and older.......... 23,447 3,383 14.4 3,168 13.5 214 6.3 20,064

65 to 69 years.............. 7,301 2,015 27.6 1,880 25.8 135 6.7 5,286

70 to 74 years.............. 5,316 821 15.4 769 14.5 52 6.4 4,495

75 years and older........ 10,830 546 5.0 519 4.8 27 4.9 10,284

Civilian labor force

Not in 

labor 

Total force

Total

Women

Total

Age

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Percentage 

of 

population

Employed

Percentage 

of 

population

Unemployed

Percentage 

of labor 

force
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 1. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population, by age and gender, 2012 

annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

16 years and older ......... 117,343 82,327 70.2 75,555 64.4 6,771 8.2 35,017

16 to 19 years ...................8,657 2,940 34.0 2,152 24.9 787 26.8 5,717

16 to 17 years.................4,550 950 20.9 659 14.5 291 30.6 3,600

18 to 19 years........................... 4,107 1,990 48.5 1,493 36.4 497 25.0 2,117

20 to 24 years................ 10,889 8,110 74.5 6,948 63.8 1,163 14.3 2,778

25 to 54 years...................60,959 54,053 88.7 50,310 82.5 3,742 6.9 6,907

25 to 34 years................... 20,205 18,083 89.5 16,607 82.2 1,476 8.2 2,122

25 to 29 years..............10,216 9,027 88.4 8,219 80.5 808 9.0 1,188

30 to 34 years..............9,989 9,055 90.7 8,387 84.0 668 7.4 934

35 to 44 years.................... 19,416 17,607 90.7 16,483 84.9 1,124 6.4 1,808

35 to 39 years............. 9,309 8,502 91.3 7,930 85.2 572 6.7 807

40 to 44 years.............10,107 9,106 90.1 8,553 84.6 552 6.1 1,001

45 to 54 years....................21,339 18,363 86.1 17,221 80.7 1,142 6.2 2,976

45 to 49 years..............10,449 9,205 88.1 8,633 82.6 572 6.2 1,244

50 to 54 years.............10,890 9,157 84.1 8,588 78.9 570 6.2 1,732

55 to 64 years............... 18,416 12,879 69.9 12,068 65.5 811 6.3 5,537

55 to 59 years.............. 9,922 7,737 78.0 7,243 73.0 494 6.4 2,185

60 to 64 years.............. 8,495 5,142 60.5 4,826 56.8 317 6.2 3,352

65 years and older.......... 18,422 4,345 23.6 4,077 22.1 268 6.2 14,078

65 to 69 years.............. 6,499 2,412 37.1 2,252 34.7 159 6.6 4,088

70 to 74 years.............. 4,537 1,096 24.2 1,025 22.6 71 6.5 3,441

75 years and older........ 7,386 837 11.3 800 10.8 37 4.4 6,549

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Age

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Civilian labor force

 Percentage 

of labor 

force

Not in 

labor 

force

Men

Employed Unemployed

Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Total
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by gender,

1948–2012 annual averages 

(Numbers in thousands)

1948 ........................ 103,068 60,621 58.8 58,343 56.6 2,276 3.8 42,447

1949 ........................ 103,994 61,286 58.9 57,651 55.4 3,637 5.9 42,708

1950 ........................ 104,995 62,208 59.2 58,918 56.1 3,288 5.3 42,787

1951 ........................ 104,621 62,017 59.2 59,961 57.3 2,055 3.3 42,604

1952 ........................ 105,231 62,138 59.0 60,250 57.3 1,883 3.0 43,093

1953 ........................ 107,056 63,015 58.9 61,179 57.1 1,834 2.9 44,041

1954 ........................ 108,321 63,643 58.8 60,109 55.5 3,532 5.5 44,678

1955 ........................ 109,683 65,023 59.3 62,170 56.7 2,852 4.4 44,660

1956 ........................ 110,954 66,552 60.0 63,799 57.5 2,750 4.1 44,402

1957 ........................ 112,265 66,929 59.6 64,071 57.1 2,859 4.3 45,336

1958 ........................ 113,727 67,639 59.5 63,036 55.4 4,602 6.8 46,088

1959 ........................ 115,329 68,369 59.3 64,630 56.0 3,740 5.5 46,960

1960 ........................ 117,245 69,628 59.4 65,778 56.1 3,852 5.5 47,617

1961 ........................ 118,771 70,459 59.3 65,746 55.4 4,714 6.7 48,312

1962 ........................ 120,153 70,614 58.8 66,702 55.5 3,911 5.5 49,539

1963 ........................ 122,416 71,833 58.7 67,762 55.4 4,070 5.7 50,583

1964 ........................ 124,485 73,091 58.7 69,305 55.7 3,786 5.2 51,394

1965 ........................ 126,513 74,455 58.9 71,088 56.2 3,366 4.5 52,058

1966 ........................ 128,058 75,770 59.2 72,895 56.9 2,875 3.8 52,288

1967 ........................ 129,874 77,347 59.6 74,372 57.3 2,975 3.8 52,527

1968 ........................ 132,028 78,737 59.6 75,920 57.5 2,817 3.6 53,291

1969 ........................ 134,335 80,734 60.1 77,902 58.0 2,832 3.5 53,602

1970 ........................ 137,085 82,771 60.4 78,678 57.5 4,093 4.9 54,315

1971 ............................. 140,216 84,382 60.2 79,367 56.6 5,016 5.9 55,834

1972 .................... 144,126 87,034 60.4 82,153 57.0 4,882 5.6 57,091

1973 ....................... 147,096 89,429 60.8 85,064 57.8 4,365 4.9 57,667

1974 ..................... 150,120 91,949 61.3 86,794 57.8 5,156 5.6 58,171

1975 ......................... 153,153 93,775 61.2 85,846 56.1 7,929 8.5 59,377

1976 ..................... 156,150 96,158 61.6 88,752 56.8 7,406 7.7 59,991

1977..................... 159,033 99,009 62.3 92,017 57.9 6,991 7.1 60,025

1978 ..................... 161,910 102,251 63.2 96,048 59.3 6,202 6.1 59,659

1979 ....................... 164,863 104,962 63.7 98,824 59.9 6,137 5.8 59,900

1980 ...................... 167,745 106,940 63.8 99,303 59.2 7,637 7.1 60,806

1981 ....................... 170,130 108,670 63.9 100,397 59.0 8,273 7.6 61,460

1982 ........................ 172,271 110,204 64.0 99,526 57.8 10,678 9.7 62,067

1983 ...................... 174,215 111,550 64.0 100,834 57.9 10,717 9.6 62,665

1984 ..................... 176,383 113,544 64.4 105,005 59.5 8,539 7.5 62,839

1985 ........................... 178,206 115,461 64.8 107,150 60.1 8,312 7.2 62,744

1986 ...................... 180,587 117,834 65.3 109,597 60.7 8,237 7.0 62,752

1987......................... 182,753 119,865 65.6 112,440 61.5 7,425 6.2 62,888

1988 ........................ 184,613 121,669 65.9 114,968 62.3 6,701 5.5 62,944

1989 ........................ 186,393 123,869 66.5 117,342 63.0 6,528 5.3 62,523

1990 .......................... 189,164 125,840 66.5 118,793 62.8 7,047 5.6 63,324

1991 ..................... 190,925 126,346 66.2 117,718 61.7 8,628 6.8 64,578

 See note at end of table.

Year

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Civilian labor force

Not in labor 

force Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Employed Unemployed

Total Percentage 

of population Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Total

7
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 11

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by gender,

1948–2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

1992 ......................... 192,805 128,105 66.4 118,492 61.5 9,613 7.5 64,700

1993 ....................... 194,838 129,200 66.3 120,259 61.7 8,940 6.9 65,638

1994 ..................... 196,814 131,056 66.6 123,060 62.5 7,996 6.1 65,758

1995 ..................... 198,584 132,304 66.6 124,900 62.9 7,404 5.6 66,280

1996 ........................ 200,591 133,943 66.8 126,708 63.2 7,236 5.4 66,647

1997 ....................... 203,133 136,297 67.1 129,558 63.8 6,739 4.9 66,837

1998 .......................... 205,220 137,673 67.1 131,463 64.1 6,210 4.5 67,547

1999 ............................ 207,753 139,368 67.1 133,488 64.3 5,880 4.2 68,385

2000 ........................ 212,577 142,583 67.1 136,891 64.4 5,692 4.0 69,994

2001 ..................... 215,092 143,734 66.8 136,933 63.7 6,801 4.7 71,359

2002 ....................... 217,570 144,863 66.6 136,485 62.7 8,378 5.8 72,707

2003 ...................... 221,168 146,510 66.2 137,736 62.3 8,774 6.0 74,658

2004 ................... 223,357 147,401 66.0 139,252 62.3 8,149 5.5 75,956

2005 .......................... 226,082 149,320 66.0 141,730 62.7 7,591 5.1 76,762

2006 ...................... 228,815 151,428 66.2 144,427 63.1 7,001 4.6 77,387

2007 ...................... 231,867 153,124 66.0 146,047 63.0 7,078 4.6 78,743

2008 ................... 233,788 154,287 66.0 145,362 62.2 8,924 5.8 79,501

2009 ...................... 235,801 154,142 65.4 139,877 59.3 14,265 9.3 81,659

2010 ........................ 237,830 153,889 64.7 139,064 58.5 14,825 9.6 83,941

2011 ........................ 239,618 153,617 64.1 139,869 58.4 13,747 8.9 86,001

2012 ........................ 243,284 154,975 63.7 142,469 58.6 12,506 8.1 88,310

1948 ........................ 53,071 17,335 32.7 16,617 31.3 717 4.1 35,737

1949 ........................ 53,670 17,788 33.1 16,723 31.2 1,065 6.0 35,883

1950 ........................ 54,270 18,389 33.9 17,340 32.0 1,049 5.7 35,881

1951 ........................ 54,895 19,016 34.6 18,181 33.1 834 4.4 35,879

1952 ........................ 55,529 19,269 34.7 18,568 33.4 698 3.6 36,261

1953 ........................ 56,305 19,382 34.4 18,749 33.3 632 3.3 36,924

1954 ........................ 56,925 19,678 34.6 18,490 32.5 1,188 6.0 37,247

1955 ........................ 57,574 20,548 35.7 19,551 34.0 998 4.9 37,026

1956 ........................ 58,228 21,461 36.9 20,419 35.1 1,039 4.8 36,769

1957 ........................ 58,951 21,732 36.9 20,714 35.1 1,018 4.7 37,218

1958 ........................ 59,690 22,118 37.1 20,613 34.5 1,504 6.8 37,574

1959 ........................ 60,534 22,483 37.1 21,164 35.0 1,320 5.9 38,053

1960 ........................ 61,582 23,240 37.7 21,874 35.5 1,366 5.9 38,343

1961 ........................ 62,484 23,806 38.1 22,090 35.4 1,717 7.2 38,679

1962 ........................ 63,321 24,014 37.9 22,525 35.6 1,488 6.2 39,308

1963 ........................ 64,494 24,704 38.3 23,105 35.8 1,598 6.5 39,791

1964 ........................ 65,637 25,412 38.7 23,831 36.3 1,581 6.2 40,225

1965 ........................ 66,731 26,200 39.3 24,748 37.1 1,452 5.5 40,531

1966 ........................ 67,795 27,299 40.3 25,976 38.3 1,324 4.8 40,496

1967 ........................ 68,968 28,360 41.1 26,893 39.0 1,468 5.2 40,608

1968 ........................ 70,179 29,204 41.6 27,807 39.6 1,397 4.8 40,976

1969 ........................ 71,436 30,513 42.7 29,084 40.7 1,429 4.7 40,924

 See note at end of table.

Year

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Civilian labor force

Not in labor 

force Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Employed Unemployed

Total Percentage 

of population

Women

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Total

8
12 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by gender,

1948–2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

1970 ........................ 72,782 31,543 43.3 29,688 40.8 1,855 5.9 41,239

1971 ............................. 74,274 32,202 43.4 29,976 40.4 2,227 6.9 42,072

1972 .................... 76,290 33,479 43.9 31,257 41.0 2,222 6.6 42,811

1973 ....................... 77,804 34,804 44.7 32,715 42.0 2,089 6.0 43,000

1974 ..................... 79,312 36,211 45.7 33,769 42.6 2,441 6.7 43,101

1975 ......................... 80,860 37,475 46.3 33,989 42.0 3,486 9.3 43,386

1976 ..................... 82,390 38,983 47.3 35,615 43.2 3,369 8.6 43,406

1977..................... 83,840 40,613 48.4 37,289 44.5 3,324 8.2 43,227

1978 ..................... 85,334 42,631 50.0 39,569 46.4 3,061 7.2 42,703

1979 ....................... 86,843 44,235 50.9 41,217 47.5 3,018 6.8 42,608

1980 ...................... 88,348 45,487 51.5 42,117 47.7 3,370 7.4 42,861

1981 ....................... 89,618 46,696 52.1 43,000 48.0 3,696 7.9 42,922

1982 ........................ 90,748 47,755 52.6 43,256 47.7 4,499 9.4 42,993

1983 ...................... 91,684 48,503 52.9 44,047 48.0 4,457 9.2 43,181

1984 .....................92,778 49,709 53.6 45,915 49.5 3,794 7.6 43,068

1985 ........................... 93,736 51,050 54.5 47,259 50.4 3,791 7.4 42,686

1986 ...................... 94,789 52,413 55.3 48,706 51.4 3,707 7.1 42,376

1987......................... 95,853 53,658 56.0 50,334 52.5 3,324 6.2 42,195

1988 ........................ 96,756 54,742 56.6 51,696 53.4 3,046 5.6 42,014

1989 ........................ 97,630 56,030 57.4 53,027 54.3 3,003 5.4 41,601

1990 .......................... 98,787 56,829 57.5 53,689 54.3 3,140 5.5 41,957

1991 .....................99,646 57,178 57.4 53,496 53.7 3,683 6.4 42,468

1992 ......................... 100,535 58,141 57.8 54,052 53.8 4,090 7.0 42,394

1993 ....................... 101,506 58,795 57.9 54,910 54.1 3,885 6.6 42,711

1994 ..................... 102,460 60,239 58.8 56,610 55.3 3,629 6.0 42,221

1995 ..................... 103,406 60,944 58.9 57,523 55.6 3,421 5.6 42,462

1996 ........................ 104,385 61,857 59.3 58,501 56.0 3,356 5.4 42,528

1997 ....................... 105,418 63,036 59.8 59,873 56.8 3,162 5.0 42,382

1998 .......................... 106,462 63,714 59.8 60,771 57.1 2,944 4.6 42,748

1999 ............................ 108,031 64,855 60.0 62,042 57.4 2,814 4.3 43,175

2000 ........................ 110,613 66,303 59.9 63,586 57.5 2,717 4.1 44,310

2001 ..................... 111,811 66,848 59.8 63,737 57.0 3,111 4.7 44,962

2002 ....................... 112,985 67,363 59.6 63,582 56.3 3,781 5.6 45,621

2003 ...................... 114,733 68,272 59.5 64,404 56.1 3,868 5.7 46,461

2004 ................... 115,647 68,421 59.2 64,728 56.0 3,694 5.4 47,225

2005 .......................... 116,931 69,288 59.3 65,757 56.2 3,531 5.1 47,643

2006 ...................... 118,210 70,173 59.4 66,925 56.6 3,247 4.6 48,037

2007 ...................... 119,694 70,988 59.3 67,792 56.6 3,196 4.5 48,707

2008 ................... 120,675 71,767 59.5 67,876 56.2 3,891 5.4 48,908

2009 ...................... 121,665 72,019 59.2 66,208 54.4 5,811 8.1 49,646

2010 ........................ 122,656 71,904 58.6 65,705 53.6 6,199 8.6 50,752

2011 ........................ 123,300 71,642 58.1 65,579 53.2 6,063 8.5 51,658

2012 ........................ 125,941 72,648 57.7 66,914 53.1 5,734 7.9 53,293

 See note at end of table.

Year

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Civilian labor force

Not in labor 

force Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Employed Unemployed

Total

Women

Percentage 

of population Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

9
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 13

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by gender,

1948–2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

1948 ........................ 49,996 43,286 86.6 41,725 83.5 1,559 3.6 6,710

1949 ........................ 50,321 43,498 86.4 40,925 81.3 2,572 5.9 6,825

1950 ........................ 50,725 43,819 86.4 41,578 82.0 2,239 5.1 6,906

1951 ........................ 49,727 43,001 86.3 41,780 84.0 1,221 2.8 6,725

1952 ........................ 49,700 42,869 86.3 41,682 83.9 1,185 2.8 6,832

1953 ........................ 50,750 43,633 86.0 42,430 83.6 1,202 2.8 7,117

1954 ........................ 51,395 43,965 85.5 41,619 81.0 2,344 5.3 7,431

1955 ........................ 52,109 44,475 85.4 42,621 81.8 1,854 4.2 7,634

1956 ........................ 52,723 45,091 85.5 43,379 82.3 1,711 3.8 7,633

1957 ........................ 53,315 45,197 84.8 43,357 81.3 1,841 4.1 8,118

1958 ........................ 54,033 45,521 84.2 42,423 78.5 3,098 6.8 8,514

1959 ........................ 54,793 45,886 83.7 43,466 79.3 2,420 5.2 8,907

1960 ........................ 55,662 46,388 83.3 43,904 78.9 2,486 5.4 9,274

1961 ........................ 56,286 46,653 82.9 43,656 77.6 2,997 6.4 9,633

1962 ........................ 56,831 46,600 82.0 44,177 77.7 2,423 5.2 10,231

1963 ........................ 57,921 47,129 81.4 44,657 77.1 2,472 5.2 10,792

1964 ........................ 58,847 47,679 81.0 45,474 77.3 2,205 4.6 11,169

1965 ........................ 59,782 48,255 80.7 46,340 77.5 1,914 4.0 11,527

1966 ........................ 60,262 48,471 80.4 46,919 77.9 1,551 3.2 11,792

1967 ........................ 60,905 48,987 80.4 47,479 78.0 1,508 3.1 11,919

1968 ........................ 61,847 49,533 80.1 48,114 77.8 1,419 2.9 12,315

1969 ........................ 62,898 50,221 79.8 48,818 77.6 1,403 2.8 12,677

1970 ........................ 64,304 51,228 79.7 48,990 76.2 2,238 4.4 13,076

1971 ............................. 65,942 52,180 79.1 49,390 74.9 2,789 5.3 13,762

1972 .................... 67,835 53,555 78.9 50,896 75.0 2,659 5.0 14,280

1973 ....................... 69,292 54,624 78.8 52,349 75.5 2,275 4.2 14,667

1974 ..................... 70,808 55,739 78.7 53,024 74.9 2,714 4.9 15,069

1975 ......................... 72,291 56,299 77.9 51,857 71.7 4,442 7.9 15,993

1976 ..................... 73,759 57,174 77.5 53,138 72.0 4,036 7.1 16,585

1977..................... 75,193 58,396 77.7 54,728 72.8 3,667 6.3 16,797

1978 ..................... 76,576 59,620 77.9 56,479 73.8 3,142 5.3 16,956

1979 ....................... 78,020 60,726 77.8 57,607 73.8 3,120 5.1 17,293

1980 ...................... 79,398 61,453 77.4 57,186 72.0 4,267 6.9 17,945

1981 ....................... 80,511 61,974 77.0 57,397 71.3 4,577 7.4 18,537

1982 ........................ 81,523 62,450 76.6 56,271 69.0 6,179 9.9 19,073

1983 ...................... 82,531 63,047 76.4 56,787 68.8 6,260 9.9 19,484

1984 .....................83,605 63,835 76.4 59,091 70.7 4,744 7.4 19,771

1985 ........................... 84,469 64,411 76.3 59,891 70.9 4,521 7.0 20,058

1986 ...................... 85,798 65,422 76.3 60,892 71.0 4,530 6.9 20,376

1987......................... 86,899 66,207 76.2 62,107 71.5 4,101 6.2 20,692

1988 ........................ 87,857 66,927 76.2 63,273 72.0 3,655 5.5 20,930

1989 ........................ 88,762 67,840 76.4 64,315 72.5 3,525 5.2 20,923

1990 .......................... 90,377 69,011 76.4 65,104 72.0 3,906 5.7 21,367

1991 .....................91,278 69,168 75.8 64,223 70.4 4,946 7.2 22,110

1992 ......................... 92,270 69,964 75.8 64,440 69.8 5,523 7.9 22,306

 See note at end of table.

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Employed Unemployed

Total Percentage 

of population

Men

Year

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Civilian labor force

Not in labor 

Total force

Percentage 

of 

population

10
14 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 2. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 16 years and older, by gender,

1948–2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

1993 ....................... 93,332 70,404 75.4 65,349 70.0 5,055 7.2 22,927

1994 ..................... 94,355 70,817 75.1 66,450 70.4 4,367 6.2 23,538

1995 .....................95,178 71,360 75.0 67,377 70.8 3,983 5.6 23,818

1996 ........................ 96,206 72,087 74.9 68,207 70.9 3,880 5.4 24,119

1997 ....................... 97,715 73,261 75.0 69,685 71.3 3,577 4.9 24,454

1998 .......................... 98,758 73,959 74.9 70,693 71.6 3,266 4.4 24,799

1999 ............................ 99,722 74,512 74.7 71,446 71.6 3,066 4.1 25,210

2000 ........................ 101,964 76,280 74.8 73,305 71.9 2,975 3.9 25,684

2001 ..................... 103,282 76,886 74.4 73,196 70.9 3,690 4.8 26,396

2002 ....................... 104,585 77,500 74.1 72,903 69.7 4,597 5.9 27,085

2003 ...................... 106,435 78,238 73.5 73,332 68.9 4,906 6.3 28,197

2004 ................... 107,710 78,980 73.3 74,524 69.2 4,456 5.6 28,730

2005 .......................... 109,151 80,033 73.3 75,973 69.6 4,059 5.1 29,119

2006 ...................... 110,605 81,255 73.5 77,502 70.1 3,753 4.6 29,350

2007 ...................... 112,173 82,136 73.2 78,254 69.8 3,882 4.7 30,036

2008 ................... 113,113 82,520 73.0 77,486 68.5 5,033 6.1 30,593

2009 ...................... 114,136 82,123 72.0 73,670 64.5 8,453 10.3 32,013

2010 ........................ 115,174 81,985 71.2 73,359 63.7 8,626 10.5 33,189

2011 ........................ 116,317 81,975 70.5 74,290 63.9 7,684 9.4 34,343

2012 ........................ 117,343 82,327 70.2 75,555 64.4 6,771 8.2 35,017

Unemployed

Total Percentage 

of population Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Men

Year

Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population

Civilian labor force

Not in labor 

Total force

Percentage 

of 

population

Employed

Note: Revisions to population controls and other changes can affect the comparability of labor force levels over time. In 

recent years, for example, updated population controls have been introduced annually with the release of January data. 

Information about historical comparability is online at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#comp.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 15

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 3. Employment status, by race, age, gender, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

 Total Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total Percentage 

of labor 

force 

White

Total, 16 years and older...... 193,204 123,684 64.0 114,769 59.4 8,915 7.2 69,520

 16 to 19 years.................. 12,658 4,669 36.9 3,665 29.0 1,004 21.5 7,988

 20 to 24 years.................... 16,289 11,914 73.1 10,561 64.8 1,353 11.4 4,375

 25 to 54 years.................. 96,774 79,635 82.3 74,626 77.1 5,009 6.3 17,139

 55 to 64 years.................. 31,511 20,752 65.9 19,608 62.2 1,144 5.5 10,759

 65 years and older............ 35,973 6,714 18.7 6,309 17.5 405 6.0 29,259

 Women, 16 years and older... 98,938 56,763 57.4 52,779 53.3 3,985 7.0 42,175

 16 to 19 years.................... 6,172 2,288 37.1 1,868 30.3 420 18.4 3,884

 20 to 24 years................... 8,078 5,575 69.0 5,014 62.1 561 10.1 2,503

 25 to 54 years.................... 48,532 36,240 74.7 33,925 69.9 2,314 6.4 12,292

 55 to 64 years................... 16,179 9,782 60.5 9,274 57.3 508 5.2 6,397

 65 years and older............ 19,978 2,879 14.4 2,698 13.5 181 6.3 17,099

 Men, 16 years and older...... 94,266 66,921 71.0 61,990 65.8 4,931 7.4 27,345

 16 to 19 years................... 6,486 2,382 36.7 1,797 27.7 584 24.5 4,104

 20 to 24 years.................. 8,211 6,339 77.2 5,547 67.6 792 12.5 1,872

 25 to 54 years.................... 48,242 43,395 90.0 40,701 84.4 2,694 6.2 4,847

 55 to 64 years.................. 15,333 10,970 71.6 10,334 67.4 637 5.8 4,362

 65 years and older............ 15,995 3,835 24.0 3,611 22.6 224 5.8 12,160

Black or 

African American

Total, 16 years and older...... 29,907 18,400 61.5 15,856 53.0 2,544 13.8 11,508

 16 to 19 years.................. 2,643 711 26.9 438 16.6 272 38.3 1,932

 20 to 24 years.................. 3,326 2,210 66.5 1,700 51.1 510 23.1 1,115

 25 to 54 years.................. 16,008 12,510 78.1 11,016 68.8 1,494 11.9 3,498

 55 to 64 years.................. 4,281 2,369 55.3 2,161 50.5 209 8.8 1,912

 65 years and older............ 3,650 599 16.4 540 14.8 59 9.8 3,051

 Women, 16 years and older... 16,400 9,805 59.8 8,553 52.2 1,252 12.8 6,595

 16 to 19 years.................. 1,324 373 28.2 240 18.1 133 35.6 951

 20 to 24 years.................. 1,740 1,157 66.5 916 52.6 241 20.8 583

 25 to 54 years.................. 8,777 6,687 76.2 5,933 67.6 754 11.3 2,090

 55 to 64 years.................. 2,358 1,271 53.9 1,173 49.7 98 7.7 1,087

 65 years and older............ 2,201 317 14.4 291 13.2 26 8.2 1,884

 Men, 16 years and older...... 13,508 8,594 63.6 7,302 54.1 1,292 15.0 4,913

 16 to 19 years.................. 1,319 338 25.6 198 15.1 140 41.3 981

 20 to 24 years.................. 1,586 1,054 66.4 784 49.5 269 25.6 532

 25 to 54 years.................. 7,231 5,823 80.5 5,082 70.3 740 12.7 1,408

 55 to 64 years.................. 1,923 1,099 57.1 988 51.4 110 10.1 825

 65 years and older............ 1,449 281 19.4 249 17.2 32 11.5 1,168

 See note at end of table.

Race, age, gender, and 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor force Total 

Percentage 

of 

population 
16 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 3. Employment status, by race, age, gender, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012 annual 

averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

 Total Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total Percentage 

of labor 

force 

Asian

Total, 16 years and older...... 12,815 8,188 63.9 7,705 60.1 483 5.9 4,627

 16 to 19 years.................. 802 162 20.1 128 15.9 34 20.8 640

 20 to 24 years.................. 1,151 608 52.8 544 47.3 64 10.5 543

 25 to 54 years.................. 7,526 5,978 79.4 5,679 75.5 300 5.0 1,547

 55 to 64 years.................. 1,719 1,144 66.5 1,071 62.3 73 6.4 575

 65 years and older............ 1,617 296 18.3 283 17.5 12 4.2 1,321

 Women, 16 years and older... 6,815 3,853 56.5 3,620 53.1 234 6.1 2,962

 16 to 19 years.................. 391 85 21.7 69 17.5 16 19.0 306

 20 to 24 years.................. 575 280 48.7 250 43.4 31 10.9 295

 25 to 54 years.................. 3,994 2,799 70.1 2,652 66.4 148 5.3 1,194

 55 to 64 years..................... 947 563 59.5 528 55.8 35 6.3 384

 65 years and older............ 909 126 13.9 122 13.4 4 3.2 783

 Men, 16 years and older...... 6,000 4,334 72.2 4,085 68.1 249 5.8 1,666

 16 to 19 years.................. 411 77 18.7 59 14.4 18 22.8 334

 20 to 24 years..................... 576 328 57.0 295 51.1 34 10.2 248

 25 to 54 years.................. 3,532 3,179 90.0 3,027 85.7 152 4.8 353

 55 to 64 years.................. 772 580 75.2 543 70.3 38 6.5 192

 65 years and older............ 708 170 23.9 161 22.8 8 4.9 539

Hispanic or 

Latino ethnicity

Total, 16 years and older...... 36,759 24,391 66.4 21,878 59.5 2,514 10.3 12,368

 16 to 19 years.................. 3,656 1,131 30.9 808 22.1 324 28.6 2,524

 20 to 24 years.................. 4,502 3,205 71.2 2,761 61.3 444 13.8 1,297

 25 to 54 years.................. 21,894 17,358 79.3 15,858 72.4 1,500 8.6 4,536

 55 to 64 years.................. 3,613 2,185 60.5 1,983 54.9 201 9.2 1,428

 65 years and older............ 3,094 512 16.5 467 15.1 44 8.7 2,582

 Women, 16 years and older... 18,324 10,365 56.6 9,235 50.4 1,130 10.9 7,959

 16 to 19 years.................. 1,776 512 28.8 377 21.2 135 26.4 1,265

 20 to 24 years.................. 2,161 1,368 63.3 1,178 54.5 190 13.9 794

 25 to 54 years.................. 10,738 7,284 67.8 6,582 61.3 702 9.6 3,454

 55 to 64 years.................. 1,884 969 51.4 887 47.1 83 8.5 915

 65 years and older............ 1,765 232 13.2 212 12.0 20 8.8 1,533

 Men, 16 years and older...... 18,434 14,026 76.1 12,643 68.6 1,383 9.9 4,408

 16 to 19 years.................. 1,879 620 33.0 431 22.9 189 30.5 1,259

 20 to 24 years.................. 2,341 1,837 78.5 1,584 67.6 254 13.8 504

 25 to 54 years.................. 11,157 10,074 90.3 9,276 83.1 798 7.9 1,083

 55 to 64 years.................. 1,729 1,215 70.3 1,097 63.4 119 9.8 513

 65 years and older............ 1,329 280 21.1 256 19.2 24 8.6 1,049

Note: Estimates for the race groups shown (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals 

because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of 

any race.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Race, age, gender, and 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor force Total 

Percentage 

of 

population 
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 17

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 4. Employment status, by marital status and gender, 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of labor 

force 

Total

Total, 16 years and older............. 243,284 154,975 63.7 142,469 58.6 12,506 8.1 88,310

 Married, spouse present........... 122,977 82,530 67.1 78,341 63.7 4,189 5.1 38,321

 Unmarried, total....................... 120,308 72,444 60.2 64,128 53.3 8,316 11.5 43,431

 Never married....................... 72,447 47,000 64.9 40,974 56.6 6,026 12.8 22,235

 Other marital status................. 47,861 25,444 53.2 23,154 48.4 2,291 9.0 21,196

 Divorced............................. 24,869 16,675 67.1 15,229 61.2 1,446 8.7 7,538

 Separated.......................... 8,790 5,887 67.0 5,263 59.9 624 10.6 2,606

 Widowed........................... 14,202 2,882 20.3 2,662 18.7 220 7.6 11,052

Women

Total, 16 years and older............. 125,941 72,648 57.7 66,914 53.1 5,734 7.9 53,293

 Married, spouse present........... 61,219 36,436 59.5 34,521 56.4 1,915 5.3 24,783

 Unmarried, total...................... 64,722 36,212 56.0 32,393 50.0 3,819 10.5 28,510

 Never married...................... 34,267 21,506 62.8 18,973 55.4 2,533 11.8 12,761

 Other marital status............... 30,454 14,706 48.3 13,420 44.1 1,286 8.7 15,748

 Divorced............................ 14,233 9,397 66.0 8,625 60.6 772 8.2 4,836

 Separated.......................... 4,955 3,154 63.7 2,803 56.6 351 11.1 1,800

 Widowed........................... 11,266 2,155 19.1 1,993 17.7 162 7.5 9,112

Men

Total, 16 years and older............. 117,343 82,327 70.2 75,555 64.4 6,771 8.2 35,017

 Married, spouse present........... 61,757 46,094 74.6 43,820 71.0 2,274 4.9 14,811

 Unmarried, total...................... 55,586 36,232 65.2 31,735 57.1 4,497 12.4 17,178

 Never married...................... 38,180 25,494 66.8 22,002 57.6 3,492 13.7 10,972

 Other marital status............... 17,406 10,738 61.7 9,734 55.9 1,005 9.4 6,206

 Divorced........................... 10,635 7,278 68.4 6,604 62.1 674 9.3 3,076

 Separated.......................... 3,836 2,733 71.2 2,460 64.1 273 10.0 983

 Widowed............................ 2,935 728 24.8 669 22.8 58 8.0 2,147

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Marital status and gender

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor 

force Total Percentage 

of 

population 

14
18 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 5. Employment status, by gender, presence and age of children, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 

March 2012 

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

 Total Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total Percentage 

of labor force 

Total

Women, 16 years and older................ 125,619 72,606 57.8 66,860 53.2 5,745 7.9 53,013

 With children under 18 years old......... 35,822 25,384 70.9 23,366 65.2 2,018 7.9 10,438

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 19,645 14,922 76.0 13,908 70.8 1,014 6.8 4,724

 With children under 6 years old......... 16,177 10,462 64.7 9,458 58.5 1,004 9.6 5,714

 With children under 3 years old...... 9,106 5,529 60.7 4,960 54.5 569 10.3 3,577

 With no children under 18 years old...... 89,797 47,222 52.6 43,494 48.4 3,728 7.9 42,575

Men, 16 years and older..................... 116,984 81,607 69.8 74,109 63.4 7,498 9.2 35,376

 With children under 18 years old......... 26,771 24,980 93.3 23,534 87.9 1,445 5.8 1,791

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 14,897 13,763 92.4 12,977 87.1 786 5.7 1,134

 With children under 6 years old......... 11,874 11,217 94.5 10,557 88.9 659 5.9 657

 With children under 3 years old...... 6,778 6,432 94.9 6,053 89.3 378 5.9 346

 With no children under 18 years old...... 90,213 56,627 62.8 50,575 56.1 6,052 10.7 33,585

White

Women, 16 years and older.................. 98,752 56,703 57.4 52,744 53.4 3,958 7.0 42,049

 With children under 18 years old......... 27,349 19,301 70.6 17,969 65.7 1,333 6.9 8,047

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 15,081 11,402 75.6 10,721 71.1 681 6.0 3,679

 With children under 6 years old.......... 12,268 7,899 64.4 7,248 59.1 652 8.2 4,369

 With children under 3 years old...... 6,981 4,219 60.4 3,849 55.1 371 8.8 2,762

 With no children under 18 years old...... 71,403 37,401 52.4 34,775 48.7 2,626 7.0 34,002

Men, 16 years and older..................... 94,146 66,592 70.7 61,097 64.9 5,495 8.3 27,554

 With children under 18 years old......... 21,758 20,431 93.9 19,366 89.0 1,065 5.2 1,327

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 12,150 11,291 92.9 10,702 88.1 589 5.2 859

 With children under 6 years old......... 9,608 9,140 95.1 8,664 90.2 476 5.2 468

 With children under 3 years old...... 5,488 5,229 95.3 4,964 90.5 265 5.1 259

 With no children under 18 years old...... 72,388 46,162 63.8 41,731 57.6 4,430 9.6 26,227

Black or African American

Women, 16 years and older................ 16,343 9,825 60.1 8,557 52.4 1,267 12.9 6,518

 With children under 18 years old......... 5,087 3,829 75.3 3,300 64.9 529 13.8 1,258

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 2,769 2,221 80.2 1,973 71.2 248 11.2 548

 With children under 6 years old......... 2,318 1,608 69.4 1,327 57.3 281 17.5 710

 With children under 3 years old...... 1,244 818 65.7 663 53.3 155 18.9 427

 With no children under 18 years old...... 11,255 5,996 53.3 5,258 46.7 738 12.3 5,260

Men, 16 years and older..................... 13,447 8,400 62.5 7,040 52.4 1,360 16.2 5,047

 With children under 18 years old......... 2,454 2,180 88.8 1,959 79.9 220 10.1 274

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 1,381 1,211 87.7 1,106 80.0 106 8.7 170

 With children under 6 years old......... 1,072 968 90.3 854 79.6 114 11.8 104

 With children under 3 years old...... 599 550 91.8 482 80.6 67 12.3 49

 With no children under 18 years old...... 10,993 6,220 56.6 5,080 46.2 1,140 18.3 4,773

 See note at end of table.

