View original document

The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.

A

U. 3

2 ,/S Z ’

Children of
Working Mothers
U.S. Department of Labor
Bureau of Labor Statistics
March 1983

Special Labor Force Report

Bulletin 2158

m
j

v

#




^ 3y to n &

Z Z W 83
[\a „

Children of
Working mothers
U.S. Department of Labor
Raymond J. Donovan, Secretary
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Janet L. Norwood, Commissioner
March 1983
Bulletin 2158




For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office
Washington, D .C . 20402 - Price $3.00

■&

U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE : 1983

0 - 3 8 1 - 6 0 8 (4260)




p

This bulletin on children of working mothers in
March 1981 is part of the Special Labor Force Report
series. It discusses the increase in the number of children
with working mothers and the two major reasons for
this growth. This bulletin consists of an article first
published in th q Monthly Labor Review, February 1982,
additional tables providing more detailed data, and ex­
planatory notes.




The data were compiled from supplementary ques­
tions to the March 1981 Current Population Survey,
conducted and tabulated for the Bureau of Labor Sta­
tistics by the Bureau of the Census.
Material in this publication is in the public domain
and may, with appropriate credit, be reproduced
without permission.

m




©©mtemts

Page
More than half of all children have working m others........................................................................

1

Appendixes:
A.
B.

Explanatory n o t e ..........................................................................................................................
Supplementary tables:
B-l. Number of own children under 18 by age of children, type of family,
employment status of parents, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1981, and
median family income in 1980 ......................................................................................

4

7

B-2. Number of families with own children under 18 by age of children, type of
family, employment status of mother, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1981,
and median family income in 1980.................................................................................. 11
B-3. Number of own children under 18 by age of children, type of family,
employment status of mother, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1980, and
median family income in 1979 ........................................................................................ 12
B-4. Number of families with own children under 18 by age of children, type of
family, employment status of mother, March 1980, and median family
income in 1979 .................................................................................................................. 13




v

More than half of all children
have working mothers
A l l y s o n Sh e r m a n G r o s s m a n

ally become mothers have spent more years in the labor
force than many of their predecessors, and they often
choose to remain in the work force or return to it soon
after childbearing. In contrast, the early marriage and
prolific childbearing patterns of a generation ago result­
ed in the almost automatic and prolonged withdrawal
of young mothers from the labor force.3
Because of these trends, the traditional concept of a
family with the father as the only earner has changed
dramatically. For example, both parents were earners in
about 60 percent of all married-couple families with
children under 18 years in 1981. (See table 2.) On aver­
age, these dual-earner families were smaller than compa­
rable single-earner families. Fewer than 6 of 10 had
more than one child, compared with nearly 7 of 10 of
the one-earner families. Among families maintained by
women, the presence of earners was affected by the
number of children. For instance, of families with chil­
dren, 65 percent of those without earners had more
than one child compared with less than half of those
with earners.
Other sociological changes of the 1970’s also contrib­
uted to the growing number of children with working
mothers. Two of these were the increase in the divorce
rate and the growing occurrence of unwed mothers. In
1981, 11.6 million youngsters— 1 of every 5— Were liv­
ing with their mother or their father only. This was al­
most 60 percent more than in 1970, when 1 of every 9
youngsters lived with only one parent. Most lived with
their mothers; however, small increases have been
posted in the number of children living only with their
father. Black children were far more likely than white
children to be living with one parent (50 percent of
black children, compared with 15 percent of white chil­
dren).
Despite the recent surge into the labor force of moth­
ers with younger children, older children remain more
likely than younger ones to have working mothers. For
example, of all children between the ages of 14 through
17 who lived in two-parent families in March 1981, 60
percent had mothers in the labor force, compared with
56 percent of the 6-to-13-year-olds and 45 percent of

More children than ever before have mothers who are
in the labor force. In March 1981, 31.8 million young­
sters below age 18 — 54 percent of the Nation’s total —
had mothers who were either employed or looking for
work. (See table 1.) Since 1970, the number of children
with working mothers has grown by 6.2 million despite
a 6.6-million decline in the children’s population.1
By March 1981, a record 8.2 million children below
age 6—45 percent of all preschoolers— had working
mothers. A year earlier, these figures were 7.7 million or
43 percent. Two major factors accounted for this
growth. First, the long-term increase in labor force ac­
tivity among mothers below age 35 accelerated over the
year. Their participation rate advanced by more than 2
percentage points, to reach 49 percent. Second, as the
number of births among these women increased,2 the
population below age 6 grew by nearly 400,000. At the
same time, the population of school-age children (6to-17-year-olds) dropped substantially over the year,
and the number of these children with working mothers
also declined. Thus, preschoolers accounted for all of
the year’s net increase in the number of children with
working mothers.