Characteristic

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor force Total Percentage 

of 

population 
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 19

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 5. Employment status, by gender, presence and age of children, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 

March 2012 (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

 Total Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total Percentage 

of labor force 

Asian

Women, 16 years and older.................. 6,834 3,864 56.5 3,649 53.4 215 5.6 2,970

 With children under 18 years old......... 2,203 1,400 63.6 1,343 61.0 57 4.1 803

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 1,183 821 69.4 793 67.1 28 3.4 361

 With children under 6 years old......... 1,021 579 56.7 550 53.9 29 5.0 441

 With children under 3 years old...... 571 299 52.3 280 49.0 19 6.3 272

 With no children under 18 years old...... 4,631 2,464 53.2 2,306 49.8 158 6.4 2,167

Men, 16 years and older..................... 5,979 4,284 71.7 3,969 66.4 315 7.4 1,694

 With children under 18 years old......... 1,801 1,672 92.9 1,563 86.8 110 6.6 128

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 960 891 92.8 822 85.6 69 7.7 69

 With children under 6 years old......... 841 781 92.9 741 88.1 41 5.2 59

 With children under 3 years old...... 498 469 94.2 437 87.8 32 6.8 29

 With no children under 18 years old...... 4,178 2,612 62.5 2,407 57.6 205 7.9 1,566

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Women, 16 years and older.................. 18,185 10,378 57.1 9,293 51.1 1,086 10.5 7,807

 With children under 18 years old......... 7,500 4,803 64.0 4,290 57.2 512 10.7 2,698

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 3,732 2,617 70.1 2,359 63.2 258 9.9 1,115

 With children under 6 years old......... 3,768 2,186 58.0 1,932 51.3 254 11.6 1,582

 With children under 3 years old...... 2,073 1,089 52.5 949 45.8 140 12.9 984

 With no children under 18 years old...... 10,685 5,576 52.2 5,002 46.8 573 10.3 5,109

Men, 16 years and older..................... 18,276 13,676 74.8 12,168 66.6 1,508 11.0 4,599

 With children under 18 years old......... 5,175 4,775 92.3 4,407 85.2 368 7.7 400

 With children 6 to 17, none younger... 2,633 2,391 90.8 2,198 83.5 193 8.1 242

 With children under 6 years old......... 2,542 2,384 93.8 2,209 86.9 175 7.4 158

 With children under 3 years old...... 1,435 1,360 94.8 1,261 87.9 99 7.3 75

 With no children under 18 years old...... 13,101 8,901 67.9 7,761 59.2 1,140 12.8 4,200

Note: Children are parents' "own" children and are sons, daughters, stepchildren, or adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews,

 grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Estimates for the race groups shown (White, Black or African American, and Asian)

do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any

 race.

Source: 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Characteristic

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor force Total Percentage 

of 

population 

)
20 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 6. Employment status of women, by presence and age of youngest child, marital status, race, and Hispanic 

or Latino ethnicity, March 2012

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

Total women, 16 years and older.................................................. 125,619 72,606 57.8 66,860 53.2 5,745 7.9 53,013

 With children under 18 years old...................................... 35,822 25,384 70.9 23,366 65.2 2,018 7.9 10,438

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 19,645 14,922 76.0 13,908 70.8 1,014 6.8 4,724

 With children under 6 years old...................................... 16,177 10,462 64.7 9,458 58.5 1,004 9.6 5,714

 With children under 3 years old.................................... 9,106 5,529 60.7 4,960 54.5 569 10.3 3,577

 With no children under 18 years old................................. 89,797 47,222 52.6 43,494 48.4 3,728 7.9 42,575

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 61,011 36,363 59.6 34,423 56.4 1,940 5.3 24,648

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 24,430 16,746 68.5 15,887 65.0 859 5.1 7,684

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 13,390 9,868 73.7 9,397 70.2 471 4.8 3,521

 With children under 6 years old...................................... 11,041 6,878 62.3 6,491 58.8 387 5.6 4,163

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 6,324 3,744 59.2 3,527 55.8 218 5.8 2,580

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 36,580 19,617 53.6 18,536 50.7 1,081 5.5 16,963

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 64,608 36,243 56.1 32,437 50.2 3,805 10.5 28,365

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 11,392 8,638 75.8 7,479 65.7 1,159 13.4 2,754

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 6,256 5,053 80.8 4,511 72.1 542 10.7 1,202

 With children under 6 years old...................................... 5,136 3,584 69.8 2,968 57.8 617 17.2 1,552

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 2,782 1,785 64.2 1,434 51.5 351 19.7 997

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 53,216 27,605 51.9 24,959 46.9 2,646 9.6 25,611

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 98,752 56,703 57.4 52,744 53.4 3,958 7.0 42,049

 With children under 18 years old...................................... 27,349 19,301 70.6 17,969 65.7 1,333 6.9 8,047

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 15,081 11,402 75.6 10,721 71.1 681 6.0 3,679

 With children under 6 years old...................................... 12,268 7,899 64.4 7,248 59.1 652 8.2 4,369

 With children under 3 years old.................................... 6,981 4,219 60.4 3,849 55.1 371 8.8 2,762

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 71,403 37,401 52.4 34,775 48.7 2,626 7.0 34,002

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 51,304 30,332 59.1 28,769 56.1 1,563 5.2 20,972

 With children under 18 years old...................................... 19,969 13,687 68.5 13,001 65.1 686 5.0 6,282

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 10,998 8,108 73.7 7,729 70.3 380 4.7 2,889

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 8,971 5,579 62.2 5,272 58.8 307 5.5 3,392

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 5,169 3,059 59.2 2,888 55.9 171 5.6 2,110

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 31,335 16,645 53.1 15,768 50.3 877 5.3 14,690

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 47,448 26,371 55.6 23,975 50.5 2,395 9.1 21,077

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 7,380 5,614 76.1 4,968 67.3 646 11.5 1,766

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 4,083 3,294 80.7 2,993 73.3 301 9.1 790

 With children under 6 years old...................................... 3,297 2,321 70.4 1,976 59.9 345 14.9 976

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 1,812 1,160 64.0 961 53.0 200 17.2 652

 With no children under 18 years old................................... 40,068 20,756 51.8 19,007 47.4 1,749 8.4 19,312

 See footnote at end of table.

Presence and age of children

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not 

in 

labor 

force 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population Total

 Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total 

Total, all marital statuses

Total, married, spouse present

Total, other marital statuses1

 Percentage 

of labor 

force 

White, married, spouse present

White, other marital statuses1

White, all marital statuses

17
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 21

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 6. Employment status of women, by presence and age of youngest child, marital status, race, and Hispanic

or Latino ethnicity, March 2012 (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 16,343 9,825 60.1 8,557 52.4 1,267 12.9 6,518

 With children under 18 years old...................................... 5,087 3,829 75.3 3,300 64.9 529 13.8 1,258

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 2,769 2,221 80.2 1,973 71.2 248 11.2 548

 With children under 6 years old...................................... 2,318 1,608 69.4 1,327 57.3 281 17.5 710

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 1,244 818 65.7 663 53.3 155 18.9 427

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 11,255 5,996 53.3 5,258 46.7 738 12.3 5,260

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 4,373 2,865 65.5 2,668 61.0 197 6.9 1,509

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 1,883 1,422 75.5 1,328 70.5 94 6.6 460

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 1,040 820 78.8 774 74.4 46 5.6 220

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 843 603 71.5 555 65.8 48 8.0 240

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 471 324 68.8 294 62.5 30 9.2 147

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 2,490 1,442 57.9 1,340 53.8 103 7.1 1,048

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 11,969 6,960 58.2 5,890 49.2 1,071 15.4 5,009

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 3,204 2,407 75.1 1,972 61.5 435 18.1 798

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 1,730 1,402 81.0 1,199 69.3 203 14.5 328

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 1,474 1,005 68.2 773 52.4 233 23.1 469

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 774 494 63.8 369 47.7 125 25.3 280

 With no children under 18 years old................................... 8,765 4,554 52.0 3,918 44.7 635 14.0 4,211

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 6,834 3,864 56.5 3,649 53.4 215 5.6 2,970

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 2,203 1,400 63.6 1,343 61.0 57 4.1 803

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 1,183 821 69.4 793 67.1 28 3.4 361

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 1,021 579 56.7 550 53.9 29 5.0 441

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 571 299 52.3 280 49.0 19 6.3 272

 With no children under 18 years old................................... 4,631 2,464 53.2 2,306 49.8 158 6.4 2,167

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 3,990 2,312 58.0 2,211 55.4 101 4.4 1,677

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 1,899 1,157 60.9 1,123 59.1 34 3.0 742

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 1,003 674 67.2 658 65.6 16 2.4 329

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 896 483 53.9 465 51.8 18 3.8 413

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 504 249 49.3 239 47.5 9 3.7 255

 With no children under 18 years old................................... 2,090 1,155 55.3 1,089 52.1 66 5.7 935

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 2,845 1,552 54.6 1,437 50.5 115 7.4 1,293

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 304 244 80.2 220 72.5 23 9.5 60

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 180 147 82.0 135 75.3 12 8.3 32

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 124 96 77.4 85 68.6 11 11.4 28

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 68 51 75.0 41 60.6 10 19.1 17

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 2,541 1,308 51.5 1,217 47.9 92 7.0 1,232

 See footnote at end of table.

Presence and age of children

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not 

in 

labor 

force 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population Total 

 Percentage 

of labor 

force 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population 

Black or African American, all marital statuses

Black or African American, married, spouse present

Asian, married, spouse present

Asian, other marital statuses1

Asian, all marital statuses

Black or African American, other marital statuses1

18
22 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 6. Employment status of women, by presence and age of youngest child, marital status, race, and Hispanic

or Latino ethnicity, March 2012 (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 18,185 10,378 57.1 9,293 51.1 1,086 10.5 7,807

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 7,500 4,803 64.0 4,290 57.2 512 10.7 2,698

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 3,732 2,617 70.1 2,359 63.2 258 9.9 1,115

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 3,768 2,186 58.0 1,932 51.3 254 11.6 1,582

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 2,073 1,089 52.5 949 45.8 140 12.9 984

 With no children under 18 years old................................... 10,685 5,576 52.2 5,002 46.8 573 10.3 5,109

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 8,106 4,577 56.5 4,193 51.7 384 8.4 3,528

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 4,751 2,797 58.9 2,558 53.8 239 8.6 1,954

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 2,411 1,577 65.4 1,438 59.6 140 8.9 834

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 2,341 1,220 52.1 1,120 47.9 100 8.2 1,121

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 1,282 610 47.6 549 42.9 61 10.0 671

 With no children under 18 years old................................... 3,354 1,780 53.1 1,636 48.8 144 8.1 1,574

Total women, 16 years and older................................................... 10,080 5,801 57.6 5,099 50.6 702 12.1 4,278

 With children under 18 years old....................................... 2,749 2,006 73.0 1,733 63.0 273 13.6 743

 With children 6 to 17 years old, 

 none younger....................................................... 1,321 1,039 78.7 921 69.7 118 11.4 282

 With children under 6 years old....................................... 1,428 966 67.7 812 56.8 155 16.0 462

 With children under 3 years old..................................... 792 479 60.5 400 50.5 79 16.5 313

 With no children under 18 years old.................................. 7,331 3,796 51.8 3,367 45.9 429 11.3 3,535

 Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population 

Presence and age of children

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not 

in 

labor 

force 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, other marital statuses1

 Total 

 Percentage 

of labor 

force 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, all marital statuses

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, married, spouse present

1 Includes never-married, divorced, separated, and widowed women.

Note: Children are parents' "own" children and are sons, daughters, stepchildren, or adopted children. Not included are nieces, 

nephews, grandchildren, and other related and unrelated children. Details for the race groups shown (White, Black or African American, 

and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino 

may be of any race.

Source: 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

19
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 23

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 7. Employment status of women, by presence and age of youngest child, March 1975–March 2012

(Numbers in thousands)

1975................. 14,616 47.4 13,069 1,548 11.0 8,917 54.9 8,218 700 7.9 

1976.................... 15,073 48.8 13,725 1,346 8.9 9,388 56.2 8,769 621 6.6 

1977.................. 15,669 50.8 14,276 1,393 8.9 10,040 58.3 9,389 650 6.5 

1978.................... 16,385 53.0 15,142 1,242 7.6 10,401 60.0 9,845 556 5.3 

1979.................... 16,883 54.5 15,624 1,259 7.7 10,646 61.6 10,030 615 5.8 

1980...................... 17,790 56.6 16,526 1,264 7.1 11,252 64.3 10,640 612 5.4 

1981.......................... 18,422 58.1 16,952 1,471 8.0 11,490 65.5 10,725 765 6.7 

1982................. 18,744 58.5 16,854 1,890 10.1 11,377 65.8 10,440 936 8.2 

1983..................... 18,924 58.9 16,792 2,131 11.3 11,340 66.3 10,303 1,037 9.1 

1984....................... 19,555 60.5 17,782 1,773 9.1 11,538 68.1 10,739 799 6.9 

1985...................... 20,041 62.1 18,306 1,735 8.7 11,826 69.9 10,984 842 7.1 

1986................. 20,620 62.8 18,922 1,698 8.2 12,075 70.4 11,320 756 6.3 

1987....................... 21,422 64.7 19,798 1,624 7.6 12,438 72.0 11,661 778 6.3 

1988..................... 21,545 65.1 20,141 1,404 6.5 12,683 73.3 12,042 641 5.1 

1989....................... 21,936 65.7 20,647 1,289 5.9 12,800 74.2 12,168 632 4.9 

1990..................... 22,196 66.7 20,865 1,331 6.0 12,799 74.7 12,133 666 5.2 

1991..................... 22,327 66.6 20,774 1,552 7.0 12,691 74.4 12,017 674 5.3 

1992..................... 22,756 67.2 21,052 1,704 7.5 13,183 75.9 12,391 793 6.0 

1993................... 23,063 66.9 21,521 1,541 6.7 13,441 75.4 12,757 684 5.1 

1994................. 24,191 68.4 22,467 1,724 7.1 13,863 76.0 13,074 789 5.7 

1995.................... 24,695 69.7 23,195 1,500 6.1 14,300 76.4 13,608 691 4.8 

1996.......................... 24,720 70.2 23,386 1,334 5.4 14,427 77.2 13,794 633 4.4 

1997........................ 25,604 72.1 24,082 1,522 5.9 14,993 78.1 14,282 711 4.7 

1998........................ 25,647 72.3 24,209 1,438 5.6 15,028 78.4 14,370 658 4.4 

1999...................... 25,472 72.1 24,307 1,165 4.6 15,150 78.5 14,633 516 3.4 

2000...................... 25,795 72.9 24,693 1,102 4.3 15,479 79.0 14,931 549 3.5 

2001................... 26,269 72.7 25,030 1,239 4.7 15,839 79.4 15,220 619 3.9 

2002.................... 26,140 72.2 24,612 1,529 5.8 15,948 78.6 15,171 777 4.9 

2003...................... 26,202 71.7 24,598 1,603 6.1 15,993 78.7 15,166 828 5.2 

2004................... 25,913 70.7 24,413 1,501 5.8 15,782 77.5 15,006 776 4.9 

2005.............................. 25,941 70.5 24,564 1,377 5.3 15,594 76.9 14,930 663 4.3 

2006............. 26,009 70.6 24,728 1,281 4.9 15,579 76.9 14,949 630 4.0 

2007............. 26,834 71.3 25,646 1,188 4.4 15,940 77.7 15,341 599 3.8 

2008............. 25,930 71.2 24,637 1,294 5.0 15,479 77.5 14,842 636 4.1 

2009............. 26,122 71.6 24,079 2,043 7.8 15,625 78.2 14,562 1,063 6.8 

2010............. 25,783 71.3 23,510 2,273 8.8 15,247 77.2 14,058 1,189 7.8 

2011............. 25,376 70.9 23,109 2,266 8.9 14,973 76.5 13,842 1,131 7.6 

2012............. 25,384 70.9 23,366 2,018 7.9 14,922 76.0 13,908 1,014 6.8 

 See note at end of table.

Employed

Unemployed

Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Total

Year

With children under age 18 With children ages 6 to 17, none younger

Civilian labor force

Employed

Unemployed

Percentage 

of 

population

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Civilian labor force

20
24 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 7. Employment status of women, by presence and age of youngest child, 

March 1975–March 2012 (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

1975................. 5,699 39.0 4,851 848 14.9 2,824 34.3 2,326 500 17.7 

1976.................... 5,684 40.1 4,957 727 12.8 2,702 34.1 2,285 418 15.5 

1977.................. 5,629 41.2 4,887 742 13.2 2,795 35.4 2,371 424 15.2 

1978.................... 5,983 44.0 5,297 687 11.5 3,179 39.4 2,768 411 12.9 

1979.................... 6,238 45.7 5,594 644 10.3 3,380 41.1 2,979 401 11.9 

1980...................... 6,538 46.8 5,886 652 10.0 3,565 41.9 3,167 398 11.2 

1981.......................... 6,933 48.9 6,227 706 10.2 3,826 44.3 3,380 446 11.7 

1982................. 7,367 49.9 6,414 953 12.9 4,133 45.6 3,542 591 14.3 

1983..................... 7,583 50.5 6,489 1,094 14.4 4,233 46.0 3,551 682 16.1 

1984....................... 8,017 52.1 7,043 974 12.1 4,401 47.6 3,839 562 12.8 

1985...................... 8,215 53.5 7,322 893 10.9 4,601 49.5 4,089 513 11.1 

1986................. 8,545 54.4 7,602 943 11.0 4,786 50.8 4,227 559 11.7 

1987....................... 8,983 56.7 8,137 846 9.4 5,064 52.9 4,570 494 9.8 

1988..................... 8,862 56.1 8,099 763 8.6 4,947 52.4 4,477 470 9.5 

1989....................... 9,136 56.7 8,478 657 7.2 5,053 52.4 4,671 381 7.5 

1990..................... 9,397 58.2 8,732 664 7.1 5,216 53.6 4,823 393 7.5 

1991..................... 9,636 58.4 8,758 878 9.1 5,417 54.5 4,868 550 10.1 

1992..................... 9,573 58.0 8,662 911 9.5 5,329 54.5 4,776 553 10.4 

1993................... 9,621 57.9 8,764 857 8.9 5,349 53.9 4,857 492 9.2 

1994................. 10,328 60.3 9,394 935 9.0 5,724 57.1 5,165 559 9.8 

1995.................... 10,395 62.3 9,587 809 7.8 5,650 58.7 5,172 478 8.5 

1996.......................... 10,293 62.3 9,592 701 6.8 5,619 59.0 5,222 397 7.1 

1997........................ 10,610 65.0 9,800 810 7.6 5,839 61.8 5,366 473 8.1 

1998........................ 10,619 65.2 9,839 780 7.3 5,882 62.2 5,454 428 7.3 

1999...................... 10,322 64.4 9,674 648 6.3 5,645 60.7 5,285 359 6.4 

2000...................... 10,316 65.3 9,763 553 5.4 5,670 61.0 5,350 320 5.6 

2001................... 10,430 64.4 9,810 620 5.9 5,743 60.7 5,350 393 6.8 

2002.................... 10,193 64.1 9,441 752 7.4 5,600 60.5 5,160 440 7.9 

2003...................... 10,209 62.9 9,433 776 7.6 5,568 58.7 5,112 456 8.2 

2004................... 10,131 62.2 9,407 724 7.1 5,401 57.3 4,983 417 7.7 

2005.............................. 10,347 62.6 9,634 714 6.9 5,704 58.9 5,299 405 7.1 

2006............. 10,430 63.0 9,779 651 6.2 5,842 59.9 5,458 384 6.6 

2007............. 10,894 63.5 10,305 589 5.4 6,006 60.1 5,679 327 5.5 

2008............. 10,452 63.6 9,794 657 6.3 5,754 59.6 5,380 374 6.5 

2009............. 10,497 63.6 9,517 980 9.3 5,960 61.1 5,401 559 9.4 

2010............. 10,536 64.2 9,452 1,085 10.3 5,878 61.1 5,240 638 10.9 

2011............. 10,403 64.2 9,268 1,135 10.9 5,639 60.9 5,006 633 11.2 

2012............. 10,462 64.7 9,458 1,004 9.6 5,529 60.7 4,960 569 10.3 

 See note at end of table.

Year

With children under age 6 With children under age 3

Civilian labor force

Employed

Unemployed Civilian labor force

Employed

Unemployed

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Percentage 

of 

population

Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Total

21
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 25

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 7. Employment status of women, by presence and

age of youngest child, March 1975–March 2012 (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

1975................. 22,365 45.1 20,381 1,984 8.9 

1976.................... 23,327 45.7 21,389 1,938 8.3 

1977.................. 24,385 46.4 22,348 2,037 8.4 

1978.................... 25,362 47.0 23,631 1,731 6.8 

1979.................... 26,962 48.6 25,285 1,677 6.2 

1980...................... 27,144 48.1 25,375 1,769 6.5 

1981.......................... 27,992 48.7 25,934 2,059 7.4 

1982................. 28,351 48.6 26,041 2,311 8.2 

1983..................... 28,856 48.7 26,373 2,483 8.6 

1984....................... 29,684 49.3 27,652 2,032 6.8 

1985...................... 30,850 50.4 28,814 2,036 6.6 

1986................. 31,112 50.5 29,107 2,005 6.4 

1987....................... 31,538 50.5 29,688 1,850 5.9 

1988..................... 32,490 51.2 30,911 1,580 4.9 

1989....................... 33,255 51.9 31,761 1,495 4.5 

1990..................... 33,942 52.3 32,391 1,551 4.6 

1991..................... 34,047 52.0 32,167 1,880 5.5 

1992..................... 34,487 52.3 32,481 2,006 5.8 

1993................... 34,495 52.1 32,476 2,020 5.9 

1994................. 35,455 53.1 33,345 2,110 6.0 

1995.................... 35,843 52.9 34,054 1,789 5.0 

1996.......................... 36,509 53.0 34,698 1,811 5.0 

1997........................ 37,295 53.6 35,572 1,723 4.6 

1998........................ 38,253 54.1 36,680 1,573 4.1 

1999...................... 39,314 54.3 37,587 1,727 4.4 

2000...................... 40,142 54.8 38,408 1,733 4.3 

2001................... 40,996 54.4 39,363 1,633 4.0 

2002.................... 41,278 54.0 39,038 2,241 5.4 

2003...................... 42,039 54.1 39,667 2,372 5.6 

2004................... 42,289 53.8 40,000 2,289 5.4 

2005.............................. 42,677 53.5 40,570 2,107 4.9 

2006............. 43,392 53.6 41,440 1,952 4.5 

2007............. 44,039 53.9 42,279 1,760 4.0 

2008............. 45,585 54.3 43,417 2,168 4.8 

2009............. 45,649 53.8 42,343 3,306 7.2 

2010............. 46,098 53.5 42,256 3,842 8.3 

2011............. 46,198 53.0 42,569 3,629 7.9 

2012............. 47,222 52.6 43,494 3,728 7.9 

Note: Children are parents' "own" children and include sons, daughters, stepchildren, or adopted children. Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, 

and other related and unrelated children. Data for 1994 and subsequent years 

are not directly comparable with data for 1993 and earlier years because of 

the introduction of a major redesign of the Current Population Survey. 

Source: 1975 to 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplements, Current 

Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Year

With no children under age 18

Civilian labor force

Employed

Unemployed

Total

Percentage 

of 

population

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

22
26 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 8. Employment status of the civilian noninstitutional population 25 to 64 years of age, by educational 

attainment and gender, 2012 annual averages 

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total Percentage 

of labor 

force 

Total

Total, 25 to 64 years................................ 162,632 125,963 77.5 117,390 72.2 8,573 6.8 36,669

 Less than a high school diploma...............17,242 10,566 61.3 9,221 53.5 1,345 12.7 6,676

 High school graduates, no college............. 47,004 34,576 73.6 31,656 67.3 2,920 8.4 12,427

 Some college or associate's degree............45,113 35,470 78.6 32,959 73.1 2,511 7.1 9,642

 College graduates, total...........................53,273 45,350 85.1 43,554 81.8 1,796 4.0 7,923

 Bachelor's degree................................34,833 29,313 84.2 28,015 80.4 1,297 4.4 5,520

 Master's degree...................................13,635 11,715 85.9 11,314 83.0 401 3.4 1,920

 Professional degree.............................2,397 2,131 88.9 2,089 87.1 42 2.0 267

 Doctoral degree...................................2,407 2,191 91.0 2,135 88.7 56 2.6 216

Women

Total, 25 to 64 years................................83,256 59,031 70.9 55,011 66.1 4,019 6.8 24,226

 Less than a high school diploma...............8,117 3,856 47.5 3,298 40.6 558 14.5 4,261

 High school graduates, no college............. 22,562 14,732 65.3 13,512 59.9 1,221 8.3 7,829

 Some college or associate's degree............24,358 17,931 73.6 16,633 68.3 1,298 7.2 6,427

 College graduates, total..........................28,219 22,511 79.8 21,569 76.4 942 4.2 5,708

 Bachelor's degree.................................18,526 14,493 78.2 13,829 74.6 664 4.6 4,033

 Master's degree...................................7,699 6,317 82.1 6,091 79.1 226 3.6 1,381

 Professional degree.............................. 998 828 83.0 803 80.5 24 3.0 170

 Doctoral degree................................... 997 873 87.6 845 84.8 27 3.1 124

Men

Total, 25 to 64 years................................79,376 66,932 84.3 62,379 78.6 4,554 6.8 12,443

 Less than a high school diploma...............9,125 6,710 73.5 5,923 64.9 787 11.7 2,415

 High school graduates, no college............. 24,442 19,844 81.2 18,144 74.2 1,699 8.6 4,598

 Some college or associate's degree............20,754 17,539 84.5 16,326 78.7 1,213 6.9 3,215

 College graduates, total..........................25,054 22,839 91.2 21,985 87.8 854 3.7 2,215

 Bachelor's degree................................16,307 14,819 90.9 14,186 87.0 633 4.3 1,488

 Master's degree...................................5,937 5,398 90.9 5,224 88.0 175 3.2 539

 Professional degree.............................1,400 1,303 93.1 1,286 91.9 17 1.3 97

 Doctoral degree...................................1,411 1,318 93.5 1,289 91.4 29 2.2 92

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Educational attainment and gender

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor 

force Total 

 Percentage 

of 

population 

23
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 27

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 9. Percent distribution of the civilian labor force 25 to 64 years of age, by 

educational attainment and gender, 1970–2012

High school College

Less than 4 

years

4 years, no 

college 1 to 3 years 4 years or more

19701...................61,765 100.0 36.1 38.1 11.8 14.1

1971......................... 62,344 100.0 34.5 38.4 12.3 14.8

1972......................63,704 100.0 33.3 38.8 12.4 15.5

1973................... 64,775 100.0 30.9 39.7 13.0 16.4

1974....................... 66,527 100.0 29.3 39.5 13.7 17.5

1975.......................... 67,774 100.0 27.5 39.7 14.4 18.3

1976.......................... 69,243 100.0 25.8 39.6 15.2 19.4

1977............................ 71,324 100.0 24.9 39.2 15.7 20.2

1978......................... 73,504 100.0 23.7 39.2 16.5 20.6

1979......................... 75,781 100.0 21.8 39.5 17.3 21.3

1980......................... 78,010 100.0 20.6 39.8 17.6 22.0

1981....................... 80,273 100.0 19.7 40.6 17.7 22.0

1982........................81,516 100.0 18.8 40.8 17.3 23.1

1983............................ 83,615 100.0 17.8 39.9 18.1 24.2

1984.......................... 86,001 100.0 16.7 40.2 18.4 24.7

1985......................... 88,424 100.0 15.9 40.2 19.0 24.9

1986............................ 90,500 100.0 15.5 40.2 19.5 24.8

1987.....................92,966 100.0 14.9 40.2 19.7 25.3

1988.......................... 94,870 100.0 14.7 39.9 19.7 25.7

1989.....................97,318 100.0 14.0 39.6 20.0 26.4

1990............................ 99,175 100.0 13.4 39.5 20.7 26.4

1991......................... 100,480 100.0 13.0 39.4 21.1 26.5

Total

Less than a 

high school 

diploma

High school 

graduates, 

no college

Some 

college, no 

degree, or 

associate's 

degree

College 

graduates

19922........................... 103,018 100.0 12.1 35.7 25.6 26.6

1993.....................104,237 100.0 11.3 35.1 26.6 27.0

1994....................... 105,610 100.0 10.8 33.9 27.7 27.6

1995......................107,032 100.0 10.4 33.2 28.1 28.3

1996........................108,932 100.0 10.6 32.9 27.8 28.7

1997............................. 110,945 100.0 10.6 32.9 27.5 29.0

1998............................. 111,932 100.0 10.5 32.4 27.4 29.8

1999.............................. 113,095 100.0 10.0 31.8 27.6 30.5

2000............................ 115,750 100.0 10.1 31.4 27.8 30.7

2001........................... 116,893 100.0 10.1 30.9 28.0 31.0

2002........................... 118,028 100.0 10.0 30.7 27.7 31.6

2003.............................. 119,621 100.0 9.9 30.3 27.6 32.1

2004............................. 120,135 100.0 9.7 30.1 27.7 32.4

2005.......................... 121,752 100.0 9.8 29.9 27.8 32.5

2006......................... 123,550 100.0 9.7 29.6 27.7 33.0

2007......................... 125,104 100.0 9.3 29.2 27.7 33.8

2008......................... 126,011 100.0 9.0 28.8 28.0 34.2

2009......................... 126,247 100.0 9.0 28.6 28.0 34.4

2010......................... 126,237 100.0 8.9 28.6 27.9 34.6

2011......................... 125,508 100.0 8.7 28.0 28.0 35.3

2012......................... 125,963 100.0 8.4 27.4 28.2 36.0

 See footnotes at end of table.

Total

Year

Civilian labor 

force 

(thousands)

Percent distribution

Total

Total

Year

Civilian labor 

force 

(thousands)

Percent distribution

24
28 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 9. Percent distribution of the civilian labor force 25 to 64 years of age, by 

educational attainment and gender, 1970–2012 (continued)

High school College

Less than 4 

years

4 years, no 

college 1 to 3 years 4 years or more

19701

...................22,462 100.0 33.5 44.3 10.9 11.2

1971......................... 22,804 100.0 32.2 44.2 11.9 11.8

1972......................23,606 100.0 30.7 45.1 11.8 12.4

1973................... 24,158 100.0 28.4 45.9 12.4 13.3

1974....................... 25,203 100.0 26.7 45.3 13.4 14.6

1975.......................... 26,146 100.0 26.5 45.5 13.9 14.1

1976.......................... 27,166 100.0 24.0 45.1 14.7 16.2

1977............................ 28,369 100.0 22.8 45.1 15.2 16.9

1978......................... 29,738 100.0 22.0 44.9 16.1 17.0

1979......................... 31,151 100.0 20.1 45.0 17.1 17.8

1980......................... 32,593 100.0 18.4 45.4 17.4 18.7

1981....................... 33,910 100.0 17.4 46.1 17.9 18.6

1982........................34,870 100.0 16.6 45.6 18.3 19.5

1983............................ 35,712 100.0 15.6 44.8 18.8 20.9

1984.......................... 37,234 100.0 14.5 44.9 18.9 21.7

1985......................... 38,779 100.0 13.7 44.4 19.9 22.0

1986............................ 39,767 100.0 13.2 44.3 20.3 22.2

1987.....................41,105 100.0 12.5 44.0 20.7 22.8

1988.......................... 42,254 100.0 12.4 43.3 21.2 23.1

1989.....................43,650 100.0 11.9 42.9 20.9 24.3

1990............................ 44,699 100.0 11.3 42.4 21.9 24.5

1991......................... 45,315 100.0 10.9 41.6 22.2 25.2

Total

Less than a 

high school 

diploma

High school 

graduates, 

no college

Some 

college, no 

degree, or 

associate's 

degree

College 

graduates

19922........................... 46,589 100.0 10.3 37.4 27.3 25.0

1993.....................47,245 100.0 9.3 36.6 28.4 25.7

1994....................... 48,405 100.0 9.0 35.0 29.8 26.2

1995......................49,247 100.0 8.8 34.1 30.2 26.9

1996........................50,240 100.0 8.8 33.6 29.9 27.8

1997............................. 51,261 100.0 8.7 33.5 29.4 28.4

1998............................. 51,678 100.0 8.8 32.7 29.4 29.2

1999.............................. 52,525 100.0 8.5 32.1 29.5 29.9

2000............................ 53,749 100.0 8.5 31.6 29.8 30.1

2001........................... 54,229 100.0 8.4 31.0 30.2 30.4

2002........................... 54,710 100.0 8.1 30.6 29.9 31.3

2003.............................. 55,596 100.0 7.9 30.0 29.9 32.2

2004............................. 55,616 100.0 7.7 29.4 30.2 32.6

2005.......................... 56,322 100.0 7.7 28.7 30.2 33.3

2006......................... 57,201 100.0 7.6 28.3 30.2 33.9

2007......................... 57,791 100.0 7.1 27.9 30.1 34.9

2008......................... 58,465 100.0 6.9 27.2 30.4 35.6

2009......................... 58,787 100.0 7.0 26.7 30.3 36.0

2010.......................... 58,808 100.0 6.8 26.4 30.3 36.4

2011.......................... 58,520 100.0 6.7 25.8 30.4 37.1

2012......................... 59,031 100.0 6.5 25.0 30.4 38.1

 See footnotes at end of table.

Percent distribution

Women

Year

Civilian labor 

force 

(thousands)

Percent distribution

Total

Women

Year

Civilian labor 

force 

(thousands)

25
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 29

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 9. Percent distribution of the civilian labor force 25 to 64 years of age, by 

educational attainment and gender, 1970–2012 (continued)

High school College

Less than 4 

years

4 years, no 

college 1 to 3 years 4 years or more

19701

...................39,303 100.0 37.5 34.5 12.2 15.7

1971......................... 39,539 100.0 35.9 35.1 12.5 16.5

1972......................40,098 100.0 34.8 35.1 12.8 17.3

1973................... 40,617 100.0 32.4 36.0 13.4 18.2

1974....................... 41,344 100.0 30.8 36.0 13.9 19.3

1975.......................... 41,628 100.0 28.9 36.1 14.8 20.2

1976.......................... 42,077 100.0 27.0 36.0 15.5 21.5

1977............................ 42,954 100.0 26.3 35.3 16.1 22.3

1978......................... 43,766 100.0 24.8 35.3 16.9 23.0

1979......................... 44,630 100.0 23.0 35.7 17.5 23.8

1980......................... 45,417 100.0 22.2 35.7 17.7 24.3

1981....................... 46,363 100.0 21.5 36.5 17.4 24.6

1982........................47,144 100.0 20.3 36.8 17.5 25.5

1983............................ 47,903 100.0 19.4 36.3 17.7 26.6

1984.......................... 48,767 100.0 18.4 36.7 18.0 26.9

1985......................... 49,647 100.0 17.7 36.9 18.3 27.1

1986............................ 50,733 100.0 17.2 37.0 18.9 26.9

1987.....................51,860 100.0 16.8 37.1 18.9 27.2

1988.......................... 52,616 100.0 16.5 37.3 18.5 27.8

1989.....................53,668 100.0 15.7 36.9 19.2 28.2

1990............................ 54,476 100.0 15.1 37.2 19.7 28.0

1991......................... 55,165 100.0 14.7 37.5 20.2 27.6

 See footnotes at end of table.

Year

Civilian labor 

force 

(thousands)

Percent distribution

Total

Men
30 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 9. Percent distribution of the civilian labor force 25 to 64 years of age, by 

educational attainment and gender, 1970–2012 (continued)

Total

Less than a 

high school 

diploma

High school 

graduates, 

no college

Some 

college, no 

degree, or 

associate's 

degree

College 

graduates

19922........................... 56,428 100.0 13.7 34.2 24.3 27.8

1993.....................56,992 100.0 12.9 33.9 25.1 28.1

1994....................... 57,205 100.0 12.4 33.0 25.9 28.8

1995......................57,784 100.0 11.8 32.4 26.3 29.4

1996........................58,692 100.0 12.2 32.3 26.1 29.4

1997............................. 59,684 100.0 12.2 32.4 25.9 29.6

1998............................. 60,255 100.0 12.0 32.1 25.6 30.3

1999.............................. 60,570 100.0 11.4 31.6 26.0 31.0

2000............................ 62,001 100.0 11.5 31.2 26.1 31.2

2001........................... 62,664 100.0 11.5 30.9 26.2 31.4

2002........................... 63,318 100.0 11.6 30.8 25.8 31.8

2003.............................. 64,025 100.0 11.7 30.6 25.6 32.1

2004............................. 64,519 100.0 11.5 30.7 25.6 32.3

2005.......................... 65,430 100.0 11.5 30.9 25.7 31.9

2006......................... 66,350 100.0 11.5 30.6 25.5 32.3

2007......................... 67,313 100.0 11.2 30.4 25.6 32.9

2008......................... 67,546 100.0 10.9 30.2 25.9 33.0

2009......................... 67,460 100.0 10.8 30.3 25.9 33.0

2010......................... 67,429 100.0 10.6 30.6 25.8 33.0

2011......................... 66,989 100.0 10.4 30.0 26.0 33.7

2012......................... 66,932 100.0 10.0 29.6 26.2 34.1

1 Data from 1970 to 1991 are from the March Current Population Survey. The educational attainment 

categories for these years were based on the number of years of school completed.

2

 Data beginning in 1992 are annual averages, and the educational attainment categories are based 

on the highest diploma or degree received. 

 Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Year

Civilian labor 

force 

(thousands)

Percent distribution

Men
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 31

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 10. Employed persons, by major occupation and gender, 2011 and 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Number Percent Number Percent

Total

 Total, 16 years and older.................................................... 139,869 100.0 142,469 100.0

Management, professional, and related occupations ............................................... 52,547 37.6 54,043 37.9

 Management, business, and financial operations occupations ............................. 21,589 15.4 22,678 15.9

 Professional and related occupations .................................................................... 30,957 22.1 31,365 22.0

Service occupations ................................................................................................. 24,787 17.7 25,459 17.9

Sales and office occupations .................................................................................... 33,066 23.6 33,152 23.3

 Sales and related occupations .............................................................................. 15,330 11.0 15,457 10.8

 Office and administrative support occupations ...................................................... 17,736 12.7 17,695 12.4

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations .............................. 13,009 9.3 12,821 9.0

 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................................ 1,001 .7 994 .7

 Construction and extraction occupations ............................................................... 7,125 5.1 7,005 4.9

 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................................ 4,883 3.5 4,821 3.4

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations .................................. 16,461 11.8 16,994 11.9

 Production occupations ......................................................................................... 8,142 5.8 8,455 5.9

 Transportation and material moving occupations .................................................. 8,318 5.9 8,540 6.0

Women

 Total, 16 years and older....................................................... 65,579 100.0 66,914 100.0

Management, professional, and related occupations ............................................... 26,995 41.2 27,834 41.6

 Management, business, and financial operations occupations ............................. 9,314 14.2 9,899 14.8

 Professional and related occupations .................................................................... 17,681 27.0 17,936 26.8

Service occupations ................................................................................................. 13,858 21.1 14,324 21.4

Sales and office occupations .................................................................................... 20,616 31.4 20,500 30.6

 Sales and related occupations .............................................................................. 7,597 11.6 7,535 11.3

 Office and administrative support occupations ...................................................... 13,019 19.9 12,965 19.4

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations .............................. 552 .8 554 .8

 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................................ 216 .3 226 .3

 Construction and extraction occupations ............................................................... 163 .2 173 .3

 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................................ 173 .3 156 .2

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations .................................. 3,558 5.4 3,701 5.5

 Production occupations ......................................................................................... 2,316 3.5 2,346 3.5

 Transportation and material moving occupations .................................................. 1,242 1.9 1,355 2.0

 See note at end of table.

Occupation and gender

Year

2011 2012

28
32 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 10. Employed persons, by major occupation and gender, 2011 and 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Number Percent Number Percent

Men

 Total, 16 years and older.................................................... 74,290 100.0 75,555 100.0

Management, professional, and related occupations ............................................... 25,552 34.4 26,208 34.7

 Management, business, and financial operations occupations ............................. 12,275 16.5 12,779 16.9

 Professional and related occupations .................................................................... 13,277 17.9 13,429 17.8

Service occupations ................................................................................................. 10,929 14.7 11,135 14.7

Sales and office occupations .................................................................................... 12,450 16.8 12,653 16.7

 Sales and related occupations .............................................................................. 7,733 10.4 7,922 10.5

 Office and administrative support occupations ...................................................... 4,717 6.3 4,730 6.3

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations .............................. 12,457 16.8 12,266 16.2

 Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations ............................................................ 785 1.1 768 1.0

 Construction and extraction occupations ............................................................... 6,962 9.4 6,832 9.0

 Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations ................................................ 4,710 6.3 4,666 6.2

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations .................................. 12,902 17.4 13,294 17.6

 Production occupations ......................................................................................... 5,826 7.8 6,109 8.1

 Transportation and material moving occupations .................................................. 7,076 9.5 7,185 9.5

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Occupation and gender

Year

2011 2012

29
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 33

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Total, 16 years and older. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 142,469 47.0

Management, professional, and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54,043 51.5

Management, business, and financial operations occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22,678 43.6

Management occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,042 38.6

Chief executives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,513 27.4

General and operations managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,064 29.1

Legislators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Advertising and promotions managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 49.4

Marketing and sales managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 967 45.2

Public relations and fundraising managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 69.3

Administrative services managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 44.1

Computer and information systems managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 605 26.8

Financial managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,228 53.5

Compensation and benefits managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 –

Human resources managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 224 72.7

Training and development managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 –

Industrial production managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 17.6

Purchasing managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 218 50.9

Transportation, storage, and distribution managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 287 15.6

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 944 24.5

Construction managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 983 6.4

Education administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 811 64.4

Architectural and engineering managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120 10.9

Food service managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,085 47.2

Funeral service managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 –

Gaming managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 –

Lodging managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 45.0

Medical and health services managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 585 69.7

Natural sciences managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 –

Postmasters and mail superintendents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 –

Property, real estate, and community association managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 644 50.7

Social and community service managers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 315 70.5

 Emergency management directors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 –

Managers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,594 35.0

Business and financial operations occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6,636 55.8

Agents and business managers of artists, performers, and athletes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 –

Buyers and purchasing agents, farm products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 –

Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 55.2

Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and farm products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 55.1

Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners, and investigators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 323 63.4

Compliance officers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 50.6

Cost estimators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 11.7

Human resources workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 603 71.8

Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 81.1

Training and development specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126 56.4

Logisticians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 36.8

Management analysts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 773 39.8

Meeting, convention, and event planners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 73.3

Fundraisers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 75.3

Market research analysts and marketing specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 219 54.2

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women
34 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Business operations specialists, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 67.3

Accountants and auditors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,765 60.9

Appraisers and assessors of real estate. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 40.6

Budget analysts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 52.5

Credit analysts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 –

Financial analysts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89 36.8

Personal financial advisors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 378 31.2

 Insurance underwriters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 70.4

 Financial examiners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

Credit counselors and loan officers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 333 59.2

Tax examiners and collectors, and revenue agents . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 62.4

Tax preparers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107 59.6

Financial specialists, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 66.5

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31,365 57.2

Computer and mathematical occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,816 25.6

Computer and information research scientists . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 –

Computer systems analysts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 30.9

Information security analysts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 15.1

Computer programmers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 480 22.5

Software developers, applications and systems software. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,084 19.7

Web developers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190 33.7

 Computer support specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 476 27.1

Database administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 36.6

Network and computer systems administrators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 226 25.0

Computer network architects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127 8.1

Computer occupations, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 341 24.4

Actuaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 –

Mathematicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Operations research analysts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 54.9

Statisticians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 –

Miscellaneous mathematical science occupations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Architecture and engineering occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,846 13.7

Architects, except naval. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195 23.5

Surveyors, cartographers, and photogrammetrists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 27.8

Aerospace engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 9.0

Agricultural engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Biomedical engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 –

Chemical engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 17.7

Civil engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 358 13.7

Computer hardware engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91 15.1

Electrical and electronics engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 335 9.0

Environmental engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 –

Industrial engineers, including health and safety. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 197 18.8

 Marine engineers and naval architects. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 –

Materials engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 –

Mechanical engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 288 4.5

Mining and geological engineers, including mining safety engineers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 –

Nuclear engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Petroleum engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 –

Engineers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 359 13.2

Drafters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 149 16.6

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 35

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Engineering technicians, except drafters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 395 16.3

Surveying and mapping technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 4.3

Life, physical, and social science occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,316 45.3

Agricultural and food scientists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 –

Biological scientists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101 50.1

Conservation scientists and foresters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 –

Medical scientists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136 52.8

Life scientists, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 –

Astronomers and physicists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 –

Atmospheric and space scientists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 –

Chemists and materials scientists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 44.2

Environmental scientists and geoscientists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105 25.7

Physical scientists, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154 35.1

Economists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 –

Survey researchers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 –

Psychologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 72.7

Sociologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Urban and regional planners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 –

Miscellaneous social scientists and related workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 54.3

Agricultural and food science technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 –

Biological technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 –

Chemical technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 29.9

Geological and petroleum technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 –

Nuclear technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Social science research assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Miscellaneous life, physical, and social science technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 52.8

Community and social service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,265 63.8

Counselors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 661 69.3

Social workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 734 80.6

Probation officers and correctional treatment specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 47.5

Social and human service assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151 77.1

Miscellaneous community and social service specialists, including health 94 75.7

 educators and community health workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Clergy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 408 20.5

Directors, religious activities and education. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 66.3

Religious workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 62.4

Legal occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,786 50.4

Lawyers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,061 31.1

Judicial law clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 –

Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 39.0

Paralegals and legal assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 418 85.9

Miscellaneous legal support workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 223 79.0

Education, training, and library occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,543 73.6

Postsecondary teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,350 48.2

Preschool and kindergarten teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 678 98.1

Elementary and middle school teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,838 81.4

Secondary school teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,127 57.3

Special education teachers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 366 86.2

Other teachers and instructors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 860 65.6

Archivists, curators, and museum technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 –

Librarians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181 86.8

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women
36 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Library technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 –

Teacher assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 898 91.1

Other education, training, and library workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 67.3

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,814 48.3

Artists and related workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 212 51.6

Designers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 756 55.3

Actors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 –

Producers and directors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 40.8

Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 267 36.5

Dancers and choreographers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 –

Musicians, singers, and related workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 35.5

Entertainers and performers, sports and related workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 –

Announcers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 23.6

News analysts, reporters and correspondents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 45.7

Public relations specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 58.2

Editors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159 50.7

Technical writers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 55.5

Writers and authors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 208 55.6

Miscellaneous media and communication workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98 79.2

Broadcast and sound engineering technicians and radio operators. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 8.4

Photographers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 178 52.2

Television, video, and motion picture camera operators and editors.. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 21.4

Media and communication equipment workers, all other. . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 –

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,977 75.0

Chiropractors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 22.3

Dentists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167 24.2

Dietitians and nutritionists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 93.3

Optometrists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . 33 –

Pharmacists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 286 53.7

Physicians and surgeons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . 911 34.3

Physician assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 69.4

Podiatrists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 –

Audiologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

Occupational therapists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 94.0

Physical therapists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 211 70.7

Radiation therapists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

Recreational therapists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . 13 –

Respiratory therapists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111 60.4

Speech-language pathologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 95.2

Exercise physiologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 –

Therapists, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 83.6

Veterinarians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 54.7

Registered nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,875 90.6

Nurse anesthetists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 –

Nurse midwives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Nurse practitioners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 86.1

Health diagnosing and treating practitioners, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 –

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 319 72.8

Dental hygienists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163 99.3

Diagnostic related technologists and technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 308 74.5

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172 31.2

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Percent 

women

Total 

employed
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 37

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Health practitioner support technologists and technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 544 83.6

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 531 94.2

Medical records and health information technicians. . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 89.3

Opticians, dispensing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 59.6

Miscellaneous health technologists and technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 60.2

Other healthcare practitioners and technical occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 50.3

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25,459 56.3

Healthcare support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,496 87.6

Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,119 87.9

Occupational therapy assistants and aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 –

Physical therapist assistants and aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 66.4

Massage therapists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 81.5

Dental assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274 97.9

Medical assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 429 93.8

Medical transcriptionists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 98.2

Pharmacy aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 –

Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal caretakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 –

Phlebotomists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 80.2

Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations, including medical equipment preparers. . . . . . . . . . . 166 69.0

Protective service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,096 20.9

First-line supervisors of correctional officers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 –

First-line supervisors of police and detectives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112 15.2

First-line supervisors of fire fighting and prevention workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 .5

First-line supervisors of protective service workers, all other. . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93 29.9

Firefighters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 295 3.4

Fire inspectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 –

Bailiffs, correctional officers, and jailers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 371 28.0

Detectives and criminal investigators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160 24.8

Fish and game wardens. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Parking enforcement workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Police and sheriff’s patrol officers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 657 12.6

Transit and railroad police. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Animal control workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Private detectives and investigators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 44.0

Security guards and gaming surveillance officers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 903 18.5

Crossing guards. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 55.3

Transportation security screeners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 –

Lifeguards and other recreational, and all other protective service workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162 52.6

Food preparation and serving related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,018 54.5

Chefs and head cooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 403 21.5

First-line supervisors of food preparation and serving workers. . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 552 59.3

Cooks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,970 37.7

Food preparation workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 868 58.0

Bartenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 412 59.9

Combined food preparation and serving workers, including fast food.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 343 64.9

Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, and coffee shop. . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 233 70.8

Waiters and waitresses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,124 71.2

Food servers, nonrestaurant. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 217 64.9

Dining room and cafeteria attendants and bartender helpers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 359 43.4

Dishwashers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 271 18.7

Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and coffee shop. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 260 81.5

 See note at end of table.

Percent 

women Occupation Total employed
38 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Food preparation and serving related workers, all other. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6–

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,591 38.6

First-line supervisors of housekeeping and janitorial workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 47.1

First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, and groundskeeping workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 281 7.6

Janitors and building cleaners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,205 29.7

Maids and housekeeping cleaners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,457 88.1

Pest control workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 4.7

Grounds maintenance workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,298 5.1

Personal care and service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5,258 77.7

First-line supervisors of gaming workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146 43.0

First-line supervisors of personal service workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 246 70.3

Animal trainers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 –

Nonfarm animal caretakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 179 74.2

Gaming services workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 51.0

Motion picture projectionists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 –

Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 –

Miscellaneous entertainment attendants and related workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 180 45.4

Embalmers and funeral attendants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 –

Morticians, undertakers, and funeral directors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 –

Barbers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 109 21.9

Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 785 92.8

Miscellaneous personal appearance workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 300 81.5

Baggage porters, bellhops, and concierges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 25.0

Tour and travel guides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 36.9

Childcare workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,314 94.1

Personal care aides. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,071 84.7

Recreation and fitness workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 406 66.5

Residential advisors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 61.4

Personal care and service workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 45.7

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33,152 61.8

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15,457 48.7

First-line supervisors of retail sales workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,237 43.4

First-line supervisors of non-retail sales workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,151 24.7

Cashiers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,275 71.8

Counter and rental clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 53.4

Parts salespersons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 106 13.3

Retail salespersons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,341 50.2

Advertising sales agents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 47.4

Insurance sales agents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 540 44.1

Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 280 27.9

Travel agents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 79.0

Sales representatives, services, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 31.0

Sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing. . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,277 27.0

Models, demonstrators, and product promoters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 83.4

Real estate brokers and sales agents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 761 57.1

Sales engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 –

Telemarketers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 50.3

Door-to-door sales workers, news and street vendors, and related workers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198 62.2

Sales and related workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 204 47.9

Office and administrative support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17,695 73.3

See note at end of table.

Total 

employed

Percent 

women Occupation
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 39

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

First-line supervisors of office and administrative support workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,416 68.5

Switchboard operators, including answering service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 –

Telephone operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 –

Communications equipment operators, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 –

Bill and account collectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 206 69.1

Billing and posting clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 475 90.1

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,268 89.1

Gaming cage workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 –

Payroll and timekeeping clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155 92.6

Procurement clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 –

Tellers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 380 87.3

Financial clerks, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 68.4

Brokerage clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 –

Correspondence clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 –

Court, municipal, and license clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85 77.2

Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 –

Customer service representatives. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,956 67.8

Eligibility interviewers, government programs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92 81.4

File clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 81.3

Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 64.6

Interviewers, except eligibility and loan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135 83.7

Library assistants, clerical. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97 84.0

Loan interviewers and clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 144 81.2

New accounts clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 –

Order clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 58.2

Human resources assistants, except payroll and timekeeping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 132 82.7

Receptionists and information clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,237 91.5

Reservation and transportation ticket agents and travel clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 58.6

Information and record clerks, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104 80.2

Cargo and freight agents. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 –

Couriers and messengers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 15.5

Dispatchers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 277 61.5

Meter readers, utilities. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 –

Postal service clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 50.0

Postal service mail carriers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 318 37.7

Postal service mail sorters, processors, and processing machine operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 47.6

Production, planning, and expediting clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 272 55.0

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 527 27.8

Stock clerks and order fillers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,453 35.5

Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers, recordkeeping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 49.1

Secretaries and administrative assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2,904 95.3

Computer operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 102 50.7

Data entry keyers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 337 77.0

Word processors and typists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119 88.7

Desktop publishers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 81.9

Mail clerks and mail machine operators, except postal service. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 41.2

Office clerks, general. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,103 83.4

Office machine operators, except computer. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 –

Proofreaders and copy markers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 –

Statistical assistants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 –

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women
40 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Office and administrative support workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 570 77.3

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,821 4.3

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 994 22.7

First-line supervisors of farming, fishing, and forestry workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 14.1

Agricultural inspectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 –

Animal breeders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 –

Graders and sorters, agricultural products. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 59.8

Miscellaneous agricultural workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 711 18.9

Fishers and related fishing workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 –

Hunters and trappers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 –

Forest and conservation workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 –

Logging workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 –

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7,005 2.5

First-line supervisors of construction trades and extraction workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 634 2.8

Boilermakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 –

Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122 .1

Carpenters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,223 1.6

Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 2.2

Cement masons, concrete finishers, and terrazzo workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 2.7

Construction laborers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,387 2.9

Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 –

Pile-driver operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Operating engineers and other construction equipment operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 348 1.3

Drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 .3

Electricians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 692 1.8

Glaziers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 –

Insulation workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 –

Painters, construction and maintenance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 485 5.5

Paperhangers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 534 1.3

Plasterers and stucco masons. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 –

Reinforcing iron and rebar workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 –

Roofers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 1.5

Sheet metal workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 4.6

Structural iron and steel workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 2.8

Solar photovoltaic installers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Helpers—construction trades. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 4.5

Construction and building inspectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118 7.8

Elevator installers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 –

Fence erectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 –

Hazardous materials removal workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 –

Highway maintenance workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 1.5

Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 –

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 –

Miscellaneous construction and related workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 –

Derrick, rotary drill, and service unit operators, oil, gas, and mining. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 –

Earth drillers, except oil and gas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 –

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts, and blasters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 –

Mining machine operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 .3

Roof bolters, mining. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Roustabouts, oil and gas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 41

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Helpers—extraction workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 –

Other extraction workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 4.5

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4,821 3.2

First-line supervisors of mechanics, installers, and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 5.9

Computer, automated teller, and office machine repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 296 10.7

Radio and telecommunications equipment installers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 158 5.8

Avionics technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 –

Electrical and electronics installers and repairers, transportation equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 –

Electrical and electronics repairers, industrial and utility. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 –

Electronic equipment installers and repairers, motor vehicles. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 –

Electronic home entertainment equipment installers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 .5

Security and fire alarm systems installers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 –

Aircraft mechanics and service technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153 1.6

Automotive body and related repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140 1.8

Automotive glass installers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 –

Automotive service technicians and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 867 1.2

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 316 .5

Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service technicians and mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194 1.0

Small engine mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 1.4

Miscellaneous vehicle and mobile equipment mechanics, installers, and repairers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87 1.8

Control and valve installers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 –

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration mechanics and installers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 340 1.6

Home appliance repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 –

Industrial and refractory machinery mechanics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 454 1.9

Maintenance and repair workers, general. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 442 2.2

Maintenance workers, machinery. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 –

Millwrights. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 6.4

Electrical power-line installers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 110 2.4

Telecommunications line installers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 4.8

Precision instrument and equipment repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 16.0

Wind turbine service technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Coin, vending, and amusement machine servicers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 –

Commercial divers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 3 –

Locksmiths and safe repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 –

Manufactured building and mobile home installers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5–

Riggers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 –

Signal and track switch repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 –

Helpers—installation, maintenance, and repair workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 –

Other installation, maintenance, and repair workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 205 3.6

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16,994 21.8

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,455 27.7

First-line supervisors of production and operating workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 808 19.5

Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems assemblers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 –

Electrical, electronics, and electromechanical assemblers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 52.8

Engine and other machine assemblers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 –

Structural metal fabricators and fitters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 –

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 919 38.4

Bakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199 53.9

Butchers and other meat, poultry, and fish processing workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 311 23.0

 See note at end of table.

Total 

employed

Percent 

women Occupation
42 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying machine operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Food batchmakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 59.6

Food cooking machine operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

Food processing workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117 29.5

Computer control programmers and operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . 67 8.4

Extruding and drawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 –

Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 –

Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 –

Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . 87 18.9

Drilling and boring machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine tool setters, operators, and

 tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 6.6

Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 –

Milling and planing machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Machinists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 397 3.8

Metal furnace operators, tenders, pourers, and casters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 –

Model makers and patternmakers, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Molders and molding machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 –

Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 –

Tool and die makers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 .8

Welding, soldering, and brazing workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 593 4.8

Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Layout workers, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Plating and coating machine setters, operators, and tenders, metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 –

Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Metal workers and plastic workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 375 19.5

Prepress technicians and workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 –

Printing press operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 17.2

Print binding and finishing workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 –

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185 53.3

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 70.6

Sewing machine operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 166 74.2

Shoe and leather workers and repairers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Shoe machine operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Tailors, dressmakers, and sewers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86 77.1

Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 –

Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 –

Textile knitting and weaving machine setters, operators, and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out machine setters, operators, and tenders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

Extruding and forming machine setters, operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers. . . . . . . . . 1 –

Fabric and apparel patternmakers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 –

Upholsterers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 –

Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14 –

Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 –

Furniture finishers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Model makers and patternmakers, wood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 –

Sawing machine setters, operators, and tenders, wood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30 –

Woodworking machine setters, operators, and tenders, except sawing. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 –

Woodworkers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 –

Power plant operators, distributors, and dispatchers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 –

Stationary engineers and boiler operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121 5.5

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 43

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Water and wastewater treatment plant and system operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 4.5

Miscellaneous plant and system operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 –

Chemical processing machine setters, operators, and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 16.2

Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and blending workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100 15.0

Cutting workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 19.2

Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting machine setters, operators, and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . 45 –

Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 –

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and weighers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 689 33.4

Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 –

Medical, dental, and ophthalmic laboratory technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 50.7

Packaging and filling machine operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 261 52.3

Painting workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150 15.1

Photographic process workers and processing machine operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 45.6

Semiconductor processors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 –

Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling equipment operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Cooling and freezing equipment operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 –

Etchers and engravers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 –

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal and plastic. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 –

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35 –

Tire builders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 –

Helpers—production workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 34.8

Production workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 933 26.3

Transportation and material moving occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8,540 15.9

Supervisors of transportation and material moving workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200 23.0

Aircraft pilots and flight engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 129 4.1

Air traffic controllers and airfield operations specialists. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 –

Flight attendants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88 77.6

Ambulance drivers and attendants, except emergency medical technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 –

Bus drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 558 45.5

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3,201 5.4

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 336 13.2

Motor vehicle operators, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 13.3

Locomotive engineers and operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 –

Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 –

Railroad conductors and yardmasters. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 5.6

Subway, streetcar, and other rail transportation workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 –

Sailors and marine oilers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 –

Ship and boat captains and operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 –

Ship engineers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Bridge and lock tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 –

Parking lot attendants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 11.6

Automotive and watercraft service attendants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 94 9.2

Transportation inspectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 36 –

Transportation attendants, except flight attendants. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 –

Other transportation workers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 –

Conveyor operators and tenders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Crane and tower operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 4.0

Dredge, excavating, and loading machine operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 –

Hoist and winch operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 –

Industrial truck and tractor operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 537 7.4

Cleaners of vehicles and equipment. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . 315 15.2

 See note at end of table.

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women
44 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 11. Employed persons, by detailed occupation and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1,849 18.7

Machine feeders and offbearers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 –

Packers and packagers, hand. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 431 53.1

Pumping station operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25 –

Refuse and recyclable material collectors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 106 6.6

Mine shuttle car operators. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 –

Tank car, truck, and ship loaders. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 –

Material moving workers, all other. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 –

Occupation Total 

employed

Percent 

women

Note: Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria (values not shown where base is less than 50,000).