More young mothers working
Reflected in these patterns are the changing work and
marital profiles of women born during the post-World
War II baby boom. For instance, between March 1980
and March 1981, the number of working mothers in­
creased by 600,000 to reach 18.4 million, and those
with children below age 6 were responsible for 60 per­
cent of the gain. Within this group, women between the
ages of 25 and 34 registered the greatest increases.
These women have generally been showing a propensity
to delay marriage, postpone childbearing, and ultimate­
ly to have fewer children than women of comparable
ages in the past. As a result, many of those who eventu-

Allyson Sherman Grossman is ah economist in the Division o f Em­
ployment and Unemployment Analysis, Bureau o f Labor Statistics.




1

Table 1.

Wumber of children under 18, by age, type of family, and labor force status of mother, Exarch 1980 and March 1981

[Numbers in thousands]
Children 6 to 17

Children under 18
Type of family and labor force
status of mother

March 1981

Revised

59,148
31,785
26,269

40,688
23,196
16,722

41,788
23,826
17,168

48,155
24,912
23,244

47,542
25,178
22,364

32,150
18,032
14,118

10,327
6,445
3,882

10,582
6,617
3,964

10,513
6,607
3,906

951

978

1,094

Revised

Total children1 ...................................................
Mother in labor fo rc e .................................
Mother not in labor force ...........................

58,107
30,663
26,493

59,714
31,529
27,208

Married-couple fam ilies......................................
Mother in labor fo rc e .................................
Mother not in labor force ...........................

46,829
24,218
22,611

Families maintained by women2 ......................
Mother in labor f o rc e .................................
Mother not in labor force ...........................
Families maintained by men 2 ...........................

1 Children are defined as “ own” children of the family. Included are never-married daughters,
sons, stepchildren and adopted children. Excluded are other related children such as
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.

Table 2. Families by presence and number of children
under 18, number and relationship of earners in 1980, and
family type, March 1981
[Numbers in thousands]
With children under 181

2

4 or
more

4,635
313
1,807
2,514

2,275
294
842
1,139

Total families .............................
No earners.............................
One earner.............................
Two earners or m o re .............

29,140
6,406
■8,033
14,701

31,562
1,957
11,369
18,234

Married-couple fam ilies.............

24,381
5,492
6,375
4,581
1,341
453
12,514
10,637

24,935
411
7,525
7,039
366
119
16,998
14,919

9,739
121
2,376
2,172
154
50
7,242
6,317

9,526
147
3,058
2,875
144
38
6,322
5,717

3,843
62
1,406
1,341
46
19
2,374
2,068

1,828
82
685
650
22
12
1,062
817

1,511
365

1,868
211

804
119

546
59

289
18

229
14

Families maintained by women2 .
No earners.............................
One earner.............................
Two earners or m ore.............

3,482
728
1,246
1,508

5,935
1,488
3,366
1,081

2,839
519
1,740
580

1,949
518
1,132
299

728
246
353
129

419
204
141
173

Families maintained by men 2 ..
No earners.............................
One earner.............................
Two earners or m o re .............

1,278
186
412
679

692
58
478
155

407
37
267
103

193
9
148
36

64
5
48
11

28
8
16
4

One earner.............................
Husband .............................
W ife ....................................
Other .................................
Two earners or m o re .............
Husband and w if e .............
Husband and other(s) not
wife ...............................
Husband nonearner...........

12,984 11,688
677
674
4,383 4,338
7,925 6,657

3

' Children are defined as “ own” children of the family. Included are never-married daugh­
ters, sons, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children such as
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.
2 includes only divorced, separated, widowed, or never-married persons.
N ote:

Due to rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.