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 45

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 12. Employed women, by occupation, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012 annual averages

(Percent distribution)

 Total, 16 years and older (thousands) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52,779 8,553 3,620 9,235

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

Management, professional, and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . 42.6 34.3 46.8 25.9

Management, business, and financial operations occupations. . 15.2 11.9 16.2 9.5

Professional and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27.4 22.4 30.6 16.4

Service occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.0 28.0 22.3 32.2

Sales and office occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31.2 29.7 24.3 30.9

Sales and related occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11.3 11.2 10.6 12.1

Office and administrative support occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20.0 18.5 13.7 18.8

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations. . .9 .7 .4 1.5

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 .2 .2 1.1

Construction and extraction occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 .2 .1 .3

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 .3 .1 .2

Production, transportation, and material moving occupations. . . . . 5.2 7.2 6.2 9.5

Production occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 4.3 5.1 6.2

Transportation and material moving occupations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.9 2.9 1.1 3.3

Note: Women whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Occupation White

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Hispanic or 

Latino 

ethnicity

42
46 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 13. Employed persons, by industry and gender, 2011 and 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Number Percent Number Percent

Total

 Total, 16 years and older.................................................................................. 139,869 100.0 142,469 100.0

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting ............................................................. 2,254 1.6 2,186 1.5

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction ................................................................................................... 817 .6 957 .7

Construction .........................................................................................9,039 6.5 8,964 6.3

Manufacturing ....................................................................................... 14,336 10.2 14,686 10.3

 Durable goods ....................................................................................9,007 6.4 9,244 6.5

 Nondurable goods ..............................................................................5,329 3.8 5,443 3.8

Wholesale and retail trade .................................................................... 19,726 14.1 19,876 14.0

 Wholesale trade .................................................................................. 3,798 2.7 3,694 2.6

 Retail trade ......................................................................................... 15,927 11.4 16,182 11.4

Transportation and utilities ...................................................................7,200 5.1 7,271 5.1

 Transportation and warehousing ........................................................5,957 4.3 6,082 4.3

 Utilities ................................................................................................1,243 .9 1,190 .8

Information ...................................................................................................................... 3,150 2.3 2,971 2.1

Financial activities ................................................................................9,386 6.7 9,590 6.7

 Finance and insurance .......................................................................6,613 4.7 6,786 4.8

 Real estate and rental and leasing .....................................................2,773 2.0 2,804 2.0

Professional and business services ..................................................... 15,819 11.3 16,539 11.6

 Professional and technical services ...................................................9,461 6.8 9,913 7.0

 Management, administrative, and waste services........................................ 6,358 4.5 6,626 4.7

Education and health services .............................................................. 31,867 22.8 32,350 22.7

 Educational services .......................................................................... 12,965 9.3 12,945 9.1

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................... 18,902 13.5 19,405 13.6

 Hospitals ..........................................................................................6,315 4.5 6,113 4.3

 Health services, except hospitals ....................................................9,367 6.7 10,009 7.0

 Social assistance .............................................................................3,221 2.3 3,283 2.3

Leisure and hospitality .......................................................................... 12,697 9.1 13,193 9.3

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...................................................2,922 2.1 3,022 2.1

 Accommodation and food services ....................................................... 9,775 7.0 10,171 7.1

Other services ......................................................................................6,724 4.8 7,168 5.0

 Other services, except private households ........................................6,002 4.3 6,430 4.5

 Private households ............................................................................ 722 .5 738 .5

Public administration .......................................................................................... 6,853 4.9 6,717 4.7

Industry and gender

Year

2011 2012

43
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 47

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 13. Employed persons, by industry and gender, 2011 and 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Number Percent Number Percent

Women

 Total, 16 years and older............................................................................ 65,579 100.0 66,914 100.0

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting ............................................................................................. 556 .8 560 .8

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction ................................................................................................... 99 .2 126 .2

Construction ......................................................................................... 828 1.3 802 1.2

Manufacturing .......................................................................................4,108 6.3 4,255 6.4

 Durable goods ....................................................................................2,230 3.4 2,311 3.5

 Nondurable goods ..............................................................................1,878 2.9 1,943 2.9

Wholesale and retail trade .................................................................... 8,826 13.5 8,871 13.3

 Wholesale trade .................................................................................. 1,083 1.7 1,056 1.6

 Retail trade .........................................................................................7,742 11.8 7,815 11.7

Transportation and utilities ...................................................................1,625 2.5 1,691 2.5

 Transportation and warehousing ........................................................1,349 2.1 1,413 2.1

 Utilities ................................................................................................ 276 .4 278 .4

Information .........................................................................................1,267 1.9 1,134 1.7

Financial activities ................................................................................5,132 7.8 5,108 7.6

 Finance and insurance .......................................................................3,811 5.8 3,804 5.7

 Real estate and rental and leasing .....................................................1,320 2.0 1,303 1.9

Professional and business services .....................................................6,480 9.9 6,798 10.2

 Professional and technical services ...................................................4,023 6.1 4,281 6.4

 Management, administrative, and waste services........................... 2,457 3.7 2,517 3.8

Education and health services .............................................................. 23,706 36.1 24,087 36.0

 Educational services ..........................................................................8,870 13.5 8,877 13.3

 Health care and social assistance ..................................................... 14,836 22.6 15,209 22.7

 Hospitals ..........................................................................................4,786 7.3 4,677 7.0

 Health services, except hospitals ....................................................7,314 11.2 7,744 11.6

 Social assistance .............................................................................2,737 4.2 2,789 4.2

Leisure and hospitality ..........................................................................6,397 9.8 6,706 10.0

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...................................................1,324 2.0 1,375 2.1

 Accommodation and food services ....................................................... 5,073 7.7 5,331 8.0

Other services ......................................................................................3,494 5.3 3,728 5.6

 Other services, except private households ........................................2,850 4.3 3,072 4.6

 Private households ............................................................................ 644 1.0 656 1.0

Public administration .......................................................................................... 3,060 4.7 3,048 4.6

Industry and gender

Year

2011 2012

44
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 13. Employed persons, by industry and gender, 2011 and 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Number Percent Number Percent

Men

 Total, 16 years and older................................................................................................. 74,290 100.0 75,555 100.0

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting ............................................................................................. 1,698 2.3 1,626 2.2

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction ................................................................................................... 718 1.0 831 1.1

Construction .........................................................................................8,211 11.1 8,162 10.8

Manufacturing ....................................................................................... 10,228 13.8 10,432 13.8

 Durable goods ....................................................................................6,777 9.1 6,932 9.2

 Nondurable goods ..............................................................................3,451 4.6 3,499 4.6

Wholesale and retail trade .................................................................... 10,900 14.7 11,004 14.6

 Wholesale trade .................................................................................. 2,715 3.7 2,638 3.5

 Retail trade .........................................................................................8,185 11.0 8,367 11.1

Transportation and utilities ...................................................................5,575 7.5 5,581 7.4

 Transportation and warehousing ........................................................4,608 6.2 4,669 6.2

 Utilities ................................................................................................ 967 1.3 912 1.2

Information .........................................................................................1,883 2.5 1,838 2.4

Financial activities ................................................................................4,255 5.7 4,482 5.9

 Finance and insurance .......................................................................2,802 3.8 2,981 3.9

 Real estate and rental and leasing .....................................................1,453 2.0 1,501 2.0

Professional and business services .....................................................9,338 12.6 9,741 12.9

 Professional and technical services ...................................................5,438 7.3 5,632 7.5

 Management, administrative, and waste services........................... 3,901 5.3 4,109 5.4

Education and health services .............................................................. 8,160 11.0 8,263 10.9

 Educational services ..........................................................................4,095 5.5 4,068 5.4

 Health care and social assistance .....................................................4,066 5.5 4,196 5.6

 Hospitals ..........................................................................................1,529 2.1 1,436 1.9

 Health services, except hospitals ....................................................2,053 2.8 2,265 3.0

 Social assistance ............................................................................. 484 0.7 494 0.7

Leisure and hospitality ..........................................................................6,300 8.5 6,487 8.6

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ...................................................1,599 2.2 1,647 2.2

 Accommodation and food services ....................................................... 4,702 6.3 4,840 6.4

Other services ......................................................................................3,230 4.3 3,439 4.6

 Other services, except private households ........................................3,152 4.2 3,357 4.4

 Private households ............................................................................ 78 .1 82 .1

Public administration .......................................................................................... 3,793 5.1 3,669 4.9

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industry and gender

Year

2011 2012

45
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 49

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

 Total, 16 years and older....................................................................................... 142,469 47.0

Agriculture, forestry, fishing, and hunting................................................................................. 2,186 25.6

Crop production................................................................................................................ 955 25.2

Animal production............................................................................................................. 899 26.2

Forestry, except logging.................................................................................................... 49 –

Logging............................................................................................................................. 82 8.8

Fishing, hunting, and trapping.......................................................................................... 42 –

Support activities for agriculture and forestry.................................................................... 160 35.5

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction........................................................................... 957 13.2

Oil and gas extraction....................................................................................................... 92 23.3

Coal mining...................................................................................................................... 97 5.9

Metal ore mining............................................................................................................... 45 –

Nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying......................................................................... 88 13.5

Not specified type of mining.............................................................................................. 15 –

Support activities for mining.............................................................................................. 620 12.8

Construction............................................................................................................................ 8,964 9.0

Manufacturing.......................................................................................................................... 14,686 29.0

Durable goods...................................................................................................................... 9,244 25.0

Nonmetallic mineral products............................................................................................ 403 21.0

Pottery, ceramics, and related product manufacturing................................................... 32 –

Structural clay product manufacturing............................................................................ 28 –

Glass and glass product manufacturing......................................................................... 150 29.2

Cement, concrete, lime, and gypsum product manufacturing........................................ 136 7.1

Miscellaneous nonmetallic mineral product manufacturing............................................ 57 16.7

Primary metals and fabricated metal product manufacturing............................................. 1,657 17.7

Iron and steel mills and steel product manufacturing..................................................... 288 12.8

Aluminum production and processing............................................................................ 67 16.7

Nonferrous metal, except aluminum, production and processing................................... 68 11.8

Foundries....................................................................................................................... 87 13.5

Metal forgings and stampings........................................................................................ 49 –

Cutlery and hand tool manufacturing............................................................................. 44 –

Structural metals and tanks and shipping container manufacturing............................... 362 18.6

Machine shops; turned products; screw, nut, and bolt manufacturing............................ 294 10.4

Coating, engraving, heat treating and allied activities.................................................... 68 22.9

Ordnance....................................................................................................................... 44 –

Miscellaneous fabricated metal product manufacturing................................................. 269 25.0

Not specified metal industries........................................................................................ 17 –

Machinery manufacturing.................................................................................................. 1,295 21.4

Agricultural implement manufacturing............................................................................ 125 20.0

Construction, and mining and oil and gas field machinery manufacturing...................... 161 15.6

Commercial and service industry machinery manufacturing.......................................... 86 34.1

Metalworking machinery manufacturing......................................................................... 155 14.7

Engines, turbines, and power transmission equipment manufacturing........................... 73 21.3

Machinery manufacturing, n.e.c..................................................................................... 690 23.1

Not specified machinery manufacturing......................................................................... 6 –

Computers and electronic product manufacturing............................................................. 1,272 30.9

Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing...................................................... 251 34.1

Communications, and audio and video equipment manufacturing................................. 129 23.8

Navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control 

 instruments manufacturing........................................................................................... 224 30.3

Electronic component and product manufacturing, n.e.c................................................ 668 31.3

 See note at end of table.

Industry Total employed Percent women
50 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Electrical equipment and appliances manufacturing.......................................................... 390 31.7

Household appliance manufacturing.............................................................................. 70 42.3

Electrical lighting and electrical equipment manufacturing, and other

 electrical component manufacturing, n.e.c................................................................... 321 29.4

Transportation equipment manufacturing.......................................................................... 2,061 22.3

Motor vehicles and motor vehicle equipment manufacturing.......................................... 1,034 24.2

Aircraft and parts manufacturing.................................................................................... 385 21.3

Aerospace product and parts manufacturing................................................................. 427 22.9

Railroad rolling stock manufacturing.............................................................................. 29 –

Ship and boat building................................................................................................... 150 10.2

Other transportation equipment manufacturing.............................................................. 36 –

Wood products manufacturing.......................................................................................... 388 14.9

Sawmills and wood preservation.................................................................................... 126 10.3

Veneer, plywood, and engineered wood products.......................................................... 32 –

Prefabricated wood buildings and mobile homes........................................................... 32 –

Miscellaneous wood products........................................................................................ 199 16.7

Furniture and fixtures manufacturing................................................................................. 410 24.9

Miscellaneous manufacturing............................................................................................ 1,366 38.1

Medical equipment and supplies manufacturing............................................................ 583 42.4

Sporting and athletic goods, and doll, toy and game manufacturing.............................. 108 35.5

Miscellaneous manufacturing, n.e.c............................................................................... 490 35.6

Not specified manufacturing industries.......................................................................... 186 33.1

Nondurable goods manufacturing......................................................................................... 5,443 35.7

Food manufacturing.......................................................................................................... 1,706 40.6

Animal food, grain, and oilseed milling........................................................................... 151 26.9

Sugar and confectionery products................................................................................. 72 42.1

Fruit and vegetable preserving and specialty foods manufacturing................................ 132 37.0

Dairy product manufacturing.......................................................................................... 150 28.1

Animal slaughtering and processing.............................................................................. 480 37.1

Retail bakeries............................................................................................................... 279 61.9

Bakeries, except retail................................................................................................... 183 37.5

Seafood and other miscellaneous foods, n.e.c............................................................... 190 43.3

Not specified food industries........................................................................................ 70 41.1

Beverages and tobacco products manufacturing............................................................... 272 26.4

Beverage manufacturing................................................................................................ 257 26.2

Tobacco manufacturing................................................................................................. 15 –

Textiles, apparel, and leather manufacturing..................................................................... 597 52.9

Fiber, yarn, and thread mills.......................................................................................... 9 –

Fabric mills, except knitting mills.................................................................................... 103 44.0

Textile and fabric finishing and coating mills.................................................................. 23 –

Carpet and rug mills....................................................................................................... 50 43.5

Textile product mills, except carpet and rug................................................................... 93 52.5

Knitting fabric mills and apparel knitting mills................................................................. 24 –

Cut and sew apparel manufacturing............................................................................... 223 62.0

Apparel accessories and other apparel manufacturing................................................. 8 –

Footwear manufacturing................................................................................................ 35 –

Leather tanning and finishing and other allied products manufacturing.......................... 30 –

Paper manufacturing and printing..................................................................................... 883 28.2

Pulp, paper, and paperboard mills................................................................................. 189 16.7

Paperboard containers and boxes................................................................................. 94 17.8

Miscellaneous paper and pulp products......................................................................... 85 34.8

Printing and related support activities............................................................................ 515 33.2

Petroleum and coal products manufacturing..................................................................... 207 17.7

Petroleum refining.......................................................................................................... 191 17.6

 See note at end of table.

Industry Total employed Percent women
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 51

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Miscellaneous petroleum and coal products.................................................................. 16 –

Chemicals manufacturing.................................................................................................. 1,286 33.4

Resin, synthetic rubber and fibers, and filaments manufacturing................................... 206 30.0

Agricultural chemical manufacturing.............................................................................. 31 –

Pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing................................................................. 451 46.6

Paint, coating, and adhesive manufacturing................................................................... 56 18.5

Soap, cleaning compound, and cosmetics manufacturing............................................. 140 53.0

Industrial and miscellaneous chemicals........................................................................ 401 16.6

Plastics and rubber products manufacturing..................................................................... 491 30.2

Plastics product manufacturing...................................................................................... 331 32.0

Tire manufacturing......................................................................................................... 79 25.1

Rubber product, except tire, manufacturing................................................................... 80 28.0

Wholesale and retail trade....................................................................................................... 19,876 44.6

Wholesale trade................................................................................................................... 3,694 28.6

Motor vehicles, parts and supplies, merchant wholesalers................................................ 185 23.7

Furniture and home furnishings, merchant wholesalers.................................................... 65 37.1

Lumber and other construction materials, merchant wholesalers...................................... 157 21.4

Professional and commercial equipment and supplies, merchant wholesalers................. 364 38.0

Metals and minerals, except petroleum, merchant wholesalers........................................ 47 –

Electrical and electronic goods, merchant wholesalers..................................................... 207 26.2

Hardware, plumbing and heating equipment, and supplies, merchant wholesalers........... 135 20.1

Machinery, equipment, and supplies, merchant wholesalers............................................. 379 25.2

Recyclable material, merchant wholesalers...................................................................... 124 15.8

Miscellaneous durable goods, merchant wholesalers....................................................... 114 28.7

Paper and paper products, merchant wholesalers............................................................ 52 29.6

Drugs, sundries, and chemical and allied products, merchant wholesalers....................... 226 45.1

Apparel, fabrics, and notions, merchant wholesalers........................................................ 104 49.5

Groceries and related products, merchant wholesalers..................................................... 839 23.4

Farm product raw materials, merchant wholesalers.......................................................... 64 36.7

Petroleum and petroleum products, merchant wholesalers............................................... 149 23.5

Alcoholic beverages, merchant wholesalers...................................................................... 121 19.0

Farm supplies, merchant wholesalers............................................................................... 50 25.0

Miscellaneous nondurable goods, merchant wholesalers.................................................. 188 40.4

Wholesale electronic markets, agents and brokers........................................................... 85 39.4

Not specified wholesale trade........................................................................................... 38 –

Retail trade........................................................................................................................... 16,182 48.3

Automobile dealers........................................................................................................... 1,237 19.7

Other motor vehicle dealers.............................................................................................. 126 17.3

Auto parts, accessories, and tire stores............................................................................ 496 15.9

Furniture and home furnishings stores.............................................................................. 501 40.2

Household appliance stores.............................................................................................. 66 29.8

Radio, TV, and computer stores........................................................................................ 578 28.8

Building material and supplies dealers.............................................................................. 895 30.1

Hardware stores................................................................................................................ 245 26.5

Lawn and garden equipment and supplies stores............................................................. 280 29.8

Grocery stores.................................................................................................................. 2,792 49.3

Specialty food stores......................................................................................................... 293 48.2

Beer, wine, and liquor stores............................................................................................. 156 36.9

Pharmacies and drug stores............................................................................................. 871 63.6

Health and personal care, except drug, stores.................................................................. 327 67.5

Gasoline stations.............................................................................................................. 484 50.6

Clothing stores.................................................................................................................. 1,008 76.8

 See note at end of table.

Industry Total employed Percent women
52 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Shoe stores....................................................................................................................... 183 50.3

Jewelry, luggage, and leather goods stores...................................................................... 199 66.3

Sporting goods, camera, and hobby and toy stores.......................................................... 461 43.6

Sewing, needlework, and piece goods stores................................................................... 68 78.9

Music stores...................................................................................................................... 59 28.7

Book stores and news dealers.......................................................................................... 150 52.9

Department stores and discount stores............................................................................. 2,205 60.2

Miscellaneous general merchandise stores...................................................................... 506 58.5

Retail florists..................................................................................................................... 97 76.5

Office supplies and stationery stores................................................................................ 142 38.6

Used merchandise stores................................................................................................. 255 62.3

Gift, novelty, and souvenir shops...................................................................................... 143 73.7

Miscellaneous retail stores................................................................................................ 459 53.7

Electronic shopping........................................................................................................... 168 41.7

Electronic auctions............................................................................................................ 23 –

Mail order houses............................................................................................................. 78 65.3

Vending machine operators.............................................................................................. 42 –

Fuel dealers...................................................................................................................... 81 22.1

Other direct selling establishments................................................................................... 192 73.7

Not specified retail trade................................................................................................... 316 51.7

Transportation and utilities....................................................................................................... 7,271 23.2

Transportation and warehousing.......................................................................................... 6,082 23.2

Air transportation............................................................................................................... 559 36.0

Rail transportation............................................................................................................. 254 9.6

Water transportation......................................................................................................... 56 16.8

Truck transportation.......................................................................................................... 1,784 11.7

Bus service and urban transit............................................................................................ 472 38.1

Taxi and limousine service................................................................................................ 225 11.5

Pipeline transportation...................................................................................................... 59 26.0

Scenic and sightseeing transportation............................................................................... 37 –

Services incidental to transportation................................................................................. 843 24.3

Postal Service................................................................................................................... 704 40.2

Couriers and messengers................................................................................................. 671 19.6

Warehousing and storage................................................................................................. 417 28.2

Utilities................................................................................................................................. 1,190 23.3

Electric power generation, transmission, and distribution.................................................. 620 23.4

Natural gas distribution..................................................................................................... 111 29.4

Electric and gas, and other combinations.......................................................................... 83 34.8

Water, steam, air-conditioning, and irrigation systems...................................................... 237 20.9

Sewage treatment facilities............................................................................................... 121 13.8

Not specified utilities......................................................................................................... 17 –

Information............................................................................................................................... 2,971 38.2

Newspaper publishers....................................................................................................... 283 44.7

Periodical, book, and directory publishers......................................................................... 252 52.3

Software publishers........................................................................................................ 67 35.0

Motion pictures and video industries................................................................................. 370 30.9

Sound recording industries................................................................................................ 33 –

Radio and television broadcasting and cable subscription programming........................... 547 32.4

Internet publishing and broadcasting and web search portals........................................... 60 36.6

Wired telecommunications carriers................................................................................... 523 27.7

Other telecommunications services.................................................................................. 487 33.9

 See note at end of table.

Industry Total employed Percent women
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 53

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Data processing, hosting, and related services................................................................. 104 43.0

Libraries and archives....................................................................................................... 210 76.1

Other information services................................................................................................ 35 –

Financial activities................................................................................................................... 9,590 53.3

Finance and insurance......................................................................................................... 6,786 56.1

Banking and related activities............................................................................................ 2,112 60.6

Savings institutions, including credit unions...................................................................... 239 74.7

Nondepository credit and related activities........................................................................ 875 53.3

Securities, commodities, funds, trusts, and other financial investments............................ 1,122 38.6

Insurance carriers and related activities............................................................................ 2,437 59.4

Real estate and rental and leasing....................................................................................... 2,804 46.5

Real estate........................................................................................................................ 2,409 49.6

Rental and leasing services.............................................................................................. 395 27.4

Automotive equipment rental and leasing...................................................................... 172 27.5

Video tape and disk rental............................................................................................. 18 –

Other consumer goods rental........................................................................................ 103 29.1

Commercial, industrial, and other intangible assets rental and leasing.......................... 101 21.2

Professional and business services......................................................................................... 16,539 41.1

Professional and technical services...................................................................................... 9,913 43.2

Legal services................................................................................................................... 1,714 56.5

Accounting, tax preparation, bookkeeping, and payroll services....................................... 1,044 60.4

Architectural, engineering, and related services................................................................ 1,525 25.7

Specialized design services.............................................................................................. 371 57.9

Computer systems design and related services................................................................ 2,092 24.5

Management, scientific, and technical consulting services................................................ 1,415 41.7

Scientific research and development services................................................................... 510 48.1

Advertising and related services....................................................................................... 559 50.2

Veterinary services........................................................................................................... 311 77.1

Other professional, scientific, and technical services........................................................ 373 56.1

Management, administrative, and waste services................................................................ 6,626 38.0

Management of companies and enterprises...................................................................... 187 49.7

Employment services........................................................................................................ 1,037 52.1

Business support services................................................................................................ 793 62.9

Travel arrangement and reservation services................................................................... 268 61.7

Investigation and security services.................................................................................... 782 24.2

Services to buildings and dwellings................................................................................... 1,422 52.4

Landscaping services........................................................................................................ 1,327 7.4

Other administrative and other support services............................................................... 293 38.7

Waste management and remediation services.................................................................. 518 14.4

Education and health services................................................................................................. 32,350 74.5

Educational services............................................................................................................ 12,945 68.6

Elementary and secondary schools................................................................................... 8,491 75.8

Colleges and universities, including junior colleges........................................................... 3,609 53.1

Business, technical, and trade schools and training.......................................................... 121 48.2

Other schools, instruction, and educational services......................................................... 723 64.2

Health care and social assistance........................................................................................ 19,405 78.4

Hospitals........................................................................................................................... 6,113 76.5

 See note at end of table.

Industry Total employed Percent women
54 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Health services, except hospitals...................................................................................... 10,009 77.4

Offices of physicians...................................................................................................... 1,502 76.1

Offices of dentists.......................................................................................................... 835 81.6

Offices of chiropractors.................................................................................................. 134 61.8

Offices of optometrists................................................................................................... 122 72.6

Offices of other health practitioners............................................................................... 257 73.2

Outpatient care centers................................................................................................. 1,285 74.6

Home health care services............................................................................................ 1,040 87.6

Other health care services............................................................................................. 2,392 71.9

Nursing care facilities..................................................................................................... 1,726 84.7

Residential care facilities, without nursing..................................................................... 717 71.2

Social assistance.............................................................................................................. 3,283 84.9

Individual and family services........................................................................................ 1,459 78.9

Community food and housing, and emergency services................................................ 118 74.3

Vocational rehabilitation services................................................................................... 158 52.7

Child day care services.................................................................................................. 1,549 94.8

Leisure and hospitality............................................................................................................. 13,193 50.8

Arts, entertainment, and recreation...................................................................................... 3,022 45.5

Independent artists, performing arts, spectator sports, and related industries................... 824 42.6

Museums, art galleries, historical sites, and similar institutions......................................... 340 43.7

Bowling centers................................................................................................................. 44 –

Other amusement, gambling, and recreation industries.................................................... 1,813 47.1

Accommodation and food services....................................................................................... 10,171 52.4

Accommodation................................................................................................................ 1,426 57.4

Traveler accommodation............................................................................................... 1,332 57.6

Recreational vehicle parks and camps, and rooming and boarding houses................... 94 55.5

Food services and drinking places.................................................................................... 8,745 51.6

Restaurants and other food services............................................................................. 8,484 51.5

Drinking places, alcoholic beverages............................................................................. 261 54.1

Other services......................................................................................................................... 7,168 52.0

Other services, except private households........................................................................... 6,430 47.8

Repair and maintenance................................................................................................... 2,146 12.1

Automotive repair and maintenance............................................................................... 1,237 10.0

Car washes.................................................................................................................... 171 13.5

Electronic and precision equipment repair and maintenance......................................... 179 12.2

Commercial and industrial machinery and equipment repair and maintenance.............. 360 8.6

Personal and household goods repair and maintenance................................................ 191 30.6

Footwear and leather goods repair................................................................................ 8 –

Personal and laundry services.......................................................................................... 2,379 71.8

Barber shops................................................................................................................. 121 28.7

Beauty salons................................................................................................................ 987 90.0

Nail salons and other personal care services................................................................. 466 74.0

Drycleaning and laundry services.................................................................................. 337 57.7

Funeral homes, cemeteries, and crematories................................................................ 124 34.0

Other personal services................................................................................................. 344 59.3

Membership associations and organizations..................................................................... 1,904 58.0

Religious organizations.................................................................................................. 1,059 51.7

Civic, social, advocacy organizations, and grantmaking and giving services................. 638 69.7

Labor unions.................................................................................................................. 50 32.1

Business, professional, political, and similar organizations............................................ 157 61.7

Private households............................................................................................................... 738 88.9

 See note at end of table.

Industry Total employed Percent women
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 55

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 14. Employed persons, by detailed industry and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Public administration................................................................................................................ 6,717 45.4

Executive offices and legislative bodies............................................................................ 1,031 53.3

Public finance activities..................................................................................................... 373 65.4

Other general government and support............................................................................. 133 37.7

Justice, public order, and safety activities......................................................................... 2,690 33.3

Administration of human resource programs..................................................................... 940 70.5

Administration of environmental quality and housing programs......................................... 298 41.9

Administration of economic programs and space research............................................... 561 46.7

National security and international affairs.......................................................................... 690 37.3

n.e.c. = not elsewhere classified.

Note: Dash indicates no data or data that do not meet publication criteria (values not shown where base is less than 50,000).

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Industry Total employed Percent women
56 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 15. Employed women, by industry, race, and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2012 annual averages

(Percent distribution)

 Total, 16 years and older (thousands)............... 52,779 8,553 3,620 9,235

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

Agriculture and related industries .............................. 1.0 0.1 0.4 1.1

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction ............ .2 .1 .1 .2

Construction .............................................................. 1.4 .5 .7 .9

Manufacturing ............................................................ 6.3 5.4 9.0 7.8

 Durable goods manufacturing ................................. 3.4 2.8 5.4 3.2

 Nondurable goods manufacturing ........................... 2.9 2.6 3.6 4.5

Wholesale and retail trade ......................................... 13.5 11.8 12.3 14.1

 Wholesale trade ...................................................... 1.7 .9 1.7 1.7

 Retail trade .............................................................. 11.8 11.0 10.5 12.4

Transportation and utilities ........................................ 2.4 3.7 2.0 2.7

 Transportation and warehousing ............................. 1.9 3.2 1.9 2.4

 Utilities ..................................................................... .4 .5 .2 .3

Information ................................................................ 1.7 1.7 1.9 1.2

Financial activities ..................................................... 7.9 6.6 7.0 6.7

 Finance and insurance ............................................ 5.8 5.3 5.6 5.0

 Real estate and rental and leasing .......................... 2.1 1.3 1.4 1.7

Professional and business services .......................... 10.4 8.4 11.4 10.5

 Professional and technical services ........................ 6.7 3.8 9.2 4.0

 Management, administrative, and waste services.... 3.7 4.6 2.1 6.6

Education and health services ................................... 35.6 41.4 31.0 30.1

 Educational services ................................................ 14.0 11.5 8.5 10.0

 Health care and social assistance ........................... 21.6 29.9 22.5 20.1

 Hospitals ................................................................ 6.7 8.7 8.1 4.6

 Health services, except hospitals .......................... 11.0 15.2 11.0 10.2

 Social assistance ................................................... 3.9 6.0 3.4 5.3

Leisure and hospitality ............................................... 9.9 8.9 11.7 14.5

 Arts, entertainment, and recreation ......................... 2.1 1.4 2.2 1.7

 Accommodation and food services ......................... 7.8 7.6 9.4 12.8

Other services ........................................................... 5.5 4.3 9.1 6.8

 Other services, except private households ............. 4.5 3.7 8.3 4.1

 Private households .................................................. 1.0 .6 .7 2.7

Public administration ................................................. 4.1 7.0 3.6 3.6

Hispanic or 

Latino

ethnicity

Industry White

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Note: Women whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 57

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 16. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, in current dollars, by race, 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and gender, 1979–2012 annual averages

1979........ $241 $248 $199 – $194 $182 $184 $169 – $157

1980........ 262 269 212 – 209 201 203 185 – 172

1981........ 284 291 235 – 223 219 221 206 – 190

1982........ 302 310 245 – 240 239 242 217 – 203

1983........ 313 320 261 – 250 252 254 232 – 215

1984........ 326 336 269 – 259 265 268 241 – 223

1985......... 344 356 277 – 270 277 281 252 – 230

1986....... 359 371 291 – 277 291 294 264 – 241

1987........ 374 384 301 – 285 303 307 276 – 251

1988......... 385 395 314 – 290 315 318 288 – 260

1989........ 399 409 319 – 298 328 334 301 – 269

1990....... 412 424 329 – 304 346 353 308 – 278

1991........ 426 442 348 – 312 366 373 323 – 292

1992........ 440 458 357 – 321 380 387 335 – 302

1993........ 459 475 369 – 331 393 401 348 – 313

1994....... 467 484 371 – 324 399 408 346 – 305

1995........ 479 494 383 – 329 406 415 355 – 305

1996........ 490 506 387 – 339 418 428 362 – 316

1997....... 503 519 400 – 351 431 444 375 – 318

1998....... 523 545 426 – 370 456 468 400 – 337

1999....... 549 573 445 – 385 473 483 409 – 348

2000....... 576 590 474 $615 399 493 502 429 $547 366

2001........ 596 610 491 639 417 512 522 454 563 388

2002....... 608 623 498 658 424 529 547 473 566 397

2003....... 620 636 514 693 440 552 567 491 598 410

2004........ 638 657 525 708 456 573 584 505 613 419

2005......... 651 672 520 753 471 585 596 499 665 429

2006........ 671 690 554 784 486 600 609 519 699 440

2007........ 695 716 569 830 503 614 626 533 731 473

2008....... 722 742 589 861 529 638 654 554 753 501

2009....... 739 757 601 880 541 657 669 582 779 509

2010....... 747 765 611 855 535 669 684 592 773 508

2011....... 756 775 615 866 549 684 703 595 751 518

2012....... 768 792 621 920 568 691 710 599 770 521

 See note at end of table.

Year 

Total White

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Hispanic 

or Latino 

ethnicity

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Total Women

Hispanic 

or Latino 

ethnicity

Total White

54
58 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 16. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers in current dollars by race, 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and gender, 1979–2012 annual averages (continued)

1979........ $292 $298 $227 – $219 62.3 61.7 74.4 – 71.7 

1980........ 313 320 244 – 234 64.2 63.4 75.8 – 73.5 

1981........ 340 350 268 – 251 64.4 63.1 76.9 – 75.7 

1982........ 364 375 278 – 269 65.7 64.5 78.1 – 75.5 

1983........ 379 387 294 – 274 66.5 65.6 78.9 – 78.5 

1984........ 392 401 303 – 287 67.6 66.8 79.5 – 77.7 

1985......... 407 418 305 – 296 68.1 67.2 82.6 – 77.7 

1986....... 419 433 319 – 299 69.5 67.9 82.8 – 80.6 

1987........ 434 450 327 – 306 69.8 68.2 84.4 – 82.0 

1988......... 449 465 348 – 308 70.2 68.4 82.8 – 84.4 

1989........ 468 482 348 – 315 70.1 69.3 86.5 – 85.4 

1990....... 481 494 361 – 318 71.9 71.5 85.3 – 87.4 

1991........ 493 506 375 – 323 74.2 73.7 86.1 – 90.4 

1992........ 501 514 380 – 339 75.8 75.3 88.2 – 89.1 

1993........ 510 524 392 – 346 77.1 76.5 88.8 – 90.5 

1994....... 522 547 400 – 343 76.4 74.6 86.5 – 88.9 

1995........ 538 566 411 – 350 75.5 73.3 86.4 – 87.1 

1996........ 557 580 412 – 356 75.0 73.8 87.9 – 88.8 

1997....... 579 595 432 – 371 74.4 74.6 86.8 – 85.7 

1998....... 598 615 468 – 390 76.3 76.1 85.5 – 86.4 

1999....... 618 638 488 – 406 76.5 75.7 83.8 – 85.7 

2000....... 641 662 510 $685 417 76.9 75.8 84.1 79.9 87.8 

2001........ 670 689 529 732 440 76.4 75.8 85.8 76.9 88.2 

2002....... 679 702 524 756 451 77.9 77.9 90.3 74.9 88.0 

2003....... 695 715 555 772 464 79.4 79.3 88.5 77.5 88.4 

2004........ 713 732 569 802 480 80.4 79.8 88.8 76.4 87.3 

2005......... 722 743 559 825 489 81.0 80.2 89.3 80.6 87.7 

2006........ 743 761 591 882 505 80.8 80.0 87.8 79.3 87.1 

2007........ 766 788 600 936 520 80.2 79.4 88.8 78.1 91.0 

2008....... 798 825 620 966 559 79.9 79.3 89.4 78.0 89.6 

2009....... 819 845 621 952 569 80.2 79.2 93.7 81.8 89.5 

2010....... 824 850 633 936 560 81.2 80.5 93.5 82.6 90.7 

2011....... 832 856 653 970 571 82.2 82.1 91.1 77.4 90.7 

2012....... 854 879 665 1,055 592 80.9 80.8 90.1 73.0 88.0 

Year 

Men Women's earnings as a percentage of men's

Total

Hispanic 

or Latino 

ethnicity

Total White

Black or 

African 

American

White Asian

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Hispanic 

or Latino 

ethnicity

Note: The comparability of historical labor force data has been affected at various times by methodological and conceptual

changes in the Current Population Survey (CPS). For an explanation, see the historical comparability section of the household

data technical documentation provided at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#comp. Beginning in 2003, estimates for the

race groups shown (White, Black or African American, and Asian) include people who selected that race group only; people

who selected more than one race group are not included. Prior to 2003, people who reported more than one race were

included in the group they identified as the main race. Data for 2000 to 2002 are for the category Asians and Pacific Islanders.

Starting in 2003, Asians constituted a separate category. For more information, see the historical comparability documentation.

Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Dashes indicate that data for Asians were not

tabulated prior to 2000.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

55
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 59

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 17. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and 

salary workers 25 years and older, by educational attainment 

and gender, 2012 annual averages

Total

Total....................................................... 93,719 $815

 Less than a high school diploma .................. 7,010 471

 High school graduate or more.......................... 86,709 857

 High school graduates, no college............. 25,239 652

 Some college or associate's degree..................... 25,826 749

 Some college, no degree......................... 15,470 727

 Associate's degree..................................10,357 785

 Occupational program............................ 4,554 775

 Academic program............................... 5,803 795

 College graduates, total...................................35,644 1,165

 Bachelor's degree................................ 22,715 1,066

 Master's degree.................................. 9,519 1,300

 Professional degree.............................. 1,612 1,735

 Doctoral degree.................................. 1,799 1,624

Women

Total........................................................ 41,597 727

 Less than a high school diploma.................. 2,236 386

 High school graduate or more.......................... 39,361 749

 High school graduates, no college............. 10,152 561

 Some college or associate's degree..................... 12,310 659

 Some college, no degree......................... 7,025 634

 Associate's degree.................................. 5,285 697

 Occupational program............................ 2,158 670

 Academic program............................... 3,128 714

 College graduates, total...................................16,899 1,001

 Bachelor's degree............................... 10,697 931

 Master's degree.................................. 4,934 1,122

 Professional degree.............................. 599 1,411

 Doctoral degree.................................... 669 1,413

 Educational attainment and gender Total employed 

(in thousands)

Median weekly 

earnings

56
60 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 17. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and

salary workers 25 years and older, by educational attainment 

and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

Men

Total....................................................... 52,122 $910

 Less than a high school diploma................. 4,773 508

 High school graduate or more...................... 47,349 961

 High school graduates, no college............. 15,087 735

 Some college or associate's degree..................... 13,517 857

 Some college, no degree......................... 8,445 826

 Associate's degree.................................. 5,072 905

 Occupational program............................ 2,396 892

 Academic program............................... 2,675 918

 College graduates, total...................................18,745 1,371

 Bachelor's degree................................ 12,018 1,246

 Master's degree.................................. 4,585 1,545

 Professional degree...................................... 1,012 1,896

 Doctoral degree................................... 1,130 1,778

 Educational attainment and gender Total employed 

(in thousands)

Median weekly 

earnings

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

57
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 61

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages

Total, 16 years and older......................................................102,749 $768 45,462 $691 57,286 $854 80.9

Management, professional, and related occupations.................. 40,984 1,108 21,059 951 19,926 1,328 71.6

Management, business, and financial 

 operations occupations................................................... 16,991 1,171 7,869 993 9,121 1,387 71.6

Management occupations................................................ 11,547 1,248 4,765 1,036 6,783 1,428 72.5

Chief executives......................................................... 1,004 2,060 265 1,730 739 2,275 76.0

General and operations managers.................................... 983 1,264 278 971 705 1,436 67.6

Legislators............................................................... 7 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Advertising and promotions managers........................... 65 1,334 29 ( 1

 ) 36 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Marketing and sales managers......................................... 916 1,396 402 1,110 514 1,640 67.7

Public relations and fundraising managers..................... 56 1,237 39 ( 1

 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Administrative services managers................................. 133 1,103 57 1,038 76 1,212 85.6

Computer and information systems managers.................. 568 1,672 145 1,527 423 1,740 87.8

Financial managers................................................... 1,125 1,169 616 988 509 1,405 70.3

Compensation and benefits managers........................... 16 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Human resources managers....................................... 216 1,271 160 1,208 56 1,447 83.5

Training and development managers.............................. 33 ( 1

 ) 17 ( 1 ) 16 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Industrial production managers......................................... 219 1,183 34 ( 1

 ) 185 1,181 ( 2 )

Purchasing managers................................................ 204 1,319 99 1,072 104 1,467 73.1

Transportation, storage, and distribution managers............ 276 953 36 ( 1

 ) 240 938 ( 2 )

Farmers, ranchers, and other agricultural managers......... 104 708 14 ( 1

 ) 89 699 ( 2 )

Construction managers................................................ 460 1,208 35 ( 1

 ) 425 1,233 ( 2 )

Education administrators.............................................. 704 1,255 454 1,052 250 1,566 67.2

Architectural and engineering managers........................ 111 2,122 9 ( 1

 ) 101 2,116 ( 2 )

Food service managers.............................................. 678 689 327 601 351 744 80.8

Funeral service managers........................................... 8 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Gaming managers..................................................... 21 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Lodging managers................................................... 100 774 47 ( 1

 ) 53 1,131 ( 2 )

Medical and health services managers........................... 502 1,280 358 1,190 144 1,544 77.1

Natural sciences managers.......................................... 18 ( 1

 ) 11 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Postmasters and mail superintendents........................... 35 ( 1

 ) 21 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Property, real estate, and community

 association managers................................................ 353 907 200 817 153 1,045 78.2

Social and community service managers........................ 260 947 184 883 76 1,151 76.7

Emergency management directors................................. 5 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Managers, all other.................................................... 2,367 1,258 902 1,078 1,465 1,409 76.5

Business and financial operations occupations.................. 5,443 1,058 3,105 952 2,339 1,274 74.7

Agents and business managers of artists, 

 performers, and athletes............................................. 31 ( 1

 ) 16 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Buyers and purchasing agents, farm products.................. 8 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Wholesale and retail buyers, except farm products............ 141 850 75 847 66 853 99.3

Purchasing agents, except wholesale, retail, and 

 farm products......................................................... 239 987 130 942 109 1,057 89.1

Claims adjusters, appraisers, examiners,

 and investigators...................................................... 307 909 203 803 104 1,158 69.3

Compliance officers................................................... 192 1,183 91 999 101 1,304 76.6

Cost estimators......................................................... 91 1,154 10 ( 1

 ) 81 1,164 ( 2 )

Human resource workers............................................. 559 994 401 944 158 1,249 75.6

Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialits......... 72 961 59 866 13 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Training and development specialists.............................. 120 983 69 866 51 1,144 75.7

Logisticians............................................................. 88 1,009 30 ( 1

 ) 57 1,225 ( 2 )

Management analysts................................................ 479 1,452 202 1,325 277 1,535 86.3

Meeting, convention, and event planners........................ 86 819 72 824 15 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Occupation

Total Women Men
62 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Fundraisers............................................................... 61 $1,058 45 ( 1

 ) 16 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Market research analysts and marketing specialists......... 175 1,148 90 $1,073 85 $1,197 89.6

Business operations specialists, all other.......................... 220 970 147 904 73 1,271 71.1

Accountants and auditors............................................ 1,471 1,110 886 996 585 1,350 73.8

Appraisers and assessors of real estate........................... 48 ( 1

 ) 25 ( 1 ) 23 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Budget analysts......................................................... 52 1,207 28 ( 1

 ) 24 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Credit analysts......................................................... 33 ( 1

 ) 18 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Financial analysts...................................................... 77 1,487 30 ( 1

 ) 48 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Personal financial advisors.......................................... 278 1,327 96 1,016 182 1,532 66.3

Insurance underwriters..................................................... 91 954 66 933 24 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Financial examiners................................................... 11 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Credit counselors and loan officers................................. 310 934 181 850 130 1,074 79.1

Tax examiners, collectors, and revenue agents............... 87 937 54 849 33 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Tax preparers............................................................ 48 ( 1

 ) 25 ( 1 ) 24 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Financial specialists, all other....................................... 68 1,025 48 ( 1

 ) 20 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Professional and related occupations................................. 23,993 1,053 13,189 928 10,804 1,267 73.2

Computer and mathematical occupations........................... 3,416 1,349 872 1,146 2,544 1,414 81.0

Computer and information research scientists.................. 27 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 21 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Computer systems analysts.......................................... 440 1,406 145 1,254 295 1,477 84.9

Information security analysts....................................... 51 1,592 8 ( 1

 ) 43 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Computer programmers............................................. 439 1,324 100 1,148 340 1,363 84.2

Software developers, applications and systems software... 1,005 1,591 197 1,362 808 1,674 81.4

Web developers......................................................... 123 1,082 36 ( 1

 ) 86 1,204 ( 2 )

Computer support specialists....................................... 429 960 116 881 313 985 89.4

Database administrators............................................. 97 1,376 40 ( 1

 ) 57 1,657 ( 2 )

Network and computer systems administrators.................. 204 1,191 51 1,056 153 1,253 84.3

Computer network architects....................................... 115 1,548 11 ( 1

 ) 104 1,569 ( 2 )

Computer occupations, all other.................................... 288 1,110 65 887 223 1,155 76.8

Actuaries................................................................. 19 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Mathematicians.............................................................. 4 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Operations research analysts....................................... 127 1,334 70 1,169 57 1,551 75.4

Statisticians............................................................. 44 ( 1

 ) 18 ( 1 ) 26 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous mathematical science occupations............ 4 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Architecture and engineering occupations........................... 2,588 1,337 319 1,136 2,269 1,358 83.7

Architects, except naval.............................................. 130 1,325 29 ( 1

 ) 102 1,415 ( 2 )

Surveyors, cartographers, and photogrammetrists............ 45 ( 1

 ) 12 ( 1 ) 32 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Aerospace engineers................................................. 120 1,645 10 ( 1

 ) 111 1,665 ( 2 )

Agricultural engineers..................................................... 4 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Biomedical engineers................................................... 11 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 10 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Chemical engineers................................................... 71 1,509 10 ( 1

 ) 61 1,582 ( 2 )

Civil engineers............................................................ 334 1,367 47 ( 1

 ) 287 1,428 ( 2 )

Computer hardware engineers....................................... 73 1,548 7 ( 1

 ) 66 1,571 ( 2 )

Electrical and electronics engineers.............................. 311 1,550 27 ( 1

 ) 284 1,614 ( 2 )

Environmental engineers............................................. 39 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 33 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Industrial engineers, including health and safety............... 202 1,393 34 ( 1

 ) 167 1,408 ( 2 )

Marine engineers and naval architects........................... 10 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Materials engineers................................................... 36 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 30 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Mechanical engineers................................................ 280 1,434 10 ( 1

 ) 270 1,442 ( 2 )

Mining and geological engineers, including

 mining safety engineers............................................ 9 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Nuclear engineers...................................................... 10 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 10 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Petroleum engineers................................................... 33 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 30 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men

Median

weekly

earnings

Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 63

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Engineers, all other.................................................... 315 $1,439 40 (

 1 ) 275 $1,456 ( 2 )

Drafters..................................................................... 129 962 21 ( 1

 ) 108 958 ( 2 )

Engineering technicians, except drafters........................ 360 989 48 ( 1

 ) 312 1,008 ( 2 )

Surveying and mapping technicians.............................. 67 885 4 ( 1

 ) 63 891 ( 2 )

Life, physical, and social science occupations..................... 1,098 1,134 467 $1,015 631 1,226 82.8

Agricultural and food scientists..................................... 34 ( 1

 ) 10 ( 1 ) 23 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Biological scientists................................................... 94 1,181 43 ( 1

 ) 51 1,331 ( 2 )

Conservation scientists and foresters.............................. 18 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Medical scientists...................................................... 123 1,163 59 1,060 64 1,331 79.6

Astronomers and physicists.......................................... 22 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 19 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Atmospheric and space scientists................................. 14 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 13 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Chemists and materials scientists................................. 98 1,163 42 ( 1

 ) 56 1,226 ( 2 )

Environmental scientists and geoscientists..................... 93 1,266 25 ( 1

 ) 68 1,390 ( 2 )

Physical scientists, all other........................................... 145 1,456 50 1,171 96 1,522 76.9

Economists.............................................................. 23 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 18 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Survey researchers.................................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Psychologists............................................................ 93 1,228 72 1,155 21 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Sociologists............................................................. 4 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Urban and regional planners....................................... 28 ( 1

 ) 12 ( 1 ) 16 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous social scientists and related

 workers.................................................................. 44 ( 1

 ) 22 ( 1 ) 22 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Agricultural and food science technicians........................ 29 ( 1

 ) 15 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Biological technicians................................................... 14 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Chemical technicians................................................... 62 779 17 ( 1

 ) 45 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Geological and petroleum technicians........................... 22 ( 1

 ) 10 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Nuclear technicians................................................... 4 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Social science research assistants................................. 3 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous life, physical, and social science 

 technicians............................................................... 128 745 66 620 62 825 75.2

Community and social services occupations........................ 1,891 838 1,177 820 714 869 94.4

Counselors.................................................................... 519 848 347 855 172 833 102.6

Social workers............................................................ 668 847 535 845 134 856 98.7

Probation officers and correctional treatment

 specialists............................................................... 85 948 40 ( 1

 ) 44 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

 Social and human service assistants.............................. 124 637 99 656 25 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous community and social service 

 specialists, including health educators and community

 health workers......................................................... 74 667 51 642 24 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Clergy.................................................................... 344 895 63 777 281 959 81.0

Directors, religious activities and education..................... 37 ( 1

 ) 23 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Religious workers, all other.......................................... 40 ( 1

 ) 20 ( 1 ) 21 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Legal occupations......................................................... 1,315 1,328 716 1,013 600 1,884 53.8

Lawyers.................................................................. 690 1,909 228 1,636 462 2,055 79.6

Judicial law clerks...................................................... 9 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Judges, magistrates, and other judicial workers............... 64 1,637 26 ( 1

 ) 38 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Paralegals and legal assistants.................................... 372 872 317 865 54 919 94.1

Miscellaneous legal support workers.............................. 181 815 139 754 42 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Education, training, and library occupations........................ 6,454 915 4,687 858 1,766 1,133 75.7

Postsecondary teachers............................................. 920 1,216 424 1,055 497 1,366 77.2

Preschool and kindergarten teachers.............................. 494 589 485 588 9 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Elementary and middle school teachers........................... 2,435 942 1,971 921 464 1,128 81.6

Secondary school teachers.......................................... 1,043 1,009 578 978 465 1,050 93.1

Special education teachers.......................................... 307 944 264 940 43 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings
64 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Other teachers and instructors....................................... 372 $785 220 $729 151 $917 79.5

Archivists, curators, and museum technicians.................. 40 ( 1

 ) 21 ( 1 ) 20 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Librarians.................................................................. 143 966 120 960 24 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Library technicians...................................................... 21 ( 1

 ) 17 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Teacher assistants.................................................... 567 458 515 452 51 493 91.7

Other education, training, and library workers.................. 110 1,011 72 932 38 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media 

 occupations............................................................ 1,440 969 631 885 809 1,055 83.9

Artists and related workers.......................................... 68 1,131 24 ( 1

 ) 44 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Designers................................................................ 467 953 226 855 241 1,028 83.2

Actors..................................................................... 10 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Producers and directors............................................. 75 1,048 34 ( 1

 ) 41 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Athletes, coaches, umpires, and related workers............... 89 958 25 ( 1

 ) 63 1,018 ( 2 )

Dancers and choreographers....................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Musicians, singers, and related workers........................... 49 ( 1

 ) 13 ( 1 ) 36 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Entertainers and performers, sports and related

 workers, all other....................................................... 14 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 9 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Announcers............................................................... 20 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

News analysts, reporters and correspondents.................. 63 1,021 24 ( 1

 ) 39 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Public relations specialists.......................................... 133 1,127 79 989 55 1,351 73.2

Editors..................................................................... 121 946 62 889 59 993 89.5

Technical writers......................................................... 52 1,227 27 ( 1

 ) 24 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Writers and authors................................................... 86 899 46 ( 1

 ) 40 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous media and communication workers............ 43 ( 1

 ) 28 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Broadcast and sound engineering technicians 

 and radio operators................................................... 70 875 5 ( 1

 ) 64 924 ( 2 )

Photographers............................................................ 37 ( 1

 ) 14 ( 1 ) 24 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Television, video, and motion picture camera

 operators and editors................................................ 34 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 29 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Media and communication equipment 

 workers, all others................................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations............... 5,791 1,028 4,320 980 1,471 1,245 78.7

Chiropractors............................................................ 7 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Dentists.................................................................. 49 ( 1

 ) 13 ( 1 ) 37 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Dietitians and nutritionists............................................. 79 840 73 845 6 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Optometrists............................................................ 7 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Pharmacists............................................................... 223 1,877 116 1,871 107 1,879 99.6

Physicians and surgeons............................................. 655 1,887 226 1,418 429 2,099 67.6

Physician assistants................................................... 88 1,329 61 1,364 27 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Podiatrists.................................................................... 1 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Audiologists............................................................. 7 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Occupational therapists................................................ 85 1,189 82 1,200 3 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Physical therapists.................................................... 144 1,287 88 1,190 56 1,362 87.4

Radiation therapists................................................... 11 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Recreational therapists................................................ 10 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Respiratory therapists................................................. 92 979 56 936 36 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Speech-language pathologists....................................... 88 1,128 86 1,121 3 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Exercise physiologists................................................ 0 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Therapists, all other................................................... 88 926 71 877 16 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Veterinarians............................................................ 49 ( 1

 ) 29 ( 1 ) 20 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Registered Nurses...................................................... 2,176 1,097 1,946 1,086 230 1,189 91.3

Nurse anesthetists...................................................... 24 ( 1

 ) 12 ( 1 ) 11 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Nurse midwives......................................................... 2 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Nurse practitioners...................................................... 77 1,610 65 1,530 12 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 65

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Health diagnosing and treating practitioners,

 all other.................................................................. 3 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Clinical laboratory technologists and technicians............ 256 $869 180 $842 76 $943 89.3

Dental hygienists...................................................... 51 1,045 50 1,047 0 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Diagnostic related technologists and technicians............... 241 961 174 912 67 1,131 80.6

Emergency medical technicians and paramedics............... 145 780 44 ( 1

 ) 100 809 ( 2 )

Health practitioner support technologists and technicians... 403 615 322 621 82 599 103.7

Licensed practical and licensed vocational nurses............ 433 731 400 730 33 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Medical records and health information

 technicians............................................................... 74 618 65 663 9 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Opticians, dispensing................................................. 41 ( 1

 ) 24 ( 1 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous health technologists and

 technicians............................................................... 113 772 71 714 42 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Other healthcare practitioners and technical

 occupations............................................................ 69 900 34 ( 1

 ) 36 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Service occupations......................................................... 14,839 485 7,328 435 7,511 543 80.1

Health care support occupations....................................... 2,350 482 2,060 477 290 529 90.2

Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides..................... 1,458 451 1,285 445 173 508 87.6

Occupational therapy assistants and aides...................... 11 ( 1

 ) 11 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Physical therapist assistants and aides........................... 45 ( 1

 ) 26 ( 1 ) 19 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Massage therapists................................................... 42 ( 1

 ) 32 ( 1 ) 11 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Dental assistants....................................................... 174 579 172 581 2 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Medical assistants...................................................... 323 514 302 515 21 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Medical transcriptionists............................................. 30 ( 1

 ) 29 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Pharmacy aides....................................................... 30 ( 1

 ) 28 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Veterinary assistants and laboratory animal 

 caretakers............................................................... 22 ( 1

 ) 15 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Phlebotomists............................................................ 101 520 82 516 19 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous healthcare support occupations,

 including medical equipment preparers........................... 112 487 77 462 35 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Protective service occupations....................................... 2,655 791 500 658 2,154 841 78.2

First-line supervisors of correctional officers..................... 51 820 17 ( 1

 ) 33 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

First-line supervisors of police and detectives.................. 105 1,216 16 ( 1

 ) 89 1,240 ( 2 )

First-line supervisors of fire fighting and

 prevention workers................................................... 59 1,271 0 ( 1

 ) 59 1,272 ( 2 )

First-line supervisors, protective service workers, 

 all other.................................................................. 80 881 26 ( 1

 ) 54 806 ( 2 )

Firefighters............................................................... 276 1,068 8 ( 1

 ) 268 1,073 ( 2 )

Fire inspectors......................................................... 15 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 13 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Bailiffs, correctional officers, and jailers........................... 363 722 102 643 261 768 83.7

Detectives and criminal investigators.............................. 151 1,062 37 ( 1

 ) 114 1,171 ( 2 )

Fish and game wardens............................................. 5 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Parking enforcement workers....................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Police and sheriff's patrol officers................................. 629 979 76 815 554 1,016 80.2

Transit and railroad police............................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Animal control workers................................................ 8 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Private detectives and investigators.............................. 76 848 34 ( 1

 ) 42 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Security guards and gaming surveillance officers............... 742 528 138 501 603 537 93.3

Crossing guards......................................................... 17 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Transportation security screeners................................. 18 ( 1

 ) 6 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Lifeguards and other recreational, and all other

 protective service workers.......................................... 55 472 24 ( 1 ) 32 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings
66 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Food preparation and serving related occupations............... 4,164 $410 1,975 $389 2,189 $433 89.8

Chefs and head cooks................................................ 318 562 56 462 261 582 79.4

First-line supervisors of food preparation and

 serving workers...................................................... 415 491 245 451 170 561 80.4

Cooks..................................................................... 1,240 389 408 361 833 403 89.6

Food preparation workers............................................. 432 383 241 357 191 408 87.5

Bartenders............................................................... 209 460 112 421 97 520 81.0

Combined food preparation and serving workers, 

 including fast food................................................... 166 382 109 368 57 406 90.6

Counter attendants, cafeteria, food concession, 

 and coffee shop...................................................... 56 350 40 ( 1 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Waiters and waitresses.............................................. 891 411 569 396 322 456 86.8

Food servers, nonrestaurant......................................... 112 456 63 434 49 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Dining room and cafeteria attendants and 

 bartender helpers...................................................... 137 370 67 366 70 374 97.9

Dishwashers............................................................ 127 345 21 ( 1 ) 106 337 ( 2 )

Hosts and hostesses, restaurant, lounge, and 

 coffee shop............................................................ 59 391 44 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Food preparation and serving related workers,

 all other................................................................. 1 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Building and grounds cleaning and maintenance 

 occupations............................................................ 3,430 465 1,156 407 2,275 501 81.2

First-line supervisors of housekeeping and 

 janitorial workers...................................................... 159 569 72 505 88 687 73.5

First-line supervisors of landscaping, lawn service, 

 and groundskeeping workers....................................... 109 745 4 ( 1 ) 105 748 ( 2 )

Janitors and building cleaners...................................... 1,514 484 380 408 1,134 511 79.8

Maids and housekeeping cleaners................................. 791 399 668 395 123 425 92.9

Pest control workers................................................... 62 571 3 ( 1 ) 59 570 ( 2 )

Grounds maintenance workers..................................... 795 455 29 ( 1 ) 766 452 ( 2 )

Personal care and service occupations.............................. 2,241 468 1,637 428 603 569 75.2

First-line supervisors of gaming workers........................ 92 752 34 ( 1 ) 59 864 ( 2 )

First-line supervisors of personal 

 service workers......................................................... 83 600 53 518 30 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Animal trainers......................................................... 11 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Nonfarm animal caretakers.......................................... 78 414 57 417 21 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Gaming services workers........................................... 74 604 38 ( 1 ) 36 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Motion picture projectionists.......................................... 0 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Ushers, lobby attendants, and ticket takers..................... 10 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous entertainment attendants and

 related workers......................................................... 61 470 26 ( 1 ) 35 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Embalmers and funeral attendants................................. 8 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Morticians, undertakers, and funeral directors.................. 23 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) 19 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Barbers..................................................................... 57 466 15 ( 1 ) 42 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Hairdressers, hairstylists, and cosmetologists.................. 294 473 272 468 22 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous personal appearance workers.................. 154 427 123 430 31 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Baggage porters, bellhops, and concierges..................... 49 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) 41 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Tour and travel guides................................................ 20 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Childcare workers...................................................... 425 390 395 386 31 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Personal care aides................................................... 549 422 450 412 99 465 88.6

Recreation and fitness workers.................................... 174 575 102 542 71 675 80.3

Residential advisors................................................... 48 ( 1

 ) 27 ( 1 ) 21 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Personal care and service workers, all other..................... 32 ( 1

 ) 13 ( 1 ) 19 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Sales and office occupations............................................. 23,115 655 13,914 610 9,202 768 79.4

Sales and related occupations.......................................... 9,433 689 4,005 521 5,428 838 62.2

First-line supervisors of retail 

 sales workers......................................................... 2,295 711 977 598 1,317 792 75.5

First-line supervisors of non-retail 

 sales workers................... ..................................... 791 1,045 220 847 571 1,130 75.0

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men

Median

weekly

earnings

Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 67

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Cashiers.................................................................. 1,348 $376 941 $368 407 $400 92.0

Counter and rental clerks............................................. 96 495 42 ( 1

 ) 54 591 ( 2 )

Parts salespersons.................................................... 88 643 9 ( 1

 ) 79 661 ( 2 )

Retail salespersons................................................... 1,842 576 707 436 1,135 678 64.3

Advertising sales agents............................................. 191 909 91 842 100 945 89.1

Insurance sales agents................................................ 389 827 191 641 197 1,026 62.5

Securities, commodities, and financial services 

 sales agents............................................................ 220 1,131 64 862 156 1,247 69.1

Travel agents................................................................. 44 ( 1

 ) 33 ( 1 ) 11 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Sales representatives, services, all other........................ 415 935 130 825 286 992 83.2

Sales representatives, wholesale and 

 manufacturing......................................................... 1,091 1,064 285 822 806 1,161 70.8

Models, demonstrators, and product promoters............... 18 ( 1

 ) 12 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Real estate brokers and sales agents.............................. 328 789 194 680 134 1,031 66.0

Sales engineers......................................................... 26 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 25 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Telemarketers............................................................ 65 464 29 ( 1

 ) 35 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Door-to-door sales workers, news and street 

 vendors, and related workers.................................... 43 ( 1

 ) 16 ( 1 ) 27 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Sales and related workers, all other.............................. 144 785 62 653 81 996 65.6

Office and administrative support occupations..................... 13,683 643 9,909 629 3,774 700 89.9

First-line supervisors of office and 

 administrative support workers.................................... 1,274 795 858 760 416 895 84.9

Switchboard operators, including answering

 service................................................................... 28 ( 1

 ) 20 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Telephone operators................................................... 35 ( 1

 ) 30 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Communications equipment operators, all other............... 8 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Bill and account collectors........................................... 183 640 122 633 61 681 93.0

Billing and posting clerks ............................................. 394 627 347 615 47 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks.................. 857 677 755 672 102 740 90.8

Gaming cage workers................................................ 6 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Payroll and timekeeping clerks.................................... 126 702 116 707 9 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Procurement clerks................................................... 26 ( 1

 ) 11 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Tellers..................................................................... 268 497 238 499 30 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Financial clerks, all other............................................. 44 ( 1

 ) 32 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Brokerage clerks....................................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Correspondence clerks................................................ 6 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Court, municipal, and license clerks.............................. 77 699 63 693 14 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Credit authorizers, checkers, and clerks........................... 42 ( 1

 ) 31 ( 1 ) 10 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Customer service representatives................................ 1,535 608 1,033 585 502 684 85.5

Eligibility interviewers, government programs.................. 78 769 61 730 17 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

File clerks.................................................................. 204 645 159 635 44 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks.............................. 73 522 44 ( 1

 ) 29 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Interviewers, except eligibility and loan........................... 104 593 91 581 13 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Library assistants, clerical............................................. 34 ( 1

 ) 28 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Loan interviewers and clerks....................................... 133 692 107 682 26 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

New accounts clerks................................................... 22 ( 1

 ) 15 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Order clerks............................................................... 90 561 53 595 37 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Human resources assistants, except payroll and

 timekeeping............................................................ 105 759 88 724 17 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Receptionists and information clerks.............................. 831 531 758 524 73 604 86.8

Reservation and transportation ticket agents and

 travel clerks............................................................ 99 738 54 634 45 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Information and record clerks, all other........................... 87 661 73 677 15 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings
68 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Cargo and freight agents............................................. 21 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Couriers and messengers............................................. 139 $737 19 ( 1

 ) 120 $744 ( 2 )

Dispatchers............................................................... 252 648 159 $605 94 796 76.0

Meter readers, utilities................................................ 25 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 21 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Postal service clerks................................................... 137 980 73 910 64 1,000 91.0

Postal service mail carriers......................................... 279 990 93 907 186 1,026 88.4

Postal service mail sorters, processors, and

 processing machine operators.................................... 56 891 23 ( 1

 ) 33 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Production, planning, and expediting clerks..................... 242 858 131 765 111 946 80.9

Shipping, receiving, and traffic clerks.............................. 458 556 125 522 333 577 90.5

Stock clerks and order fillers........................................ 936 505 310 484 625 516 93.8

Weighers, measurers, checkers, and samplers,

 recordkeeping......................................................... 64 638 29 ( 1

 ) 35 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Secretaries and administrative assistants........................ 2,251 669 2,146 665 105 803 82.8

Computer operators................................................... 87 785 45 ( 1

 ) 42 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Data entry keyers...................................................... 259 591 202 586 57 611 95.9

Word processors and typists....................................... 90 624 82 622 8 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Desktop publishers.................................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Insurance claims and policy processing clerks.................. 226 643 182 631 44 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Mail clerks and mail machine operators, 

 except postal service................................................ 72 580 27 ( 1

 ) 44 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Office clerks, general................................................... 798 601 667 600 131 607 98.8

Office machine operators, except computer..................... 34 ( 1

 ) 16 ( 1 ) 18 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Proofreaders and copy markers.................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Statistical assistants................................................... 25 ( 1

 ) 14 ( 1 ) 11 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Office and administrative support workers, all

 other..................................................................... 452 707 349 686 103 788 87.1

Natural resources, construction, and maintenance 

 occupations............................................................ 9,968 740 389 550 9,579 749 73.4

Farming, fishing, and forestry occupations........................ 777 435 166 377 611 457 82.5

First-line supervisors of farming,

 fishing, and forestry workers....................................... 39 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 34 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Agricultural inspectors................................................ 17 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Animal breeders......................................................... 1 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Graders and sorters, agricultural products........................ 108 410 70 396 37 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous agricultural workers................................. 560 426 81 350 478 444 78.8

Fishers and related fishing workers................................. 8 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Hunters and trappers................................................... 2 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Forest and conservation workers.................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Logging workers....................................................... 37 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 36 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Construction and extraction occupations........................... 5,102 740 98 723 5,004 741 97.6

First-line supervisors of construction trades

 and extraction workers............................................. 488 1,019 13 ( 1

 ) 475 1,018 ( 2 )

Boilermakers............................................................ 23 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 23 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Brickmasons, blockmasons, and stonemasons.................. 94 641 0 ( 1

 ) 94 641 ( 2 )

Carpenters............................................................... 750 675 7 ( 1

 ) 743 673 ( 2 )

Carpet, floor, and tile installers and finishers..................... 84 599 1 ( 1

 ) 83 603 ( 2 )

Cement masons, concrete finishers, and 

 terrazzo workers...................................................... 53 601 0 ( 1

 ) 53 601 ( 2 )

Construction laborers................................................... 937 607 24 ( 1

 ) 913 609 ( 2 )

Paving, surfacing, and tamping equipment 

 operators............................................................... 15 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 69

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Pile-driver operators.................................................. 2 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Operating engineers and other construction 

 equipment operators................................................ 321 $805 5 ( 1

 ) 316 $805 ( 2 )

Drywall installers, ceiling tile installers, and tapers............ 94 568 0 ( 1

 ) 94 567 ( 2 )

Electricians............................................................... 574 932 11 ( 1

 ) 563 929 ( 2 )

Glaziers.................................................................. 38 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 38 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Insulation workers...................................................... 33 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 32 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Painters, construction and maintenance........................... 261 568 8 ( 1

 ) 252 559 ( 2 )

Paperhangers............................................................ 2 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Pipelayers, plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters............ 436 878 6 ( 1

 ) 430 876 ( 2 )

Plasterers and stucco masons....................................... 14 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Reinforcing iron and rebar workers................................. 8 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Roofers..................................................................... 123 533 2 ( 1

 ) 121 524 ( 2 )

Sheet metal workers.................................................. 103 885 3 ( 1

 ) 100 880 ( 2 )

Structural iron and steel workers.................................... 60 759 1 ( 1

 ) 59 767 ( 2 )

Solar photovoltaic installers......................................... 4 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Helpers, construction trades.......................................... 42 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 40 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Construction and building inspectors.............................. 87 932 4 ( 1

 ) 83 940 ( 2 )

Elevator installers and repairers.................................... 31 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 29 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Fence erectors......................................................... 26 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 26 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Hazardous materials removal workers........................... 28 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 23 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Highway maintenance workers.................................... 98 683 1 ( 1

 ) 97 683 ( 2 )

Rail-track laying and maintenance equipment

 operators.................................................................... 7 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Septic tank servicers and sewer pipe cleaners.................. 6 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous construction and related workers............... 24 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 23 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Derrick, rotary drill, and service unit operators,

 oil, gas, and mining................................................... 32 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 32 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Earth drillers, except oil and gas.................................... 28 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 28 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Explosives workers, ordnance handling experts,

 and blasters........................................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Mining machine operators............................................... 65 997 0 ( 1

 ) 65 996 ( 2 )

Roof bolters, mining................................................... 4 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Roustabouts, oil and gas............................................ 16 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 15 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Helpers—extraction workers....................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Other extraction workers............................................ 84 985 1 ( 1

 ) 83 981 ( 2 )

Installation, maintenance, and repair occupations............... 4,088 808 125 $757 3,963 809 93.6

First-line supervisors of mechanics,

 installers, and repairers............................................. 280 936 17 ( 1

 ) 262 934 ( 2 )

Computer, automated teller, and office machine 

 repairers.................................................................. 218 854 26 ( 1

 ) 193 880 ( 2 )

Radio and telecommunications equipment 

 installers and repairers............................................. 142 885 10 ( 1

 ) 132 898 ( 2 )

Avionics technicians................................................... 10 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Electric motor, power tool, and related repairers............... 37 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 37 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Electrical and electronics installers and

 repairers, transportation equipment.............................. 5 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Electrical and electronics repairers, industrial

 and utility............................................................... 10 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 10 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Electronic equipment installers and repairers,

 motor vehicles.............................................................. 15 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Electronic home entertainment equipment

 installers and repairers............................................. 44 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 44 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Women Men

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Occupation

Both sexes

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings
70 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Security and fire alarm systems installers........................ 34 (

 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) 34 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Aircraft mechanics and service technicians..................... 144 $993 2 ( 1

 ) 142 $986 ( 2 )

Automotive body and related repairers........................... 120 619 2 ( 1

 ) 119 618 ( 2 )

Automotive glass installers and repairers........................ 17 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Automotive service technicians and mechanics............... 691 702 7 ( 1

 ) 684 704 ( 2 )

Bus and truck mechanics and diesel engine 

 specialists............................................................... 271 843 1 ( 1

 ) 271 844 ( 2 )

Heavy vehicle and mobile equipment service 

 technicians and mechanics.......................................... 174 941 3 ( 1

 ) 171 942 ( 2 )

Small engine mechanics............................................. 42 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 41 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous vehicle and mobile equipment

 mechanics, installers, and repairers.............................. 67 493 1 ( 1

 ) 66 496 ( 2 )

Control and valve installers and repairers........................ 25 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 24 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Heating, air conditioning, and refrigeration 

 mechanics and installers........................................... 280 827 4 ( 1

 ) 276 829 ( 2 )

Home appliance repairers........................................... 35 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 33 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Industrial and refractory machinery mechanics.................. 424 867 10 ( 1

 ) 415 871 ( 2 )

Maintenance and repair workers, general........................ 371 731 6 ( 1

 ) 364 732 ( 2 )

Maintenance workers, machinery................................. 25 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 22 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Millwrights............................................................... 50 938 3 ( 1

 ) 46 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Electrical power-line installers and repairers..................... 117 988 2 ( 1

 ) 115 990 ( 2 )

Telecommunications line installers and repairers............... 171 915 8 ( 1

 ) 164 910 ( 2 )

Precision instrument and equipment repairers.................. 44 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 38 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Wind turbine service technicians.................................... 1 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Coin, vending, and amusement machine 

 servicers and repairers.............................................. 23 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 22 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Commercial divers...................................................... 0 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Locksmiths and safe repairers....................................... 17 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Manufactured building and mobile home installers............ 4 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 4 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Riggers.................................................................. 10 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 10 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Signal and track switch repairers.................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Helpers—installation, maintenance, and repair

 workers.................................................................. 20 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 20 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Other installation, maintenance, and repair

 workers.................................................................. 147 677 5 ( 1

 ) 142 671 ( 2 )

Production, transportation, and material moving 

 occupations............................................................ 13,842 624 2,773 $493 11,069 675 73.0

Production occupations................................................ 7,427 627 1,930 496 5,497 695 71.4

First-line supervisors of production 

 and operating workers................................................ 734 917 132 674 601 954 70.6

Aircraft structure, surfaces, rigging, and systems

 assemblers............................................................ 22 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Electrical, electronics, and electromechanical 

 assemblers............................................................ 155 564 78 520 77 620 83.9

Engine and other machine assemblers................................ 32 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 26 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Structural metal fabricators and fitters........................... 19 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 17 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Miscellaneous assemblers and fabricators..................... 833 557 320 499 513 606 82.3

Bakers.................................................................... 121 474 55 450 65 501 89.8

Butchers and other meat, poultry, and fish

 processing workers................................................... 273 507 64 417 208 537 77.7

Food and tobacco roasting, baking, and drying

 machine operators and tenders.................................... 10 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 71

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Food batchmakers.................................................... 59 $512 32 (

 1 ) 27 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Food cooking machine operators and tenders.................. 13 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 9 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Food processing workers, all other................................. 90 529 23 ( 1

 ) 67 $549 ( 2 )

Computer control programmers and operators.................. 67 710 5 ( 1

 ) 62 728 ( 2 )

Extruding and drawing machine setters,

 operators, and tenders, metal and plastic..................... 10 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Forging machine setters, operators, and tenders,

 metal and plastic..................................................... 10 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 10 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Rolling machine setters, operators, and tenders,

 metal and plastic...................................................... 7 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Cutting, punching, and press machine setters, 

 operators, and tenders, metal and plastic..................... 80 556 15 ( 1

 ) 65 575 ( 2 )

Drilling and boring machine tool setters, 

 operators, and tenders, metal and plastic...................... 3 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Grinding, lapping, polishing, and buffing machine 

 tool setters, operators, and tenders, metal and

 plastic..................................................................... 53 588 5 ( 1

 ) 48 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Lathe and turning machine tool setters, operators,

 and tenders, metal and plastic.................................... 15 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 11 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Milling and planing machine setters, operators,

 and tenders, metal and plastic.................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Machinists............................................................... 381 760 16 ( 1

 ) 366 762 ( 2 )

Metal furnace operators, tenders, pourers, and casters...... 12 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Model makers and patternmakers, metal and

 plastic..................................................................... 7 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Molders and molding machine setters, 

 operators, and tenders, metal and plastic..................... 38 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 30 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Multiple machine tool setters, operators, and

 tenders, metal and plastic.......................................... 7 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Tool and die makers................................................... 51 1,005 0 ( 1

 ) 51 1,005 ( 2 )

Welding, soldering, and brazing workers........................ 551 712 26 ( 1

 ) 525 722 ( 2 )

Heat treating equipment setters, operators, and

 tenders, metal and plastic.......................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Layout workers, metal and plastic................................. 6 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Plating and coating machine setters, operators,

 and tenders, metal and plastic.................................... 16 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 13 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Tool grinders, filers, and sharpeners.............................. 2 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Metal workers and plastic workers, all other..................... 374 618 70 $544 304 645 84.3

Prepress technicians and workers................................. 23 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Printing press operators............................................. 167 628 28 ( 1

 ) 139 666 ( 2 )

Print binding and finishing workers................................. 17 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Laundry and dry-cleaning workers.................................. 123 410 66 359 57 462 77.7

Pressers, textile, garment, and related materials............... 41 ( 1

 ) 29 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Sewing machine operators.......................................... 127 385 86 369 41 ( 1

 ) ( 2 )

Shoe and leather workers and repairers........................... 5 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Shoe machine operators and tenders.............................. 10 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Tailors, dressmakers, and sewers................................. 42 ( 1

 ) 30 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Textile bleaching and dyeing machine operators

 and tenders............................................................ 5 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Textile cutting machine setters, operators, and

 tenders.................................................................. 9 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Textile knitting and weaving machine setters,

 operators, and tenders............................................. 6 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings
72 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Textile winding, twisting, and drawing out 

 machine setters, operators, and tenders........................ 15 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 10 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Extruding and forming machine setters, 

 operators, and tenders, synthetic and glass fibers............ 2 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Fabric and apparel patternmakers................................. 1 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Upholsterers............................................................ 14 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Textile, apparel, and furnishings workers, all other............ 16 ( 1

 ) 10 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Cabinetmakers and bench carpenters........................... 35 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 34 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Furniture finishers...................................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Model makers and patternmakers, wood........................ 0 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 0 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Sawing machine setters, operators, and 

 tenders, wood.......................................................... 26 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 25 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Woodworking machine setters, operators, and

 tenders, except sawing.................................................. 21 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 18 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Woodworkers, all other..................................................... 12 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Power plant operators, distributors, and

 dispatchers............................................................ 43 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 41 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Stationary engineers and boiler operators........................ 105 $830 6 ( 1

 ) 99 $831 ( 2 )

Water and wastewater treatment plant and 

 system operators...................................................... 70 862 3 ( 1

 ) 67 870 ( 2 )

Miscellaneous plant and system operators..................... 35 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 31 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Chemical processing machine setters, 

 operators, and tenders............................................. 72 851 10 ( 1

 ) 62 890 ( 2 )

Crushing, grinding, polishing, mixing, and 

 blending workers...................................................... 86 628 12 ( 1

 ) 74 651 ( 2 )

Cutting workers........................................................ 60 524 11 ( 1

 ) 49 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Extruding, forming, pressing, and compacting

 machine setters, operators, and tenders........................ 38 ( 1

 ) 10 ( 1 ) 28 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Furnace, kiln, oven, drier, and kettle operators

 and tenders............................................................ 14 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Inspectors, testers, sorters, samplers, and

 weighers................................................................ 621 729 206 $570 416 824 69.2

Jewelers and precious stone and metal workers............... 22 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 13 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Medical, dental, and ophthalmic laboratory 

 technicians............................................................... 76 585 42 ( 1

 ) 35 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Packaging and filling machine operators and 

 tenders.................................................................. 242 481 131 431 111 553 77.9

Painting workers...................................................... 135 626 24 ( 1

 ) 111 654 ( 2 )

Photographic process workers and processing 

 machine operators................................................... 39 ( 1

 ) 15 ( 1 ) 24 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Semiconductor processors.......................................... 6 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 2 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Adhesive bonding machine operators and tenders............ 8 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 6 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Cleaning, washing, and metal pickling

 equipment operators and tenders................................. 8 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 7 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Cooling and freezing equipment operators and

 tenders.................................................................. 2 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Etchers and engravers................................................ 4 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Molders, shapers, and casters, except metal

 and plastic............................................................... 26 ( 1

 ) 5 ( 1 ) 21 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Paper goods machine setters, operators, and

 tenders.................................................................. 32 ( 1

 ) 9 ( 1 ) 23 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Tire builders............................................................... 17 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Helpers—production workers....................................... 40 ( 1

 ) 13 ( 1 ) 26 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

See footnotes at end of table.

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 73

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 18. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by detailed occupation and gender,

2012 annual averages (continued)

Production workers, all other....................................... 849 $584 223 $504 626 $619 81.4

Transportation and material moving occupations.................. 6,415 621 843 487 5,572 650 74.9

Supervisors, transportation and material moving 

 workers.................................................................. 189 812 42 ( 1

 ) 146 873 ( 2 )

Aircraft pilots and flight engineers................................. 90 1,440 4 ( 1

 ) 86 1,444 ( 2 )

Air traffic controllers and airfield operations

 specialists............................................................. 47 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 44 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

 Flight attendants...................................................... 59 775 42 ( 1

 ) 16 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Ambulance drivers and attendants, except

 emergency medical technicians................................... 16 ( 1

 ) 3 ( 1 ) 13 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Bus drivers............................................................... 302 601 126 516 177 652 79.1

Driver/sales workers and truck drivers........................... 2,533 730 101 537 2,433 736 73.0

Taxi drivers and chauffeurs......................................... 183 554 22 ( 1

 ) 161 572 ( 2 )

Motor vehicle operators, all other.................................... 35 ( 1

 ) 7 ( 1 ) 28 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Locomotive engineers and operators.............................. 44 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 42 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Railroad brake, signal, and switch operators..................... 9 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 9 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Railroad conductors and yardmasters........................... 46 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 45 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Subway, streetcar, and other rail transportation

 workers.................................................................. 12 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 12 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Sailors and marine oilers............................................. 15 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 14 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Ship and boat captains and operators........................... 29 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 28 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Ship engineers......................................................... 5 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Bridge and lock tenders................................................ 8 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Parking lot attendants................................................ 50 404 5 ( 1

 ) 45 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Automotive and watercraft service attendants.................. 67 428 4 ( 1

 ) 63 453 ( 2 )

Transportation inspectors............................................. 29 ( 1

 ) 4 ( 1 ) 25 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Transportation attendants, except flight attendants............ 23 ( 1

 ) 15 ( 1 ) 8 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Other transportation workers....................................... 14 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 13 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Conveyor operators and tenders.................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 2 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Crane and tower operators.......................................... 61 753 3 ( 1

 ) 58 777 ( 2 )

Dredge, excavating, and loading machine

 operators............................................................... 32 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 31 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Hoist and winch operators............................................. 5 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 5 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Industrial truck and tractor operators.............................. 498 562 31 ( 1

 ) 467 566 ( 2 )

Cleaners of vehicles and equipment.............................. 217 425 30 ( 1

 ) 187 431 ( 2 )

Laborers and freight, stock, and material movers, 

 hand..................................................................... 1,322 510 218 476 1,103 519 91.7

Machine feeders and offbearers..................................... 26 ( 1

 ) 8 ( 1 ) 18 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Packers and packagers, hand....................................... 306 404 160 394 146 426 92.5

Pumping station operators.......................................... 21 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 20 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Refuse and recyclable material collectors........................ 75 501 3 ( 1

 ) 71 497 ( 2 )

Mine shuttle car operators............................................. 1 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 1 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Tank car, truck, and ship loaders.................................... 3 ( 1

 ) 0 ( 1 ) 3 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

Material moving workers, all other................................. 40 ( 1

 ) 1 ( 1 ) 39 ( 1 ) ( 2 )

1

 Data not shown where the employment base is less than 50,000.

2 Data not shown where the employment base for either the numerator or denominator is less than 50,000.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Median

weekly

earnings

Occupation

Both sexes Women Men Women's

earnings as 

a

percentage

of men's

Number of 

workers

(thousands)

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed

Median

weekly

earnings

Total

employed
74 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 19. Median usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers, by industry and gender, 

2012 annual averages

 Total, 16 years and older.................................................... 102,749 $768 45,462 $691 57,286 $854 80.9

Agriculture and related industries ............................................................................ 1,018 480 196 443 822 489 90.6

Mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction ................................................................................................... 899 1,112 112 922 787 1,146 80.5

Construction ......................................................................................... 5,967 772 482 760 5,485 774 98.2

Manufacturing ....................................................................................... 13,287 798 3,675 653 9,612 866 75.4

Durable goods .................................................................................... 8,496 829 2,080 699 6,417 888 78.7

Nondurable goods .............................................................................. 4,790 737 1,595 594 3,195 821 72.4

Wholesale and retail trade .................................................................... 13,310 631 5,198 544 8,112 715 76.1

Wholesale trade .................................................................................. 3,088 823 851 715 2,237 872 82.0

Retail trade ......................................................................................... 10,222 593 4,347 515 5,875 660 78.0

Transportation and utilities ................................................................... 6,011 868 1,323 762 4,688 899 84.8

Transportation and warehousing ........................................................ 4,858 820 1,065 736 3,793 857 85.9

Utilities ................................................................................................ 1,153 1,036 259 885 894 1,105 80.1

Information ......................................................................................... 2,395 970 886 841 1,509 1,079 77.9

Financial activities ................................................................................ 7,608 889 4,131 759 3,477 1,121 67.7

Finance and insurance ....................................................................... 5,878 942 3,368 769 2,510 1,288 59.7

Real estate and rental and leasing ..................................................... 1,730 733 763 711 967 751 94.7

Professional and business services ..................................................... 11,299 912 4,451 783 6,848 1,013 77.3

Professional and technical services ................................................... 7,012 1,166 2,915 939 4,097 1,389 67.6

Management, administrative, and waste

 services.................................................................4,287 588 1,536 573 2,751 596 96.1

Education and health services .............................................................. 23,614 793 17,290 745 6,325 963 77.4

Educational services .......................................................................... 9,722 885 6,567 840 3,155 997 84.3

Health care and social assistance ..................................................... 13,892 728 10,723 686 3,170 925 74.2

Leisure and hospitality .......................................................................... 6,994 485 3,167 428 3,828 518 82.6

Arts, entertainment, and recreation ................................................... 1,542 641 598 589 944 693 85.0

Accomodation and food services ....................................................... 5,452 447 2,568 408 2,884 486 84.0

Other services ...................................................................................... 4,088 622 1,781 518 2,308 722 71.7

Other services, except private households ........................................ 3,743 649 1,476 558 2,267 725 77.0

Private households ............................................................................ 346 410 305 406 41 (

1

) (1)

Public administration...................................................................................... 6,258 928 2,770 820 3,488 1,041 78.8

Total 

employed

Median 

weekly 

earnings

Industry

Total Women Men Women's 

earnings as 

a 

percentage 

of men's

Total 

employed

Median 

weekly 

earnings

Total 

employed

Median 

weekly 

earnings

1 Data not shown where the employment base is less than 50,000.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

71
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 75

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 20. Employed persons, by full- and part-time status and gender, 1970–2012 annual averages 

(Numbers in thousands)

Total employed Usually full time1 Usually part time2 

Percentage 

usually

full time

Percentage usually

part time

1970 ..........................78,678 66,753 11,925 84.8 15.2

1971 ....................................... 79,367 66,973 12,393 84.4 15.6

1972 ..............................82,153 69,214 12,939 84.3 15.7

1973 ..........................85,064 71,803 13,262 84.4 15.6

1974 ......................... 86,794 73,093 13,701 84.2 15.8

1975 ..........................85,846 71,586 14,260 83.4 16.6

1976 ..........................88,752 73,964 14,788 83.3 16.7

1977 ......................... 92,017 76,625 15,391 83.3 16.7

1978 ......................... 96,048 80,193 15,855 83.5 16.5

1979 ................................... 98,824 82,654 16,171 83.6 16.4

1980 ....................... 99,303 82,562 16,740 83.1 16.9

1981 ........................... 100,397 83,243 17,154 82.9 17.1

1982 ....................... 99,526 81,421 18,106 81.8 18.2

1983 ............................ 100,834 82,322 18,511 81.6 18.4

1984 .........................105,005 86,544 18,462 82.4 17.6

1985 ................... 107,150 88,534 18,615 82.6 17.4

1986 .................. 109,597 90,529 19,069 82.6 17.4

1987 .................... 112,440 92,957 19,483 82.7 17.3

1988 ...........................114,968 95,214 19,754 82.8 17.2

1989 ................................ 117,342 97,369 19,973 83.0 17.0

1990 .................. 118,793 98,666 20,128 83.1 16.9

1991 ...........................117,718 97,190 20,528 82.6 17.4

1992 ................... 118,492 97,664 20,828 82.4 17.6

1993 ............................. 120,259 99,114 21,145 82.4 17.6

1994 .................. 123,060 99,772 23,288 81.1 18.9

1995 ................... 124,900 101,679 23,220 81.4 18.6

1996 ..........................126,708 103,537 23,170 81.7 18.3

1997 .................. 129,558 106,334 23,224 82.1 17.9

1998 .................. 131,463 108,202 23,261 82.3 17.7

1999 ................... 133,488 110,302 23,186 82.6 17.4

2000 ............................ 136,891 113,846 23,044 83.2 16.8

2001 ........................... 136,933 113,573 23,361 82.9 17.1

2002 ....................... 136,485 112,700 23,785 82.6 17.4

2003 ....................... 137,736 113,324 24,412 82.3 17.7

2004 ....................... 139,252 114,518 24,734 82.2 17.8

2005 ................ 141,730 117,016 24,714 82.6 17.4

2006 ....................................... 144,427 119,688 24,739 82.9 17.1

2007 ....................................... 146,047 121,091 24,956 82.9 17.1

2008 ....................... 145,362 120,030 25,332 82.6 17.4

2009 ....................... 139,877 112,634 27,244 80.5 19.5

2010 ....................... 139,064 111,714 27,350 80.3 19.7

2011 ....................... 139,869 112,556 27,313 80.5 19.5

2012 ....................... 142,469 114,809 27,661 80.6 19.4

 See footnotes at end of table.

Year

Total

72
76 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 20. Employed persons, by full- and part-time status and gender, 1970–2012 annual 

averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Total employed Usually full time1 Usually part time2 

Percentage 

usually

full time

Percentage usually

part time

1970 ..........................29,688 21,929 7,758 73.9 26.1 

1971 ....................................... 29,976 21,950 8,026 73.2 26.8 

1972 ..............................31,257 22,842 8,416 73.1 26.9 

1973 ..........................32,715 23,960 8,756 73.2 26.8 

1974 ......................... 33,769 24,714 9,055 73.2 26.8 

1975 ..........................33,989 24,598 9,391 72.4 27.6 

1976 ..........................35,615 25,814 9,799 72.5 27.5 

1977 ......................... 37,289 27,076 10,213 72.6 27.4 

1978 ......................... 39,569 28,912 10,658 73.1 26.9 

1979 ................................... 41,217 30,227 10,990 73.3 26.7 

1980 ....................... 42,117 30,845 11,270 73.2 26.8 

1981 ...........................43,000 31,337 11,664 72.9 27.1 

1982 ....................... 43,256 31,086 12,170 71.9 28.1 

1983 ............................44,047 31,679 12,367 71.9 28.1 

1984 ......................... 45,915 33,473 12,441 72.9 27.1 

1985 ................... 47,259 34,672 12,587 73.4 26.6 

1986 .................. 48,706 35,845 12,862 73.6 26.4 

1987 .................... 50,334 37,210 13,124 73.9 26.1 

1988 ...........................51,696 38,398 13,298 74.3 25.7 

1989 ................................ 53,027 39,484 13,544 74.5 25.5 

1990 .................. 53,689 40,165 13,524 74.8 25.2 

1991 ...........................53,496 39,783 13,713 74.4 25.6 

1992 ................... 54,052 40,301 13,751 74.6 25.4 

1993 ............................. 54,910 40,991 13,919 74.7 25.3 

1994 .................. 56,610 40,940 15,670 72.3 27.7 

1995 ................... 57,523 41,743 15,779 72.6 27.4 

1996 ..........................58,501 42,776 15,725 73.1 26.9 

1997 .................. 59,873 44,076 15,797 73.6 26.4 

1998 .................. 60,771 45,014 15,757 74.1 25.9 

1999 ................... 62,042 46,372 15,670 74.7 25.3 

2000 ............................63,586 47,916 15,670 75.4 24.6 

2001 ...........................63,737 47,950 15,788 75.2 24.8 

2002 ....................... 63,582 47,494 16,088 74.7 25.3 

2003 ....................... 64,404 47,946 16,459 74.4 25.6 

2004 ....................... 64,728 48,073 16,654 74.3 25.7 

2005 ................ 65,757 49,158 16,598 74.8 25.2 

2006 ....................................... 66,925 50,380 16,545 75.3 24.7 

2007 ....................................... 67,792 51,056 16,736 75.3 24.7 

2008 ....................... 67,876 51,178 16,698 75.4 24.6 

2009 ....................... 66,208 48,683 17,525 73.5 26.5 

2010 ....................... 65,705 48,214 17,491 73.4 26.6 

2011 ....................... 65,579 48,224 17,355 73.5 26.5 

2012 ....................... 66,914 49,331 17,583 73.7 26.3 

 See footnotes at end of table.

Year

Women

73
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 77

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 20. Employed persons, by full- and part-time status and gender, 1970–2012 annual 

averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Total employed Usually full time1 Usually part time2 

Percentage 

usually

full time

Percentage usually

part time

1970 ..........................48,990 44,825 4,166 91.5 8.5

1971 ....................................... 49,390 45,023 4,367 91.2 8.8

1972 ..............................50,896 46,373 4,523 91.1 8.9

1973 ..........................52,349 47,843 4,507 91.4 8.6

1974 ......................... 53,024 48,378 4,646 91.2 8.8

1975 ..........................51,857 46,988 4,870 90.6 9.4

1976 ..........................53,138 48,150 4,988 90.6 9.4

1977 ......................... 54,728 49,551 5,178 90.5 9.5

1978 ......................... 56,479 51,281 5,198 90.8 9.2

1979 ................................... 57,607 52,427 5,180 91.0 9.0

1980 ....................... 57,186 51,717 5,471 90.4 9.6

1981 ...........................57,397 51,906 5,492 90.4 9.6

1982 ....................... 56,271 50,334 5,937 89.4 10.6

1983 ............................56,787 50,643 6,145 89.2 10.8

1984 ......................... 59,091 53,070 6,020 89.8 10.2

1985 ................... 59,891 53,862 6,028 89.9 10.1

1986 .................. 60,892 54,685 6,207 89.8 10.2

1987 .................... 62,107 55,746 6,360 89.8 10.2

1988 ...........................63,273 56,816 6,457 89.8 10.2

1989 ................................ 64,315 57,885 6,430 90.0 10.0

1990 .................. 65,104 58,501 6,604 89.9 10.1

1991 ...........................64,223 57,407 6,815 89.4 10.6

1992 ................... 64,440 57,363 7,077 89.0 11.0

1993 ............................. 65,349 58,123 7,226 88.9 11.1

1994 .................. 66,450 58,832 7,617 88.5 11.5

1995 ................... 67,377 59,936 7,441 89.0 11.0

1996 ..........................68,207 60,762 7,445 89.1 10.9

1997 .................. 69,685 62,258 7,427 89.3 10.7

1998 .................. 70,693 63,189 7,504 89.4 10.6

1999 ................... 71,446 63,930 7,516 89.5 10.5

2000 ............................73,305 65,930 7,375 89.9 10.1

2001 ...........................73,196 65,623 7,573 89.7 10.3

2002 ....................... 72,903 65,205 7,697 89.4 10.6

2003 ....................... 73,332 65,379 7,953 89.2 10.8

2004 ....................... 74,524 66,444 8,080 89.2 10.8

2005 ................ 75,973 67,858 8,115 89.3 10.7

2006 ....................................... 77,502 69,307 8,194 89.4 10.6

2007 ....................................... 78,254 70,035 8,220 89.5 10.5

2008 ....................... 77,486 68,853 8,634 88.9 11.1

2009 ....................... 73,670 63,951 9,719 86.8 13.2

 See footnotes at end of table.

Year

Men

74
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 20. Employed persons, by full- and part-time status and gender, 1970–2012 annual 

averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Total employed Usually full time1 Usually part time2 

Percentage 

usually

full time

Percentage usually

part time

2010 ....................... 73,359 63,501 9,858 86.6 13.4

2011 ....................... 74,290 64,333 9,957 86.6 13.4

2012 ....................... 75,555 65,477 10,078 86.7 13.3

Year

Men

1 Prior to 1994, total includes persons who usually work part time but who worked 35 or more hours during the 

reference week; for 1994 and later years, such persons were included in the part-time total. In all years, the total 

includes those who usually work full time but who worked less than 35 hours during the reference week for 

noneconomic reasons, such as illness or holiday, and those absent from work for the entire reference week who 

usually work full time. These groups are not shown separately. 

2 For all years, total includes those who usually work less than 35 hours a week but who were absent from work for 

the entire reference week, and for 1994 and later years, those who worked 35 or more hours during the reference 

week. These groups are not shown separately.

Note: Revisions to population controls and other changes can affect the comparability of labor force levels over time. 

In recent years, for example, updated population controls have been introduced annually with the release of January 

data. Information about historical comparability is online at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#comp.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

75
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 21. Average weekly hours at work in all industries and in 

nonagricultural industries, by gender, 1976–2012 annual averages 

All industries Nonagricultural industries

Total Women Men Total Women Men

1976 ........... 38.7 34.1 41.7 38.4 34.1 41.4

1977 ........... 38.8 34.2 41.9 38.5 34.2 41.6

1978 .......... 39.0 34.5 42.1 38.7 34.4 41.8

1979 ........... 38.9 34.5 42.0 38.6 34.4 41.7

1980 ........... 38.5 34.5 41.5 38.3 34.4 41.2

1981 ........... 38.1 34.1 41.1 37.9 34.1 40.7

1982 ........... 38.0 34.1 40.9 37.7 34.0 40.6

1983 ........... 38.3 34.5 41.2 38.1 34.4 41.0

1984 .......... 38.8 34.9 41.8 38.6 34.9 41.5

1985 ........... 39.0 35.2 42.0 38.9 35.2 41.8

1986 .......... 39.1 35.4 42.1 38.9 35.3 41.9

1987 ........... 39.0 35.3 42.0 38.8 35.3 41.8

1988 ............39.4 35.7 42.4 39.3 35.7 42.2

1989 ........... 39.6 35.8 42.6 39.4 35.8 42.4

1990 ....... 39.4 35.8 42.3 39.3 35.8 42.1

1991 ........... 39.2 35.8 42.0 39.1 35.8 41.9

1992 ........... 38.9 35.6 41.7 38.8 35.6 41.6

1993 .......... 39.4 36.0 42.2 39.3 36.0 42.1

1994 .......... 39.2 35.5 42.2 39.1 35.6 42.1

1995 .......... 39.3 35.6 42.3 39.2 35.7 42.2

1996 .......... 39.3 35.7 42.3 39.2 35.7 42.2

1997 .......... 39.5 36.0 42.4 39.4 36.0 42.3

1998 .......... 39.3 35.8 42.2 39.2 35.9 42.2

1999 .......... 39.6 36.2 42.4 39.5 36.2 42.4

2000 ........... 39.7 36.4 42.5 39.6 36.4 42.4

2001 ........... 39.2 36.1 41.9 39.2 36.1 41.8

2002 ........... 39.2 36.0 41.8 39.1 36.1 41.7

2003 ........... 39.0 35.9 41.7 39.0 35.9 41.6

2004 ........... 39.0 35.9 41.7 39.0 35.9 41.6

2005 ........ 39.2 36.1 41.8 39.1 36.1 41.7

2006 ............................... 39.2 36.2 41.8 39.2 36.2 41.7

2007 ............................... 39.2 36.1 41.7 39.1 36.1 41.6

2008 ........... 38.9 36.1 41.3 38.8 36.1 41.2

2009 ........... 37.9 35.3 40.2 37.8 35.3 40.1

2010 ........... 38.2 35.5 40.5 38.1 35.6 40.4

2011 ........... 38.3 35.6 40.6 38.2 35.6 40.6

2012 ........... 38.5 35.8 40.8 38.4 35.8 40.7

Year

Note: Revisions to population controls and other changes can affect the 

comparability of labor force levels over time. In recent years, for example, 

updated population controls have been introduced annually with the release of 

January data. Information about historical comparability is online at 

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

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 22. Work experience of the population, by gender and full- and part-time status, 

selected years, 1970–2011

(Percentage distribution)

`

Total

Total 

1970....................... 138,953 93,850 67.5 100.0 79.4 55.6 23.8 20.6 6.7 13.9 

1975....................... 153,180 102,603 67.0 100.0 78.9 54.3 24.6 21.2 7.5 13.7 

1980....................... 169,452 115,752 68.3 100.0 78.5 56.1 22.4 21.4 7.7 13.7 

1985....................... 179,944 123,466 68.6 100.0 78.2 58.7 19.5 21.9 8.3 13.6 

1990 ...........................189,238 132,562 70.1 100.0 78.8 60.4 18.4 21.3 8.7 12.6 

1995....................... 199,925 138,971 69.5 100.0 78.6 62.9 15.7 21.3 9.1 12.2 

2000 ...........................214,292 150,787 70.4 100.0 80.4 66.7 13.7 19.5 9.3 10.2 

2005.................................................. 227,975 154,322 67.7 100.0 80.3 67.5 12.8 19.7 10.0 9.7 

2006.................................................. 231,033 156,658 67.8 100.0 80.9 68.4 12.5 19.1 9.7 9.4 

2007.................................................. 232,995 157,653 67.7 100.0 80.9 68.4 12.5 19.1 9.8 9.3 

2008.................................................. 235,086 157,472 67.0 100.0 79.5 65.6 13.9 20.5 10.5 10.0 

2009.................................................. 237,158 153,929 64.9 100.0 78.3 64.0 14.3 21.7 11.3 10.4 

2010..................... 238,999 152.,320 63.7 100.0 78.2 64.7 13.5 21.8 11.2 10.6 

2011..................... 242,602 153.,479 63.3 100.0 78.6 65.8 12.8 21.4 11.2 10.2 

Women

1970....................... 73,657 38,809 52.7 100.0 67.9 40.7 27.2 32.2 10.1 22.1 

1975....................... 80,834 43,511 53.8 100.0 67.1 41.4 25.7 32.8 11.7 21.1 

1980....................... 89,259 51,492 57.7 100.0 67.7 44.7 23.0 32.3 11.9 20.4 

1985....................... 94,490 56,165 59.4 100.0 68.1 48.9 19.2 31.8 12.3 19.5 

1990 ........................... 98,970 61,494 62.1 100.0 69.8 51.5 18.3 30.2 12.8 17.4 

1995....................... 104,058 65,304 62.8 100.0 70.2 54.3 15.9 29.7 13.3 16.4 

2000 ............................111,440 71,341 64.0 100.0 72.9 58.4 14.5 27.1 13.4 13.7 

2005...................................................... 117,814 72,309 61.4 100.0 72.7 59.9 12.8 27.3 14.1 13.2 

2006.................................................. 119,300 73,527 61.6 100.0 73.0 60.7 12.3 27.0 14.1 12.9 

2007.................................................. 120,300 74,115 61.6 100.0 73.6 61.5 12.1 26.4 14.2 12.2 

2008.................................................. 121,328 74,363 61.3 100.0 72.2 59.3 12.9 27.8 15.0 12.8 

2009.................................................. 122,339 72,855 59.6 100.0 71.5 59.3 12.2 28.5 15.8 12.7 

2010.................................................. 123,012 71,980 58.5 100.0 71.5 59.4 12.1 28.5 15.6 12.9 

2011..................... 125,619 72.,976 58.1 100.0 71.7 59.8 11.9 28.3 15.7 12.6 

Men

1970....................... 65,296 55,041 84.3 100.0 87.6 66.1 21.5 12.4 4.4 8.0 

1975....................... 72,346 59,091 81.7 100.0 87.5 63.8 23.7 12.5 4.4 8.1 

1980....................... 80,193 64,260 80.1 100.0 87.2 65.2 22.0 12.8 4.4 8.4 

1985....................... 85,454 67,301 78.8 100.0 86.5 66.8 19.7 13.5 4.8 8.7 

1990 ........................... 90,269 71,068 78.7 100.0 86.4 68.0 18.4 13.5 5.1 8.4 

1995....................... 95,867 73,667 76.8 100.0 86.2 70.6 15.6 13.9 5.5 8.4 

2000 ..............................102,853 79,446 77.2 100.0 87.5 74.2 13.3 12.6 5.5 7.1 

2005.................................... 110,161 82,013 74.4 100.0 87.0 74.2 12.8 13.0 6.3 6.7 

2006.................................................. 111,733 83,131 74.4 100.0 87.8 75.2 12.6 12.2 5.7 6.5 

2007.................................................. 112,695 83,538 74.1 100.0 87.4 74.6 12.8 12.6 5.9 6.7 

2008.................................................. 113,758 83,109 73.1 100.0 86.0 71.2 14.8 14.0 6.5 7.5 

2009.................................................. 114,820 81,073 70.6 100.0 84.4 68.3 16.1 15.6 7.3 8.3 

2010.................................................. 115,986 80,341 69.3 100.0 84.3 69.4 14.9 15.7 7.3 8.4 

2011.................................................. 116,984 80,503 68.8 100.0 84.8 71.2 13.6 15.2 7.2 8.0 

Note: These data reflect work experience for the entire year. 

Source: Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 1971–2012, Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics. 

Population 

in 

thousands

Worked during the year Percent distribution by work experience

Total 

in 

thousands

Percentage 

of 

population

Usually work full time Usually work part time

Total 50 to 52

weeks

1 to 49

weeks Total 50 to 52weeks

1 to 49

weeks

77
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 23. Married-couple families, by number and relationship of earners, 1967–2011

(Numbers in thousands)

Married-couple families

Total Husband

only Wife only

Other

family

member

Total Husband

and wife

Husband

and other 

family

member

Wife and 

other

family

member

Husband

and wife 

are not 

earners

1967....... 43,292 2,943 16,490 15,429 716 345 23,859 18,888 4,639 – –

1968....... 43,842 2,888 16,375 15,310 730 335 24,579 19,743 4,522 – –

1969....... 44,436 3,022 16,268 15,133 797 339 25,145 20,327 4,517 – –

1970......... 44,832 3,252 16,117 14,931 867 320 25,464 20,510 4,622 – –

1971......... 45,939 3,471 16,847 15,502 1,004 340 25,621 20,641 4,651 – –

1972....... 46,594 3,632 16,787 15,387 1,003 398 26,175 21,279 4,553 – –

1973......... 47,185 4,027 16,080 14,547 1,110 423 27,078 22,152 4,535 – –

1974......... 47,438 4,325 15,795 14,122 1,216 457 27,319 22,451 4,442 – –

1975......... 47,878 4,943 16,217 14,343 1,394 481 26,717 22,338 3,861 – –

1976....... 48,150 4,962 15,630 13,690 1,424 516 27,559 23,104 3,829 – –

1977......... 48,131 5,177 15,119 13,153 1,456 512 27,835 23,474 3,812 – –

1978......... 48,532 5,226 14,456 12,434 1,509 513 28,850 24,655 3,609 – –

1979......... 49,132 5,559 13,912 11,934 1,499 480 29,660 25,595 3,476 – –

1980....... 49,316 5,903 13,900 11,621 1,707 573 29,513 25,557 3,380 – –

1981....... 49,669 6,213 13,832 11,524 1,680 628 29,624 25,729 3,212 – –

1982....... 49,947 6,427 14,235 11,575 2,048 613 29,285 25,387 3,149 – –

1983......... 50,134 6,549 13,692 11,100 1,944 647 29,893 26,119 2,996 – –

1984....... 50,395 6,630 12,952 10,472 1,852 628 30,814 27,035 2,891 – –

1985......... 50,978 6,693 12,961 10,406 1,897 658 31,324 27,787 2,764 – –

1986....... 51,574 6,731 12,565 9,984 1,917 664 32,278 28,811 2,730 – –

1987....... 51,847 6,741 12,435 9,787 1,946 702 32,671 29,369 2,576 – –

1988....... 52,149 6,754 11,876 9,463 1,777 636 33,519 30,536 2,303 532 148 

1989......... 52,385 6,812 11,748 9,212 1,840 695 33,825 30,879 2,373 435 138 

1990....... 52,241 6,770 11,630 9,107 1,826 698 33,841 30,829 2,369 479 164 

1991....... 52,549 7,091 11,523 8,873 1,993 657 33,935 31,049 2,161 527 197 

1992....... 53,254 7,256 11,977 9,114 2,145 718 34,021 31,268 1,940 624 199 

1993......... 53,248 7,282 11,842 8,745 2,411 687 34,123 31,302 2,051 614 156 

1994......... 53,929 7,227 11,774 8,719 2,374 681 34,928 32,125 2,048 603 151 

1995....... 53,621 7,278 11,739 8,821 2,253 664 34,604 32,061 1,878 539 127 

1996....... 53,654 7,148 11,556 8,671 2,214 671 34,950 32,406 1,899 522 123 

1997....... 54,362 7,289 11,728 8,792 2,302 634 35,345 32,764 1,853 569 158 

1998......... 54,829 7,257 12,279 9,198 2,419 662 35,293 32,810 1,726 616 141 

1999....... 55,352 7,163 12,328 9,093 2,595 640 35,861 33,360 1,815 519 167 

2000......... 56,643 7,463 12,717 9,515 2,601 600 36,463 33,892 1,865 566 139 

2001....... 56,798 7,666 12,907 9,621 2,698 588 36,224 33,696 1,898 501 129 

2002....... 57,362 7,803 13,487 10,109 2,818 560 36,071 33,547 1,845 558 121 

2003....... 57,767 8,043 14,051 10,469 3,026 557 35,673 33,220 1,789 548 117 

2004......... 58,045 7,996 14,352 10,821 2,991 540 35,696 33,131 1,832 610 123 

2005......... 58,225 8,017 14,292 10,603 3,096 593 35,915 33,380 1,818 597 121 

2006......... 59,050 8,091 14,545 10,693 3,261 591 36,414 33,880 1,752 639 142 

2007......... 58,490 7,914 14,264 10,392 3,265 608 36,312 33,718 1,847 597 149 

2008......... 59,183 8,083 14,622 10,567 3,435 620 36,477 33,930 1,739 650 158 

2009......... 58,516 8,466 15,035 10,565 3,849 621 35,015 32,327 1,789 739 160 

2010......... 58,135 8,626 15,406 10,880 3,935 591 34,103 31,425 1,783 722 172 

2011......... 59,071 9,152 15,972 11,301 4,015 656 33,947 31,212 1,833 739 163 

 See note at end of table.

Two or more earners 

Year

Total No

earners

One earner
82 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 23. Married-couple families, by number and relationship of earners, 1967–2011 (continued)

(Percent distribution)

Married-couple families

Total Husband

only Wife only

Other

family

member

Total Husband

and wife

Husband

and other 

family

member

Wife and 

other

family

member

Husband

and wife 

are not 

earners

1967........ 100.0 6.8 38.1 35.6 1.7 0.8 55.1 43.6 10.7 – –

1968......... 100.0 6.6 37.4 34.9 1.7 .8 56.1 45.0 10.3 – –

1969......... 100.0 6.8 36.6 34.1 1.8 .8 56.6 45.7 10.2 – –

1970......... 100.0 7.3 35.9 33.3 1.9 .7 56.8 45.7 10.3 – –

1971......... 100.0 7.6 36.7 33.7 2.2 .7 55.8 44.9 10.1 – –

1972......... 100.0 7.8 36.0 33.0 2.2 .9 56.2 45.7 9.8 – –

1973......... 100.0 8.5 34.1 30.8 2.4 .9 57.4 46.9 9.6 – –

1974......... 100.0 9.1 33.3 29.8 2.6 1.0 57.6 47.3 9.4 – –

1975......... 100.0 10.3 33.9 30.0 2.9 1.0 55.8 46.7 8.1 – –

1976......... 100.0 10.3 32.5 28.4 3.0 1.1 57.2 48.0 8.0 – –

1977....... 100.0 10.8 31.4 27.3 3.0 1.1 57.8 48.8 7.9 – –

1978....... 100.0 10.8 29.8 25.6 3.1 1.1 59.4 50.8 7.4 – –

1979....... 100.0 11.3 28.3 24.3 3.1 1.0 60.4 52.1 7.1 – –

1980....... 100.0 12.0 28.2 23.6 3.5 1.2 59.8 51.8 6.9 – –

1981....... 100.0 12.5 27.8 23.2 3.4 1.3 59.6 51.8 6.5 – –

1982....... 100.0 12.9 28.5 23.2 4.1 1.2 58.6 50.8 6.3 – –

1983....... 100.0 13.1 27.3 22.1 3.9 1.3 59.6 52.1 6.0 – –

1984....... 100.0 13.2 25.7 20.8 3.7 1.2 61.1 53.6 5.7 – –

1985....... 100.0 13.1 25.4 20.4 3.7 1.3 61.4 54.5 5.4 – –

1986....... 100.0 13.1 24.4 19.4 3.7 1.3 62.6 55.9 5.3 – –

1987....... 100.0 13.0 24.0 18.9 3.8 1.4 63.0 56.6 5.0 – –

1988....... 100.0 13.0 22.8 18.1 3.4 1.2 64.3 58.6 4.4 1.0 0.3 

1989....... 100.0 13.0 22.4 17.6 3.5 1.3 64.6 58.9 4.5 .8 .3 

1990......... 100.0 13.0 22.3 17.4 3.5 1.3 64.8 59.0 4.5 .9 .3 

1991......... 100.0 13.5 21.9 16.9 3.8 1.3 64.6 59.1 4.1 1.0 .4 

1992......... 100.0 13.6 22.5 17.1 4.0 1.3 63.9 58.7 3.6 1.2 .4 

1993......... 100.0 13.7 22.2 16.4 4.5 1.3 64.1 58.8 3.9 1.2 .3 

1994....... 100.0 13.4 21.8 16.2 4.4 1.3 64.8 59.6 3.8 1.1 .3 

1995....... 100.0 13.6 21.9 16.5 4.2 1.2 64.5 59.8 3.5 1.0 .2 

1996....... 100.0 13.3 21.5 16.2 4.1 1.3 65.1 60.4 3.5 1.0 .2 

1997....... 100.0 13.4 21.6 16.2 4.2 1.2 65.0 60.3 3.4 1.0 .3 

1998....... 100.0 13.2 22.4 16.8 4.4 1.2 64.4 59.8 3.1 1.1 .3 

1999....... 100.0 12.9 22.3 16.4 4.7 1.2 64.8 60.3 3.3 .9 .3 

2000......... 100.0 13.2 22.5 16.8 4.6 1.1 64.4 59.8 3.3 1.0 .2 

2001....... 100.0 13.5 22.7 16.9 4.8 1.0 63.8 59.3 3.3 .9 .2 

2002......... 100.0 13.6 23.5 17.6 4.9 1.0 62.9 58.5 3.2 1.0 .2 

2003....... 100.0 13.9 24.3 18.1 5.2 1.0 61.8 57.5 3.1 .9 .2 

2004......... 100.0 13.8 24.7 18.6 5.2 .9 61.5 57.1 3.2 1.0 .2 

2005......... 100.0 13.8 24.5 18.2 5.3 1.0 61.7 57.3 3.1 1.0 .2 

2006......... 100.0 13.7 24.6 18.1 5.5 1.0 61.7 57.4 3.0 1.1 .2 

2007......... 100.0 13.5 24.4 17.8 5.6 1.0 62.1 57.6 3.2 1.0 .3 

2008......... 100.0 13.7 24.7 17.9 5.8 1.0 61.6 57.3 2.9 1.1 .3 

2009......... 100.0 14.5 25.7 18.1 6.6 1.1 59.8 55.2 3.1 1.3 .3 

2010......... 100.0 14.8 26.5 18.7 6.8 1.0 58.7 54.1 3.1 1.2 .3 

2011......... 100.0 15.5 27.0 19.1 6.8 1.1 57.5 52.8 3.1 1.3 .3 

Note: Data reflect earnings and work experience for the entire year. Dash indicates data not available.

Source: Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 1968–2012, Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Year

Total No

earners

One earner Two or more earners 
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 83

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 24. Contribution of wives' earnings to 

family income, 1970–2011

1970....................................... 26.6

1971....................................... 27.5

1972......................................... 26.7

1973.......................................... 26.0

1974....................................... 25.4

1975....................................... 26.3

1976....................................... 26.4

1977....................................... 26.1

1978...................................... 26.1

1979...................................... 26.0

1980....................................... 26.7

1981....................................... 27.3

1982...................................... 28.4

1983....................................... 28.8

1984....................................... 28.4

1985....................................... 28.3

1986...................................... 29.0

1987...................................... 29.5

1988...................................... 29.6

1989....................................... 29.9

1990....................................... 30.7

1991....................................... 31.3

1992....................................... 32.4

1993....................................... 32.2

1994....................................... 31.9

1995....................................... 31.9

1996....................................... 32.6

1997....................................... 32.7

1998....................................... 32.8

1999....................................... 32.8

2000....................................... 33.5

2001....................................... 34.4

2002....................................... 34.8

2003....................................... 35.2

2004......................................................34.9

2005................................................................ 35.1

2006................................................................ 35.6

2007................................................................ 36.0

2008................................................................ 36.0

2009................................................................ 37.1

2010....................................... 37.6

2011....................................... 37.0

Year

Contribution to 

family income 

(median percentage)

Note: Data reflect earnings and work experience for 

the entire year.

Source: Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 

1971–2012, Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau 

of Labor Statistics. 

80
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 25. Wives who earn more than their husbands, 1987–2011

(Numbers in thousands)

Married-couple 

families in which 

wife (but not 

necessarily 

husband) have 

earnings from 

work

Wives who earn

more than 

their 

husbands 

Percentage of 

wives

who earn more 

than their 

husbands 

Married-couple 

families in which 

both wife and 

husband have 

earnings from 

work

Wives who earn

more than 

their

husbands 

Percentage of 

wives

who earn more 

than their 

husbands 

1987..........................32,025 7,581 23.7 29,755 5,311 17.8

1988............................ 32,810 7,827 23.9 30,503 5,520 18.1

1989..........................33,119 8,068 24.4 30,848 5,796 18.8

1990...........................33,093 8,221 24.8 30,794 5,923 19.2

1991............................. 33,516 8,983 26.8 30,998 6,465 20.9

1992..............................33,987 9,715 28.6 31,221 6,948 22.3

1993............................ 34,286 10,000 29.2 31,264 6,978 22.3

1994...........................35,066 10,184 29.0 32,091 7,209 22.5

1995............................. 34,819 9,822 28.2 32,030 7,033 22.0

1996.........................35,120 10,070 28.7 32,389 7,340 22.7

1997........................... 35,613 10,309 28.9 32,745 7,441 22.7

1998..............................35,806 10,467 29.2 32,782 7,443 22.7

1999................................ 36,454 10,548 28.9 33,340 7,434 22.3

2000............................... 37,037 11,070 29.9 33,873 7,906 23.3

2001............................36,864 11,329 30.7 33,665 8,130 24.1

2002............................36,905 11,765 31.9 33,531 8,391 25.0

2003........................... 36,761 11,923 32.4 33,189 8,351 25.2

2004........................ 36,710 11,985 32.6 33,110 8,386 25.3

2005................... 37,055 12,215 33.0 33,364 8,524 25.5

2006................... 37,733 12,601 33.4 33,838 8,707 25.7

2007................... 37,536 12,570 33.5 33,678 8,712 25.9

2008................... 37,988 13,104 34.5 33,905 9,020 26.6

2009................... 36,858 13,903 37.7 32,280 9,326 28.9

2010................... 36,024 13,798 38.3 31,373 9,147 29.2

2011................... 35,908 13,505 37.6 31,165 8,762 28.1

Year

Families in which wives have earnings 

but husbands may not1

Families in which both wives and husbands 

have earnings2

1 Includes families in which husband had no earnings from work. 2 Excludes families in which husband had no earnings from work.

Note: Data reflect earnings and work experience for the entire year. Earnings include self-employment earnings.

Source: Annual Social and Economic Supplements, 1988–2012, Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor 

Statistics.

81
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 26. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal 

minimum wage, by selected characteristics, 2012 annual averages 

(Numbers in thousands)

Age and gender

Total, 16 years and older........................................ 75,276 3,550 4.7 1,566 1,984

 16 to 24 years...................................................14,909 1,797 12.1 862 935

 25 years and older..............................................60,367 1,753 2.9 704 1,049

Women, 16 years and older.................................... 38,163 2,287 6.0 999 1,288

 16 to 24 years...................................................7,455 1,124 15.1 529 595

 25 years and older..............................................30,708 1,163 3.8 470 693

Men, 16 years and older.........................................37,113 1,263 3.4 567 696

 16 to 24 years...................................................7,454 673 9.0 333 340

 25 years and older..............................................29,659 591 2.0 235 356

Race and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

White........................................................................................................................... 59,180 2,760 4.7 1,185 1,575

 Women......................................................................................... 29,490 1,776 6.0 741 1,035

 Men........................................................................................ 29,691 984 3.3 444 540

Black or African American....................................10,049 533 5.3 277 256

 Women......................................................................................... 5,527 350 6.3 193 157

 Men........................................................................................ 4,522 183 4.0 85 98

Asian.......................................................................................................................................................... 3,403 117 3.4 48 69

 Women......................................................................................... 1,835 78 4.3 32 46

 Men........................................................................................ 1,568 39 2.5 16 23

Hispanic or Latino ............................................................................................................................................... 14,404 718 5.0 337 381

 Women...................................................... 6,290 423 6.7 210 213

 Men............................................................ 8,114 295 3.6 127 168

 See footnote at end of table.

Characteristic

Workers paid hourly rates

Total

Total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage

Total

Percentage of 

hourly paid 

workers

At prevailing 

federal 

minimum 

wage

Below 

prevailing 

federal 

minimum 

wage

82
86 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 26. Wage and salary workers paid hourly rates with earnings at or below the prevailing federal 

minimum wage, by selected characteristics, 2012 annual averages (continued) 

(Numbers in thousands)

Full- and part-time status1

Full-time workers.................................................54,745 1,261 2.3 501 760

 Women.............................................................24,693 770 3.1 304 466

 Men................................................................30,052 491 1.6 197 294

Part-time workers................................................20,411 2,286 11.2 1,063 1,223

 Women............................................................13,413 1,513 11.3 693 820

 Men................................................................ 6,998 772 11.0 370 402

 

Characteristic

Workers paid hourly rates

Total

Total at or below prevailing federal minimum wage

Total

Percentage of 

hourly paid 

workers

At prevailing 

federal 

minimum 

wage

Below 

prevailing 

federal 

minimum 

wage

1 Full-time workers and those who usually work 35 or more hours per week; part-time workers are those who usually work

less than 35 hours per week. Data will not sum to totals because full- or part-time status on the principal job is not

identifiable for a small number of multiple jobholders.

Note: The prevailing federal minimum wage was $7.25 an hour in 2012. Data are for wage and salary workers, excluding

the incorporated self-employed reflect a person's earnings on his or her sole or principal job, and pertain only to workers

who are paid hourly rates. Salaried workers and other nonhourly workers are not included. Estimates for the race groups

shown (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races.

People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

83
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 87

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 27. Working poor: Poverty status of people in the labor force for 27 weeks or more, by age, gender, race, 

and Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, 2011

(Numbers in thousands)

Total, 16 years and older............ 147,475 118,070 17,330 7,825 22,503 10,382 7,175 2,299 423 2,905

16 to 19 years..................... 3,263 2,612 400 113 613 370 271 76 9 109

20 to 24 years..................... 13,245 10,332 1,864 448 2,731 1,855 1,245 449 43 395

25 to 34 years..................... 31,907 24,688 4,096 1,934 6,236 2,989 2,048 705 99 922

35 to 44 years.................... 32,029 24,987 4,011 2,091 5,841 2,307 1,612 449 126 829

45 to 54 years..................... 34,625 28,049 3,969 1,774 4,467 1,765 1,185 409 100 427

55 to 64 years..................... 24,583 20,664 2,330 1,164 2,097 964 703 196 41 202

65 years and older............... 7,823 6,738 660 301 516 131 111 14 4 21

 Women, 16 years and older...... 69,127 54,025 9,341 3,700 9,566 5,527 3,612 1,461 199 1,309

16 to 19 years.................... 1,689 1,326 223 72 270 185 128 42 7 48

20 to 24 years..................... 6,400 4,895 1,001 200 1,185 1,091 709 290 22 195

25 to 34 years..................... 14,632 10,947 2,220 904 2,432 1,649 1,031 497 44 425

35 to 44 years..................... 14,741 11,137 2,172 965 2,473 1,157 755 280 55 355

45 to 54 years..................... 16,409 13,037 2,131 850 2,004 849 540 241 44 173

55 to 64 years.................... 11,897 9,846 1,259 586 962 505 371 102 22 97

65 years and older................ 3,358 2,836 336 123 241 91 77 8 4 17

 Men, 16 years and older............ 78,349 64,045 7,989 4,125 12,936 4,855 3,564 838 224 1,596

16 to 19 years..................... 1,574 1,286 177 41 343 185 143 34 2 62

20 to 24 years.................... 6,845 5,436 863 248 1,546 764 536 159 21 201

25 to 34 years..................... 17,276 13,741 1,876 1,030 3,805 1,340 1,017 208 55 497

35 to 44 years..................... 17,288 13,849 1,839 1,126 3,369 1,150 857 170 71 474

45 to 54 years..................... 18,215 15,012 1,839 924 2,464 916 645 168 56 254

55 to 64 years..................... 12,686 10,818 1,071 578 1,135 459 332 94 19 105

65 years and older............... 4,465 3,902 323 179 275 40 34 6 – 4

 See footnotes at end of table.

Age and gender

Total Below poverty level

Total White

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Hispanic 

or Latino 

ethnicity

Total White

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Hispanic 

or Latino 

ethnicity
88 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 27. Working poor: Poverty status of people in the labor 

force for 27 weeks or more, by age, gender, race, and Hispanic or 

Latino ethnicity, 2011 (continued)

Total, 16 years and older............ 7.0 6.1 13.3 5.4 12.9

16 to 19 years..................... 11.3 10.4 19.1 8.1 17.8

20 to 24 years..................... 14.0 12.0 24.1 9.7 14.5

25 to 34 years..................... 9.4 8.3 17.2 5.1 14.8

35 to 44 years.................... 7.2 6.5 11.2 6.0 14.2

45 to 54 years..................... 5.1 4.2 10.3 5.6 9.6

55 to 64 years..................... 3.9 3.4 8.4 3.5 9.6

65 years and older............... 1.7 1.6 2.1 1.4 4.1

 Women, 16 years and older...... 8.0 6.7 15.6 5.4 13.7

16 to 19 years.................... 10.9 9.7 18.8 ( 2

 ) 17.6

20 to 24 years..................... 17.0 14.5 29.0 11.2 16.4

25 to 34 years..................... 11.3 9.4 22.4 4.9 17.5

35 to 44 years..................... 7.8 6.8 12.9 5.7 14.3

45 to 54 years..................... 5.2 4.1 11.3 5.2 8.6

55 to 64 years.................... 4.2 3.8 8.1 3.8 10.0

65 years and older................ 2.7 2.7 2.5 3.1 7.1

 Men, 16 years and older............ 6.2 5.6 10.5 5.4 12.3

16 to 19 years..................... 11.8 11.1 19.4 ( 2

 ) 17.9

20 to 24 years.................... 11.2 9.9 18.4 8.4 13.0

25 to 34 years..................... 7.8 7.4 11.1 5.3 13.1

35 to 44 years..................... 6.7 6.2 9.2 6.3 14.1

45 to 54 years..................... 5.0 4.3 9.1 6.0 10.3

55 to 64 years..................... 3.6 3.1 8.8 3.2 9.3

65 years and older............... 0.9 0.9 1.7 0.1 1.4

Age and gender

Rate1

Total White

Black or 

African 

American

Asian

Hispanic 

or Latino 

ethnicity

1 Number below the poverty level as a percentage of the total in the labor force for

27 or more weeks. 2 Data not shown where labor force base is less than 80,000.

Note: These data reflect the earnings and work experience of the entire year.

Estimates for the race groups shown (White, Black or African American, and Asian)

do not sum to totals because data are not presented for all races. People whose

ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. Dash indcates

estimates round to zero.

Source: 2012 Annual Social and Economic Supplement, Current Population Survey,

U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 89

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 28. Displaced workers1, by age, gender, race, Hispanic or Latino ethnicity, and 

employment status in January 2012

Total

Total, 20 years and older............... 6,121 100.0 56.0 26.7 17.4

 20 to 24 years.............................. 128 100.0 61.7 22.4 15.9

 25 to 54 years.............................. 4,268 100.0 61.5 26.2 12.3

 55 to 64 years.............................. 1,338 100.0 47.4 28.1 24.5

 65 years and older........................ 386 100.0 23.5 27.5 49.0

Women, 20 years and older............ 2,681 100.0 49.7 30.8 19.5

 20 to 24 years.............................. 50 100.0 (

2

) (2) (2)

 25 to 54 years............................. 1,831 100.0 54.6 30.9 14.5

 55 to 64 years............................. 611 100.0 43.3 31.1 25.6

 65 years and older....................... 189 100.0 23.5 27.7 48.8

Men, 20 years and older................ 3,440 100.0 60.9 23.4 15.7

 20 to 24 years............................. 78 100.0 70.6 15.0 14.4

 25 to 54 years............................. 2,438 100.0 66.7 22.7 10.6

 55 to 64 years............................. 727 100.0 50.8 25.6 23.7

 65 years and older....................... 197 100.0 23.5 27.3 49.2

White

Total, 20 years and older................. 5,027 100.0 57.4 26.1 16.5

 Women.................................... 2,107 100.0 51.2 30.2 18.7

 Men........................................... 2,920 100.0 61.9 23.1 14.9

Black or African American

Total, 20 years and older............... 662 100.0 46.1 31.2 22.7

 Women..................................... 378 100.0 41.2 35.9 22.9

 Men........................................... 284 100.0 52.7 24.8 22.4

Asian

Total, 20 years and older............... 230 100.0 60.3 26.7 13.1

 Women..................................... 109 100.0 58.9 25.6 15.5

 Men......................................... 121 100.0 61.5 27.6 10.9

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity

Total, 20 years and older................ 901 100.0 54.9 27.7 17.4

 Women.................................... 307 100.0 44.3 31.6 24.1

 Men......................................... 594 100.0 60.3 25.7 14.0

Age, gender, race, and Hispanic or 

Latino ethnicity

Total (in 

thousands)

Percentage distribution by employment status

Total Employed Unemployed Not in labor 

force

1 Workers who had 3 or more years of tenure on a job they had lost or left between January 2009 and

December 2011 because of plant or company closings or relocations, insufficient work, or the abolishment

of their positions or shifts.

2 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.

Note: Estimates for the race groups shown (White, Black or African American, and Asian) do not sum to

totals because data are not presented for all races. People whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino

may be of any race.

Source: January 2012 Displaced Worker Supplement to the Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of

Labor Statistics.
90 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 29. Employed wage and salary workers, by age, gender, and median years of tenure with current 

employer for selected years, 1998–2012

Total, 16 years and older.......................... 3.6 3.5 3.7 4.0 4.0 4.1 4.4 4.6

 16 to 17 years..................................... .6 .6 .7 .7 .6 .7 .7 .7

 18 to 19 years..................................... .7 .7 .8 .8 .7 .8 1.0 .8

 20 to 24 years.....................................1.1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.3 1.3 1.5 1.3

 25 years and older..................................... 4.7 4.7 4.7 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.2 5.4

 25 to 34 years..................................... 2.7 2.6 2.7 2.9 2.9 2.7 3.1 3.2

 35 to 44 years..................................... 5.0 4.8 4.6 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.3

 45 to 54 years..................................... 8.1 8.2 7.6 7.7 7.3 7.6 7.8 7.8

 55 to 64 years..................................... 10.1 10.0 9.9 9.6 9.3 9.9 10.0 10.3

 65 years and older..................................... 7.8 9.4 8.6 9.0 8.8 10.2 9.9 10.3

Women, 16 years and older...................... 3.4 3.3 3.4 3.8 3.9 3.9 4.2 4.6

 16 to 17 years..................................... .6 .6 .7 .6 .6 .6 .7 .7

 18 to 19 years..................................... .7 .7 .8 .8 .7 .8 1.0 .8

 20 to 24 years.....................................1.1 1.0 1.1 1.3 1.2 1.3 1.5 1.3

 25 years and older..................................... 4.4 4.4 4.4 4.7 4.8 4.9 5.1 5.4

 25 to 34 years..................................... 2.5 2.5 2.5 2.8 2.8 2.6 3.0 3.1

 35 to 44 years..................................... 4.5 4.3 4.2 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.9 5.2

 45 to 54 years..................................... 7.2 7.3 6.5 6.4 6.7 7.0 7.1 7.3

 55 to 64 years..................................... 9.6 9.9 9.6 9.2 9.2 9.8 9.7 10.0

 65 years and older..................................... 8.7 9.7 9.4 9.6 9.5 9.9 10.1 10.5

Men, 16 years and older..........................3.8 3.8 3.9 4.1 4.1 4.2 4.6 4.7

 16 to 17 years..................................... .6 .6 .8 .7 .7 .7 .7 .6

 18 to 19 years..................................... .7 .7 .8 .8 .7 .8 1.0 .8

 20 to 24 years.....................................1.2 1.2 1.4 1.3 1.4 1.4 1.6 1.4

 25 years and older..................................... 4.9 4.9 4.9 5.1 5.0 5.2 5.3 5.5

 25 to 34 years..................................... 2.8 2.7 2.8 3.0 2.9 2.8 3.2 3.2

 35 to 44 years..................................... 5.5 5.3 5.0 5.2 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4

 45 to 54 years..................................... 9.4 9.5 9.1 9.6 8.1 8.2 8.5 8.5

 55 to 64 years..................................... 11.2 10.2 10.2 9.8 9.5 10.1 10.4 10.7

 65 years and older..................................... 7.1 9.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 10.4 9.7 10.2

January 

2012 Age and gender February 

1998

January 

2008

January 

2010

February 

2000

January 

2002

January 

2004

January 

2006

Source: 1998–2012 Displaced Worker Supplements to the Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 91

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 30. Labor force status of 2012 high school graduates and 2011–2012 high school dropouts 

16 to 24 years old, by school enrollment and gender, October 2012

(Numbers in thousands)

Total, 2012 high school graduates1

.......... 3,203 1,563 48.8 1,161 36.3 402 25.7 1,639

 Women................................................. 1,581 781 49.4 614 38.8 167 21.4 800

 Men.................................................... 1,622 783 48.2 547 33.7 235 30.0 840

 Enrolled in college.................................... 2,121 811 38.2 667 31.5 143 17.7 1,310

Percentage of total 2012 graduates......... 66.2 51.9 – 57.5 – 35.6 – 79.9

Women............................................... 1,127 469 41.6 395 35.1 74 15.7 658

Percentage of female 2012 graduates...... 71.3 60.1 – 64.3 – 44.3 – 82.3

Men.................................................... 994 342 34.4 272 27.4 70 20.4 652

Percentage of male 2012 graduates...... 61.3 43.7 – 49.7 – 29.8 – 77.6

 Not enrolled in college............................. 1,082 753 69.6 494 45.7 259 34.4 329

Percentage of total 2012 graduates......... 33.8 48.2 – 42.5 – 64.4 – 20.1

 Women............................................... 454 312 68.7 219 48.2 93 29.9 142

Percentage of female 2012 graduates...... 28.7 39.9 – 35.7 – 55.7 – 17.8

 Men.................................................... 628 441 70.2 275 43.8 166 37.5 187

Percentage of male 2012 graduates...... 38.7 56.3 – 50.3 – 70.6 – 22.3

Total, 2011–2012 high school dropouts2

... 370 174 47.2 88 23.8 86 49.6 195

 Women............................................... 178 63 35.5 28 15.9 35 (

3

) 115

 Men.................................................... 192 111 57.9 60 31.1 52 46.3 81

Total

Percentage

of labor 

force

Characteristic

 Civilian 

noninstitutional

population

 Civilian labor force 

 Not in 

labor

Total force

Percentage

of

population

 Employed Unemployed 

 Total 

Percentage

of

population

1 Data refer to persons who graduated from high school in January through October 2012. 2 Data refer to persons who dropped out of school between October 2011 and October 2012. 3 Data not shown where base is less than 75,000.

Note: Sums of individual items may not equal totals because of rounding.

Source: October 2012 School Enrollment Supplement to the Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
92 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 31. Labor force status of persons 16 to 24 years old, by school enrollment, gender, and educational 

attainment, October 2012

(Numbers in thousands)

Enrolled in school............................... 22,718 8,717 38.4 7,520 33.1 1,196 13.7 14,002 

 Women............................................. 11,667 4,727 40.5 4,119 35.3 607 12.8 6,942 

 Men................................................. 11,051 3,990 36.1 3,401 30.8 589 14.8 7,061 

 Enrolled in high school1

...........................10,033 2,262 22.5 1,742 17.4 520 23.0 7,771 

 Women............................................. 4,824 1,169 24.2 920 19.1 249 21.3 3,656 

 Men................................................. 5,209 1,093 21.0 822 15.8 271 24.8 4,116 

 Enrolled in college.................................12,685 6,454 50.9 5,778 45.6 676 10.5 6,231 

 Women............................................. 6,843 3,558 52.0 3,199 46.7 358 10.1 3,286 

 Men................................................. 5,842 2,897 49.6 2,579 44.2 318 11.0 2,945 

Not enrolled in school......................... 16,082 12,749 79.3 10,647 66.2 2,102 16.5 3,333 

 Women................................................ 7,575 5,641 74.5 4,750 62.7 891 15.8 1,934 

 Less than a high school diploma ............ 1,135 568 50.0 405 35.6 163 28.7 568 

 High school graduates, no college2

 ....... 3,025 2,135 70.6 1,674 55.3 462 21.6 889 

 Some college or associate's degree ......... 2,112 1,715 81.2 1,526 72.2 190 11.1 397 

 Bachelor’s degree and higher ................. 1,304 1,222 93.8 1,146 87.9 76 6.2 81 

 Men.................................................... 8,506 7,108 83.6 5,896 69.3 1,212 17.0 1,398 

 Less than a high school diploma ............ 1,427 1,045 73.2 744 52.1 301 28.8 382 

 High school graduates, no college2

 ....... 4,089 3,344 81.8 2,709 66.2 635 19.0 746 

 Some college or associate's degree ......... 2,043 1,830 89.5 1,625 79.5 204 11.2 214 

 Bachelor’s degree and higher ................. 946 890 94.1 818 86.5 72 8.0 56 

Total

Percentage 

of 

population 

Total

Percentage 

of labor 

force

Characteristic

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Civilian labor force 

 Not in 

labor 

Total force 

Percentage 

of 

population 

 Employed Unemployed 

1 Includes a small number of people enrolled in grades below high school. 2 Includes those who have earned a high school diploma or the equivalent.

Note: Sums of individual items may not equal totals because of rounding.

Source: October 2012 School Enrollment Supplement to the Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

89
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 93

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 32. Multiple jobholders and multiple jobholding rates, by gender, 1994–2012 annual averages 

(Numbers in thousands)

Multiple jobholders

Number

Percentage of 

all multiple 

jobholders

1994......... 123,060 7,260 3,336 46.0 3,924 5.9 5.9 5.9

1995.......... 124,900 7,693 3,554 46.2 4,139 6.2 6.2 6.1

1996......... 126,708 7,832 3,640 46.5 4,192 6.2 6.2 6.1

1997......... 129,558 7,955 3,718 46.7 4,237 6.1 6.2 6.1

1998......... 131,463 7,926 3,748 47.3 4,178 6.0 6.2 5.9

1999......... 133,488 7,802 3,698 47.4 4,104 5.8 6.0 5.7

2000......... 136,891 7,604 3,608 47.4 3,996 5.6 5.7 5.5

2001......... 136,933 7,357 3,523 47.9 3,834 5.4 5.5 5.2

2002......... 136,485 7,291 3,557 48.8 3,734 5.3 5.6 5.1

2003......... 137,736 7,315 3,599 49.2 3,716 5.3 5.6 5.1

2004......... 139,252 7,473 3,638 48.7 3,835 5.4 5.6 5.1

2005......... 141,730 7,546 3,691 48.9 3,855 5.3 5.6 5.1

2006..................... 144,427 7,576 3,753 49.5 3,822 5.2 5.6 4.9

2007..................... 146,047 7,655 3,822 49.9 3,833 5.2 5.6 4.9

2008..................... 145,362 7,620 3,783 49.6 3,837 5.2 5.6 5.0

2009..................... 139,877 7,271 3,741 51.5 3,530 5.2 5.6 4.8

2010..................... 139,064 6,878 3,552 51.6 3,326 4.9 5.4 4.5

2011..................... 139,869 6,880 3,496 50.8 3,384 4.9 5.3 4.6

2012..................... 142,469 6,943 3,495 50.3 3,448 4.9 5.2 4.6

Year Total 

employed

Multiple-jobholding rate1

Total

Women

Men Total Women Men

1 Multiple jobholders as a percent of all employed people in specified group.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

90
94 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 33. Unincorporated self-employed persons in nonagricultural industries, by gender, 1976–2012

annual averages 

(Numbers in thousands)

Total 

employed

Selfemployed

Selfemployed 

as a 

percentage

of total

Total 

employed

Selfemployed

Selfemployed 

as a 

percentage

of total

Total 

employed

Selfemployed

Selfemployed 

as a 

percentage

of total

1976...... 85,421 5,782 6.8 35,027 1,549 4.4 50,394 4,233 8.4 26.8 

1977..... 88,734 6,115 6.9 36,677 1,692 4.6 52,057 4,423 8.5 27.7 

1978..... 92,661 6,428 6.9 38,900 1,814 4.7 53,761 4,614 8.6 28.2 

1979..... 95,477 6,792 7.1 40,556 1,982 4.9 54,921 4,810 8.8 29.2 

1980..... 95,938 7,001 7.3 41,461 2,097 5.1 54,477 4,904 9.0 30.0 

1981..... 97,030 7,097 7.3 42,333 2,192 5.2 54,697 4,905 9.0 30.9 

1982..... 96,125 7,263 7.6 42,591 2,309 5.4 53,534 4,954 9.3 31.8 

1983..... 97,450 7,575 7.8 43,367 2,439 5.6 54,083 5,136 9.5 32.2 

1984...... 101,685 7,785 7.7 45,262 2,566 5.7 56,423 5,219 9.2 33.0 

1985..... 103,971 7,810 7.5 46,615 2,603 5.6 57,356 5,207 9.1 33.3 

1986..... 106,435 7,881 7.4 48,054 2,610 5.4 58,381 5,271 9.0 33.1 

1987..... 109,232 8,201 7.5 49,668 2,778 5.6 59,564 5,423 9.1 33.9 

1988...... 111,800 8,519 7.6 51,020 2,955 5.8 60,780 5,564 9.2 34.7 

1989..... 114,143 8,605 7.5 52,341 3,043 5.8 61,802 5,562 9.0 35.4 

1990...... 115,570 8,719 7.5 53,011 3,122 5.9 62,559 5,597 8.9 35.8 

1991..... 114,449 8,850 7.7 52,815 3,150 6.0 61,634 5,700 9.2 35.6 

1992..... 115,246 8,576 7.4 53,380 2,963 5.6 61,866 5,613 9.1 34.5 

1993..... 117,144 8,959 7.6 54,273 3,065 5.6 62,871 5,894 9.4 34.2 

1994..... 119,651 9,003 7.5 55,755 3,443 6.2 63,896 5,560 8.7 38.2 

1995..... 121,460 8,901 7.3 56,642 3,440 6.1 64,818 5,461 8.4 38.6 

1996..... 123,264 8,971 7.3 57,630 3,506 6.1 65,634 5,465 8.3 39.1 

1997..... 126,159 9,056 7.2 59,026 3,550 6.0 67,133 5,506 8.2 39.2 

1998..... 128,085 8,962 7.0 59,945 3,482 5.8 68,140 5,480 8.0 38.9 

1999..... 130,207 8,790 6.8 61,193 3,424 5.6 69,014 5,366 7.8 39.0 

2000..... 134,427 9,205 6.8 62,983 3,631 5.8 71,444 5,573 7.8 39.4 

2001..... 134,635 9,121 6.8 63,147 3,594 5.7 71,488 5,527 7.7 39.4 

2002...... 134,174 8,923 6.7 62,995 3,499 5.6 71,179 5,425 7.6 39.2 

2003..... 135,461 9,344 6.9 63,824 3,609 5.7 71,636 5,736 8.0 38.6 

2004...... 137,020 9,467 6.9 64,182 3,607 5.6 72,838 5,860 8.0 38.1 

2005..... 139,532 9,509 6.8 65,213 3,565 5.5 74,319 5,944 8.0 37.5 

2006...... 142,221 9,685 6.8 66,382 3,681 5.5 75,838 6,004 7.9 38.0 

2007...... 143,952 9,557 6.6 67,302 3,637 5.4 76,650 5,920 7.7 38.1 

2008...... 143,194 9,219 6.4 67,358 3,483 5.2 75,836 5,736 7.6 37.8 

2009...... 137,775 8,995 6.5 65,712 3,468 5.3 72,062 5,527 7.7 38.6 

2010...... 136,858 8,860 6.5 65,164 3,388 5.2 71,694 5,472 7.6 38.2 

2011..... 137,615 8,603 6.3 65,023 3,341 5.1 72,592 5,262 7.2 38.8 

2012...... 140,283 8,749 6.2 66,353 3,483 5.2 73,930 5,266 7.1 39.8 

Selfemployed 

women as 

percentage

of total selfemployed

Year

Total Women Men

Note: Revisions to population controls and other changes can affect the comparability of labor force levels over time. In recent 

years, for example, updated population controls have been introduced annually with the release of January data. Information 

about historical comparability is online at www.bls.gov/cps/documentation.htm#comp.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 95

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 34. Employment status of the native-born and foreign-born civilian noninstitutional population, 

by age and gender, 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

Total

Native born1

 16 years and older............ 205,558 129,948 63.2 119,464 58.1 10,485 8.1 75,609

 16 to 24 years............... 35,059 19,379 55.3 16,202 46.2 3,177 16.4 15,680

 25 to 34 years................33,301 27,625 83.0 25,328 76.1 2,297 8.3 5,677

 35 to 44 years..................30,932 25,737 83.2 24,058 77.8 1,679 6.5 5,195

 45 to 54 years................36,188 28,983 80.1 27,252 75.3 1,731 6.0 7,205

 55 to 64 years..................33,297 21,377 64.2 20,189 60.6 1,189 5.6 11,919

 65 years and older............ 36,780 6,847 18.6 6,435 17.5 412 6.0 29,933

Foreign born2

 16 years and older............37,727 25,026 66.3 23,006 61.0 2,021 8.1 12,701

 16 to 24 years................ 3,724 1,905 51.2 1,632 43.8 273 14.3 1,819

 25 to 34 years............... 7,674 5,840 76.1 5,373 70.0 468 8.0 1,833

 35 to 44 years............... 8,710 6,997 80.3 6,518 74.8 479 6.8 1,713

 45 to 54 years................ 7,509 6,071 80.9 5,622 74.9 449 7.4 1,438

 55 to 64 years................ 5,021 3,332 66.4 3,051 60.8 282 8.5 1,689

 65 years and older.............5,089 880 17.3 810 15.9 70 8.0 4,209

Women

Native born1

 16 years and older............ 106,579 62,046 58.2 57,251 53.7 4,795 7.7 44,533

 16 to 24 years.................17,496 9,485 54.2 8,101 46.3 1,384 14.6 8,011

 25 to 34 years................17,012 13,129 77.2 12,070 70.9 1,059 8.1 3,883

 35 to 44 years................15,788 12,133 76.9 11,343 71.8 790 6.5 3,655

 45 to 54 years................18,532 13,965 75.4 13,131 70.9 834 6.0 4,567

 55 to 64 years.................17,275 10,336 59.8 9,795 56.7 540 5.2 6,940

 65 years and older...........20,476 2,998 14.6 2,811 13.7 187 6.2 17,478

Foreign born2

 16 years and older............19,362 10,602 54.8 9,663 49.9 939 8.9 8,760

 16 to 24 years.................1,741 750 43.1 633 36.4 117 15.6 992

 25 to 34 years................ 3,758 2,253 60.0 2,024 53.9 229 10.2 1,505

 35 to 44 years................ 4,439 2,994 67.4 2,750 61.9 244 8.2 1,445

 45 to 54 years................ 3,827 2,727 71.3 2,522 65.9 204 7.5 1,100

 55 to 64 years................ 2,626 1,495 56.9 1,376 52.4 118 7.9 1,132

 65 years and older............2,971 385 12.9 358 12.0 27 7.0 2,586

 See footnotes at end of table.

Native- or foreign-born 

status, age, and gender

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor force Total Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total 

Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of labor 

force 

93
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 34. Employment status of the native-born and foreign-born civilian noninstitutional population, 

by age and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

 Civilian labor force 

 Employed Unemployed 

Men

Native born1

 16 years and older............98,979 67,903 68.6 62,213 62.9 5,690 8.4 31,076

 16 to 24 years................17,563 9,895 56.3 8,101 46.1 1,793 18.1 7,668

 25 to 34 years................16,289 14,495 89.0 13,258 81.4 1,238 8.5 1,794

 35 to 44 years................15,144 13,604 89.8 12,715 84.0 889 6.5 1,541

 45 to 54 years................17,657 15,018 85.1 14,121 80.0 897 6.0 2,638

 55 to 64 years................16,021 11,042 68.9 10,393 64.9 648 5.9 4,980

 65 years and older...........16,304 3,849 23.6 3,625 22.2 225 5.8 12,455

Foreign born2

 16 years and older.............18,365 14,424 78.5 13,342 72.7 1,082 7.5 3,941

 16 to 24 years................ 1,983 1,156 58.3 999 50.4 157 13.6 827

 25 to 34 years................ 3,915 3,587 91.6 3,349 85.5 239 6.7 328

 35 to 44 years................ 4,271 4,003 93.7 3,768 88.2 235 5.9 268

 45 to 54 years................ 3,682 3,344 90.8 3,099 84.2 245 7.3 338

 55 to 64 years................ 2,395 1,838 76.7 1,675 69.9 163 8.9 557

 65 years and older........... 2,118 495 23.4 452 21.3 43 8.7 1,623

Native- or foreign-born 

status, age, and gender

 Civilian 

noninstitutional 

population 

 Not in 

labor force Total Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total 

Percentage 

of 

population 

 Total 

 Percentage 

of labor 

force 

1 The native born are people who were born in the United States or one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, or

who were born abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. 2 The foreign born are those residing in the United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That is, they were born outside the

United States or one of its outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents who were not U.S. citizens. This group

includes legally admitted immigrants, refugees, students, temporary workers, and undocumented immigrants. The survey data,

however, do not separately identify the number of people in these categories.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

94
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 35. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary workers, by gender, annual averages, 1983–2012

(Numbers in thousands)

Total Women

Members of unions1 Represented by 

unions2 Members of unions1 Represented by unions2

 Total Percentage 

of employed Total 

Percentage 

of 

employed

 Total Percentage 

of employed Total Percentage of employed

1983...........88,290 17,717 20.1 20,532 23.3 40,433 5,908 14.6 7,262 18.0

1984...........92,194 17,340 18.8 19,932 21.6 42,172 5,829 13.8 7,100 16.8

1985............94,521 16,996 18.0 19,358 20.5 43,506 5,732 13.2 6,910 15.9

1986.......... 96,903 16,975 17.5 19,278 19.9 44,961 5,802 12.9 6,961 15.5

1987............99,303 16,913 17.0 19,051 19.2 46,365 5,842 12.6 6,907 14.9

1988............101,407 17,002 16.8 19,241 19.0 47,495 5,982 12.6 7,109 15.0

1989............103,480 16,960 16.4 19,198 18.6 48,691 6,141 12.6 7,243 14.9

1990...........104,876 16,776 16.0 19,105 18.2 49,323 6,179 12.5 7,330 14.9

1991............103,723 16,612 16.0 18,790 18.1 49,105 6,142 12.5 7,247 14.8

1992............104,668 16,418 15.7 18,578 17.7 49,842 6,274 12.6 7,411 14.9

1993............106,101 16,627 15.7 18,682 17.6 50,626 6,516 12.9 7,610 15.0

1994...........107,989 16,748 15.5 18,850 17.5 51,419 6,642 12.9 7,740 15.1

1995............110,038 16,360 14.9 18,346 16.7 52,369 6,430 12.3 7,479 14.3

1996............111,960 16,269 14.5 18,158 16.2 53,488 6,410 12.0 7,397 13.8

1997...........114,533 16,110 14.1 17,923 15.6 54,708 6,347 11.6 7,304 13.4

1998...........116,730 16,211 13.9 17,918 15.4 55,757 6,362 11.4 7,280 13.1

1999...........118,963 16,477 13.9 18,182 15.3 57,050 6,528 11.4 7,425 13.0

2000........... 122,089 16,334 13.4 18,153 14.9 58,427 6,671 11.4 7,662 13.1

2001............122,229 16,305 13.3 18,026 14.7 58,582 6,768 11.6 7,672 13.1

2002........... 121,826 16,145 13.3 17,695 14.5 58,555 6,820 11.6 7,629 13.0

2003........... 122,358 15,776 12.9 17,448 14.3 59,122 6,732 11.4 7,601 12.9

2004........... 123,554 15,472 12.5 17,087 13.8 59,408 6,593 11.1 7,450 12.5

2005.........125,889 15,685 12.5 17,223 13.7 60,423 6,815 11.3 7,626 12.6

2006........... 128,237 15,359 12.0 16,860 13.1 61,426 6,702 10.9 7,501 12.2

2007........... 129,767 15,670 12.1 17,243 13.3 62,299 6,903 11.1 7,749 12.4

2008........... 129,377 16,098 12.4 17,761 13.7 62,532 7,160 11.4 8,036 12.9

2009........... 124,490 15,327 12.3 16,904 13.6 60,951 6,887 11.3 7,727 12.7

2010........... 124,073 14,715 11.9 16,290 13.1 60,542 6,722 11.1 7,528 12.4

2011........... 125,187 14,764 11.8 16,290 13.0 60,502 6,758 11.2 7,558 12.5

2012........... 127,577 14,366 11.3 15,922 12.5 61,679 6,470 10.5 7,311 11.9

 See footnotes at end of table.

Year Total 

employed

Total 

employed

94
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 35. Union affiliation of employed wage and salary 

workers, by gender, annual averages, 1983–2012 (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Men

Members of unions1 Represented by 

unions2

 Total Percentage 

of employed Total 

Percentage 

of 

employed

1983...........47,856 11,809 24.7 13,270 27.7

1984...........50,022 11,511 23.0 12,832 25.7

1985............51,015 11,264 22.1 12,448 24.4

1986..........51,942 11,173 21.5 12,317 23.7

1987............52,938 11,071 20.9 12,144 22.9

1988............53,912 11,019 20.4 12,132 22.5

1989............54,789 10,820 19.7 11,955 21.8

1990...........55,553 10,597 19.1 11,775 21.2

1991............54,618 10,470 19.2 11,542 21.1

1992............54,826 10,144 18.5 11,167 20.4

1993............55,475 10,112 18.2 11,072 20.0

1994...........56,570 10,106 17.9 11,110 19.6

1995............57,669 9,929 17.2 10,868 18.8

1996............58,473 9,859 16.9 10,761 18.4

1997...........59,825 9,763 16.3 10,619 17.7

1998...........60,973 9,850 16.2 10,638 17.4

1999...........61,914 9,949 16.1 10,758 17.4

2000...........63,662 9,664 15.2 10,491 16.5

2001............63,647 9,538 15.0 10,354 16.3

2002...........63,272 9,325 14.7 10,066 15.9

2003...........63,236 9,044 14.3 9,848 15.6

2004...........64,145 8,878 13.8 9,638 15.0

2005.........65,466 8,870 13.5 9,597 14.7

2006...........66,811 8,657 13.0 9,360 14.0

2007...........67,468 8,767 13.0 9,494 14.1

2008...........66,846 8,938 13.4 9,724 14.5

2009...........63,539 8,441 13.3 9,176 14.4

2010...........63,531 7,994 12.6 8,761 13.8

2011...........64,686 8,006 12.4 8,731 13.5

2012...........65,898 7,895 12.0 8,611 13.1

Year Total 

employed

1 Members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a

union. 2 Members of a labor union or an employee association similar to a

union, as well as workers who are not members of unions but whose

jobs are covered by a union or employee association contract.

Note: Data refer to the sole or principal job of full- and part-time 

workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, regardless of 

whether their businesses are or are not incorporated. Revisions to 

population controls and other changes can affect the comparability of 

labor force levels over time. In recent years, for example, updated 

population controls have been introduced annually with the release of 

January data. Information about historical comparability is online at 

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

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

95
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 36. Employment status of persons 18 years and over, by veteran status, period of service, 

and gender, 2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Total veterans, 18 years of age and older

Civilian noninstitutional population................................. 21,183 1,815 19,368 8.6

 Civilian labor force................................................... 11,006 1,122 9,884 10.2

 Participation rate...................................................... 52.0 61.8 51.0

 Employed............................................................ 10,233 1,029 9,204 10.1

 Employment-population ratio................................. 48.3 56.7 47.5

 Unemployed......................................................... 773 93 680 12.0

 Unemployment rate............................................. 7.0 8.3 6.9

 Not in labor force...................................................... 10,177 693 9,484 6.8

Period of service

Gulf War-era II veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population................................. 2,566 431 2,136 16.8

 Civilian labor force................................................... 2,071 297 1,774 14.3

 Participation rate...................................................... 80.7 68.9 83.1

 Employed............................................................ 1,866 259 1,606 13.9

 Employment-population ratio................................. 72.7 60.2 75.2

 Unemployed......................................................... 205 37 168 18.0

 Unemployment rate............................................. 9.9 12.5 9.5

 Not in labor force...................................................... 496 134 362 27.0

Gulf War-era I veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population................................. 3,049 482 2,567 15.8

 Civilian labor force................................................... 2,548 364 2,184 14.3

 Participation rate...................................................... 83.6 75.5 85.1

 Employed............................................................ 2,398 335 2,063 14.0

 Employment-population ratio................................. 78.6 69.5 80.4

 Unemployed......................................................... 150 29 121 19.3

 Unemployment rate............................................. 5.9 8.0 5.6

 Not in labor force...................................................... 501 118 383 23.6

World War II, Korean War, and Vietnam-era veterans

Civilian noninstitutional population................................. 9,872 318 9,554 3.2

 Civilian labor force................................................... 3,165 102 3,063 3.2

 Participation rate...................................................... 32.1 32.1 32.1

 Employed............................................................ 2,964 98 2,866 3.3

 Employment-population ratio................................. 30.0 30.7 30.0

 Unemployed......................................................... 201 4 197 2.0

 Unemployment rate............................................. 6.4 4.1 6.4

 Not in labor force...................................................... 6,707 216 6,491 3.2

 See note at end of table.

Employment status and period of service Total Women Men

Women as a 

percentage of 

total
100 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 36. Employment status of persons 18 years and over, by veteran status, period of service, 

and gender, 2012 annual averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

Veterans of other service periods

Civilian noninstitutional population................................. 5,696 584 5,112 10.3

 Civilian labor force................................................... 3,222 359 2,863 11.1

 Participation rate...................................................... 56.6 61.5 56.0

 Employed............................................................ 3,006 337 2,669 11.2

 Employment-population ratio................................. 52.8 57.7 52.2

 Unemployed......................................................... 217 22 194 10.1

 Unemployment rate............................................. 6.7 6.2 6.8

 Not in labor force...................................................... 2,473 225 2,248 9.1

Nonveterans, 18 years and older

Civilian noninstitutional population................................. 213,211 119,785 93,425 56.2

 Civilian labor force................................................... 142,017 70,524 71,493 49.7

 Participation rate...................................................... 66.6 58.9 76.5

 Employed............................................................ 130,817 65,125 65,692 49.8

 Employment-population ratio................................. 61.4 54.4 70.3

 Unemployed......................................................... 11,200 5,399 5,801 48.2

 Unemployment rate............................................. 7.9 7.7 8.1

 Not in labor force...................................................... 71,194 49,261 21,933 69.2

Employment status and period of service Total Women Men

Women as a 

percentage of 

total

Note: Veterans served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces and were not on active duty at the time of the survey.

Veterans could have served anywhere in the world during these periods of service: Gulf War era II (September 2001 to

present), Gulf War era I (August 1990-August 2001), Vietnam era (August 1964 to April 1975), Korean War (July 1950

to January 1955), World War II (December 1941 to December 1946), and other service periods (all other time periods).

Veterans who served in more than one wartime period are classified only in the most recent one. Veterans who served

during one of the selected wartime periods and another period are classified only in the wartime period.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 37. Employment and disability status of persons, by gender and age, 

2012 annual averages

(Numbers in thousands)

Total persons with a disability, 

16 years and older

Civilian noninstitutional population............................................... 28,251 15,322 12,929

 Civilian labor force................................................................. 5,816 2,626 3,190

 Participation rate..................................................................... 20.6 17.1 24.7

 Employed................................................................................ 5,037 2,267 2,770

 Employment-population ratio...................................................... 17.8 14.8 21.4

 Unemployed........................................................................... 779 359 420

 Unemployment rate.......................................................... 13.4 13.7 13.2

 Not in labor force........................................................................ 22,435 12,696 9,739

16 to 64 years 

Civilian noninstitutional population............................................... 15,339 7,775 7,564

 Civilian labor force................................................................. 4,854 2,249 2,605

 Participation rate..................................................................... 31.6 28.9 34.4

 Employed................................................................................ 4,146 1,918 2,228

 Employment-population ratio...................................................... 27.0 24.7 29.5

 Unemployed........................................................................... 708 331 377

 Unemployment rate.......................................................... 14.6 14.7 14.5

 Not in labor force........................................................................ 10,484 5,525 4,959

65 years and older

Civilian noninstitutional population............................................... 12,912 7,547 5,365

 Civilian labor force................................................................. 961 377 585

 Participation rate.....................................................................7.4 5.0 10.9

 Employed................................................................................ 890 349 542

 Employment-population ratio...................................................... 6.9 4.6 10.1

 Unemployed...........................................................................71 28 43

 Unemployment rate..........................................................7.4 7.4 7.3

 Not in labor force........................................................................ 11,951 7,171 4,780

Total persons without a disability, 

16 years and older

Civilian noninstitutional population............................................... 215,034 110,619 104,415

 Civilian labor force................................................................. 149,159 70,022 79,137

 Participation rate..................................................................... 69.4 63.3 75.8

 Employed................................................................................ 137,433 64,647 72,785

 Employment-population ratio...................................................... 63.9 58.4 69.7

 Unemployed........................................................................... 11,727 5,375 6,352

 Unemployment rate..........................................................7.9 7.7 8.0

 Not in labor force........................................................................ 65,875 40,597 25,278

 See note at end of table.

Employment status and age Total Women Men

98
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Table 37. Employment and disability status of persons, by gender and age, 2012 annual 

averages (continued)

(Numbers in thousands)

16 to 64 years 

Civilian noninstitutional population............................................... 186,077 94,719 91,358

 Civilian labor force................................................................. 142,393 67,016 75,377

 Participation rate..................................................................... 76.5 70.8 82.5

 Employed................................................................................ 131,078 61,827 69,251

 Employment-population ratio...................................................... 70.4 65.3 75.8

 Unemployed........................................................................... 11,315 5,189 6,127

 Unemployment rate..........................................................7.9 7.7 8.1

 Not in labor force........................................................................ 43,683 27,703 15,980

65 years and older

Civilian noninstitutional population............................................... 28,957 15,900 13,057

 Civilian labor force................................................................. 6,766 3,006 3,760

 Participation rate..................................................................... 23.4 18.9 28.8

 Employed................................................................................ 6,355 2,820 3,535

 Employment-population ratio...................................................... 21.9 17.7 27.1

 Unemployed........................................................................... 411 186 225

 Unemployment rate..........................................................6.1 6.2 6.0

 Not in labor force........................................................................ 22,191 12,894 9,297

Employment status and age Total Women Men

Note: A person with a disability has at least one of the following conditions: deaf or serious difficulty

hearing; blind or serious difficulty seeing even when wearing glasses; serious difficulty concentrating,

remembering, or making decisions because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition; serious

difficulty walking or climbing stairs; difficulty dressing or bathing; or difficulty doing errands alone, such as

visiting a doctor's office or shopping, because of a physical, mental, or emotional condition.

Source: Current Population Survey, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

99
Technical Notes

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov 103

The estimates in this report were obtained from the Current 

Population Survey (CPS), a national monthly sample 

survey of approximately 60,000 eligible households that 

provides a wide range of information on the labor force, 

employment, and unemployment. The survey is conducted 

for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by the U.S. 

Census Bureau, using a scientifically selected national

sample with coverage in all 50 states and the District of 

Columbia. 

Material in this report is in the public domain and, with 

appropriate credit, may be reproduced without permission. 

This information is available upon request to individuals 

with sensory impairments. Voice phone: (202) 691-5200; 

Federal Relay Service: (800) 877-8339. 

Concepts and Definitions

Civilian noninstitutional population. Included are people 

16 years of age and older residing in any of the 50 states 

or the District of Columbia who are not confined to

institutions, such as nursing homes and prisons, and who 

are not on active duty in the Armed Forces. 

Civilian labor force. This group comprises all people 

classified as employed or unemployed.

Civilian labor force participation rate. This rate is 

the civilian labor force as a percentage of the civilian 

noninstitutional population. 

Employed people. Employed people are all those who, 

during the survey reference week, (a) did any work at all 

as paid employees; (b) worked in their own business, in a 

profession, or on their own farm; or (c) worked 15 or more 

hours as unpaid workers in a family member’s business. 

People who were temporarily absent from their jobs or 

business because of illness, vacation, a labor dispute, or 

another reason also are counted as employed. 

Employment–population ratio. This ratio is the number of 

employed as a percentage of the population. 

Unemployed. The unemployed are people who had no 

employment during the survey reference week, were 

available for work (except in the case of temporary illness), 

and had made specific efforts to find employment sometime

during the 4-week period ending with the survey reference 

week. People who were waiting to be recalled to a job from 

which they had been laid off need not have been looking 

for work to be classified as unemployed.

Unemployment rate. This rate is the number of unemployed 

people as a percentage of the civilian labor force. 

Not in the labor force. Included in this group are all people 

in the civilian noninstitutional population who are neither 

employed nor unemployed. People marginally attached to 

the labor force are those individuals not in the labor force 

who wanted and were available for work and had looked 

for a job sometime in the prior 12 months (or since the end 

of their last job if they held one within the past 12 months). 

These people were not counted as unemployed because 

they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding 

the survey. Discouraged workers, a subset of the marginally 

attached, were not looking for work because they believed 

that no jobs were available for them. 

Race. In accordance with the Office of Management and

Budget guidelines, White, Black or African American, 

and Asian are terms used to describe a person’s race. 

Beginning in 2003, people in these categories are those 

who selected that race group only. Those who identify 

multiple race groups are categorized as people of two or 

more races. (Previously, people identified a group as their

main race.) In the enumeration process, race is determined 

by the household respondent. More information on the 

2003 changes to questions on race and Hispanic ethnicity is 

available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/rvcps03.pdf. 

Hispanic or Latino ethnicity. This refers to people who 

identified themselves in the enumeration process as being

Hispanic, Latino, or Spanish. People whose ethnicity 

is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race;

estimates for the race groups include Hispanics. More 

information on the 2003 changes in questions on race and 
104 BLS Reports │ May 2014 • www.bls.gov

WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Hispanic ethnicity is available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/ 

rvcps03.pdf. 

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

together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption; 

all such people are considered as members of one family. 

Families are classified either as married-couple families or

as families maintained by women or men without spouses 

present. Families include those without children as well as 

those with children under 18. 

Children. Data on children refer to one’s own children and 

include sons, daughters, stepchildren, and adopted children. 

Not included are nieces, nephews, grandchildren, other 

related children, and all unrelated children living in the 

household. 

Self-employed workers. Self-employed workers are those 

who work for profit or fees in their own business, in a

profession, in a trade, or on a farm. The unincorporated 

self-employed are included in the self-employed category. 

Self-employed people whose businesses are incorporated 

are included with wage and salary workers. 

Wage and salary workers. These are workers who receive 

wages, salaries, commissions, tips, payment in kind, or 

piece rates. The group includes employees in the private 

and the public sectors. Data on union membership and 

earnings of wage and salary workers exclude all selfemployed workers, both those with incorporated businesses 

and those with unincorporated businesses. 

Workers paid by the hour. These are people paid at an 

hourly rate on their main job. Historically, workers paid an 

hourly wage have made up approximately three-fifths of all

wage and salary workers. 

Usual weekly earnings. Data on usual weekly earnings 

represent earnings before taxes and other deductions, 

and include any overtime pay, commissions, and tips 

usually received (at the main job in the case of multiple 

jobholders). Earnings reported on a basis other than weekly 

(e.g., annual, monthly, or hourly) are converted to weekly. 

The term “usual” is as perceived by the respondent. If the 

respondent asks for a definition of “usual,” interviewers are

instructed to define the term as “more than half the weeks

worked during the past 4 or 5 months.” Data refer to the 

sole or primary job of wage and salary workers (excluding 

all self-employed people, regardless of whether their 

businesses were incorporated) and are tabulated from onequarter of the CPS monthly sample. 

Median weekly earnings. These figures indicate the number

that divides the earnings distribution into two equal parts, 

one part having values above the median and the other 

having values below the median. Median weekly earnings 

shown in this publication are estimated through the linear 

interpolation of the $50-centered interval in which the 

median lies. 

Minimum wage. The estimates of the numbers of workers 

with reported earnings at or below the federal minimum 

wage pertain only to workers who are paid hourly rates. 

Salaried workers and other workers who are not paid by 

the hour are not included, even though some have earnings 

that, if converted to hourly rates, would be at or below the 

minimum wage. Consequently, the estimates presented in 

this report likely understate the actual number of workers 

with hourly earnings at or below the minimum wage. BLS 

does not routinely estimate the hourly earnings of workers 

not paid by the hour, because of data quality concerns 

associated with such an estimation process. 

The prevailing federal minimum wage is $7.25, effective 

July 24, 2009. Note that some states have established 

minimum-wage standards that exceed the federal level. 

The presence of workers with hourly earnings below the 

minimum wage does not necessarily indicate violations of 

the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), because there are a 

number of exemptions to the minimum-wage provisions 

of the law. In addition, some workers might have rounded 

their hourly earnings in response to survey questions. As 

a result, some might have reported hourly earnings below 

the minimum wage when, in fact, they earned the minimum 

wage or higher. 

Hours at work. These are the actual hours worked (at all 

jobs) during the survey reference week. For example, 

people who normally work 40 hours a week but were off 

during the Columbus Day holiday would be reported as 

working 32 hours, even if they were paid for the holiday. 
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Usual hours or usual full- or part-time status. Data on 

people “at work” exclude those who were temporarily 

absent from a job and therefore were classified into the

zero-hours-worked category, “with a job but not at work.” 

These are people who were absent from their jobs for the 

entire week for reasons such as bad weather, vacation, 

illness, or involvement in a labor dispute. To differentiate a 

person’s normal schedule from his or her activity during the 

survey reference week, people also are classified according

to their usual full- or part-time status. In this context, fulltime workers are those who usually work 35 or more hours 

(at all jobs combined) per week. This group includes some 

individuals who worked less than 35 hours in the reference 

week for either economic or noneconomic reasons and 

those who were temporarily absent from work. Similarly, 

part-time workers are those who usually work less than 35 

hours per week (at all jobs), regardless of the number of 

hours worked in the reference week. These workers may 

include some individuals who actually worked more than 

34 hours in the reference week, as well as those who were 

temporarily absent from work. 

Occupation and industry. For the employed, this 

information applies to the job held during the reference 

week. People with two or more jobs are classified as being

in the occupation and industry in which they worked 

the greatest number of hours. The CPS uses the Census 

occupational classification, based on the 2010 Standard

Occupation Classification (SOC), and the Census industry

classification, derived from the 2007 North American

Industry Classification System (NAICS). Additional

information about these classifications is available online at

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

Work experience. These data reflect work activity during

the calendar year and are obtained from the Annual Social 

and Economic Supplement (ASEC) to the CPS. Estimates 

of people who worked are based on “yes” responses to the 

following questions in the ASEC: “Did you work at a job 

or business at any time during [the survey reference year]?” 

or “Did you do any temporary, part-time, or seasonal work 

even for a few days during [the survey reference year]?” 

Because the reference period is a full year, the number 

of people with some employment or with unemployment 

greatly exceeds the average levels for any given month, 

which are based on a 1-week reference period, and the 

corresponding annual averages of monthly estimates. 

Poverty classification. Poverty statistics presented in 

this report are based on definitions developed by the

Social Security Administration in 1964 and revised by 

federal interagency committees in 1969 and 1981. These 

definitions originally were based on the Department

of Agriculture’s Economy Food Plan and reflected the

different consumption requirements of families, predicated 

on the basis of factors such as family size and the number 

of children under 18 years of age. The actual poverty 

thresholds vary in accordance with the makeup of the 

family. Poverty thresholds are updated each year by the 

Census Bureau to reflect changes in the Consumer Price

Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U). The thresholds do 

not vary geographically. For more information on poverty 

data and thresholds, see http://www.census.gov/hhes/ 

www/poverty/poverty.html.

Displaced workers. Displaced workers are wage and salary 

workers 20 years of age and older who lost or left jobs 

because their plant or company closed or moved, there was 

insufficient work for them to do, or their position or shift

was abolished. Data are often presented for long-tenured 

displaced workers—those who had worked for their 

employer for 3 or more years at the time of displacement. 

All self-employed workers are excluded, both those with 

incorporated businesses and those with unincorporated 

businesses. Data were collected through a biennial 

supplement to the January CPS. 

Employee tenure. Tenure is a measure of how long wage 

and salary workers had been with their current employer 

at the time of the survey. Tenure is presented in median 

years; the median is the point at which half of all workers 

had more tenure and half had less. Data refer to the 

sole or principal job of full- and part-time workers. All 

self-employed workers are excluded, both those with 

incorporated businesses and those with unincorporated 

businesses. The data were collected through a biennial 

supplement to the January CPS. 
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WOMEN IN THE LABOR FORCE: A DATABOOK

Foreign born. The foreign born are people residing in the 

United States who were not U.S. citizens at birth. That 

is, they were born outside the United States or one of its 

outlying areas, such as Puerto Rico or Guam, to parents, 

neither of whom was a U.S. citizen. The foreign-born 

population includes legally admitted immigrants, refugees, 

temporary residents such as students and temporary 

workers, and undocumented immigrants. The survey data, 

however, do not separately identify the number of people 

in these categories. The native born are people born in the 

United States or one of its outlying areas or who were born 

abroad of at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen. 

Union membership. Union membership refers to members 

of a labor union or of an employee association similar 

to a union. The data are tabulated from one-quarter of 

the CPS monthly sample and are limited to wage and 

salary workers. All self-employed workers are excluded, 

both those with incorporated businesses and those with 

unincorporated businesses. 

Veterans. Veterans are men and women 18 years or older 

who previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed 

Forces and who were civilians at the time they were 

surveyed. Members of the Reserve and National Guard are 

counted as veterans if they had ever been called to active 

duty. People who are on active duty at the time of the 

survey are outside the scope of the survey and thus not in 

the estimates shown here. Nonveterans are men and women 

who never served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. 

Veteran status is obtained from responses to the question, 

“Did you ever serve on active duty in the U.S. Armed 

Forces?” 

Disability. The CPS uses a set of six questions to identify 

people with disabilities. The questions are about physical, 

mental, or emotional conditions that cause serious difficulty

with daily activities. People are classified as having a

disability if there is a response of “yes” to any of these 

questions. For each of the questions, interviewers ask 

the respondent whether anyone in the household has the 

condition described, and if the respondent replies “yes,” he 

or she is then asked to identify everyone in the household 

who has the condition. More information, including the 

wording of the six questions used to identify people 

with a disability, is available at http://www.bls.gov/cps/

demographics.htm#disability. 

Reliability of the estimates 

Statistics based on the CPS are subject to both sampling 

and nonsampling error. When a sample, rather than an 

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

sample estimates may differ from the true population 

values they represent. The component of this difference 

that occurs because samples differ by chance is known 

as sampling error, and its 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.

All other types of error are referred to as 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 data. Information on the reliability of data from the CPS 

and on estimating standard errors is available at http://

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