Revised

40,842
23,569
16,398

17,418
7,467
9,771

17,927
7,703
10,040

18,306
8,216
9,871

33,032
18,525
14,507

32,111
18,307
13,804

14,679
6,186
8,493

15,123
6,386
8,737

15,431
6,871
8,560

7,768
5,164
2,604

7,961
5,300
2,661

7,857
5,262
2,595

2,559
1,281
1,278

2,620
1,317
1,303

2,656
1,345
1,311

771

794

875

180

184

219

Due to rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals,

This difference has been narrowing in recent years as
white mothers have joined the work force at a faster
pace than black mothers. Nevertheless, at every age lev­
el, black children in 2-parent families were still more
likely than white children to have a working mother. In
one-parent families, however, the situation was reversed;
a larger share of white than black children had a work­
ing mother. Hispanic children were less apt than either
white or black children to have working mothers.
Regardless of race, ethnic origin, or family type, chil­
dren with a working mother were in families with con­
siderably higher incomes, on average, than were
children whose mother was out of the labor force. The
median income in 1980 for all two-parent families with
children was $26,500 when the mother worked and
$21,300 when she did not.
Generally, white children live in families with higher
incomes than black children. Family income for white,
two-parent families with children averaged $26,900
when the mother was in the labor force and $21,700,
when she was not. Comparable median incomes for
black families were $23,000 when the mother worked
and $14,900 when she did not. (See table 4.)
For some mothers, work is a necessity. It provides
economic benefits that may constitute a major share of
their offspring’s support. In March 1981, one-fourth of
all children— 14.8 million in all— were living in families
in which their father was absent (10.5 million), unem­
ployed (2.4 million), or out of the labor force (1.9 mil­
lion). More than half of all black children and nearly
one-fifth of all white children lived in one of these cir­
cumstances. Between March 1980 and 1981, the total
number of children in these situations remained steady
as the increase in the number with unemployed fathers
was offset by a decline in the numbers whose fathers
were absent or out of the labor force. In each of these

Proportionately more black (59 percent) than white
children (53 percent) had working mothers in 1981.

1

March 1981

Original

N ote:

Socioeconomic characteristics

Total

March 1981

2 Includes only divorced, separated, widowed, or never-married persons,

the children under 6. Among children living with their
mother only, the proportion whose mothers worked was
two-thirds for those between the ages of 6 and 17 and
one-half for those below age 6. (See table 3.)

No
children
under
18

March 1980

Original

Original

Number and relationship
of earners by family type

Children under 6

March 1980

March 1980

2

Table 4. Children under 18 by age, type off family, labor
fore© status off mother, race and Hispanic origin, March
1981, and median family income, 1980

Tafei© 3= Children umd]©r 1© by age, type off family, and
©mpBoymsimt status off parents, March 1981
[Numbers in thousands]

Item

[Numbers in thousands]

Children under 18
Total

14 to 17

6 to 13

One-parent families
maintained by w om en1

Two-parent families

Under 6
Item

Total children1 ...........................
Mother in labor fo rc e .............
Em ployed...........................
Unemployed......................
Mother not in labor force . . . .

59,148
31,785
29,269
2,516
26,269

14,607
8,698
8,193
505
5,498

26,235
14,871
13,688
1,183
10,900

18,306
8,216
7,388
828
9,871

Married-couple fam ilies.............
Mother in labor fo rc e .............
Employed...........................
Unemployed......................
Mother not in labor force . . . .

47,542
25,178
23,516
1,662
22,364

11,329
6,763
6,426
337
4,566

20,782
11,544
10,800
744
9,238

15,431
6,871
6,290
581
8,560

Father in labor fo r c e .............
Mother in labor fo rc e .........
Employed ......................
Unemployed ..................
Mother not in labor force ..

44,763
24,042
22,462
1,580
20,721

10,490
6,372
6,060
312
4,119

19,605
11,080
10,349
711
8,544

14,669
6,610
6,053
557
8,058

Father em ployed...............
Mother in labor force . . .
Employed ..................
Unemployed .............
Mother not in labor force

42,376
22,744
21,383
1,361
19,632

10,003
6,086
5,813
273
3,917

18,632
10,485
9,865
620
8,147

13,741
6,173
5,704
468
7,569

Father unemployed...........
Mother in labor force . . .
Employed ..................
Unemployed .............
Mother not in labor force

2,387
1,298
1,079
219
1,089

487
285
246
39
202

973
575
484
91
397

927
438
348
89
490

Father not in labor force . . . .
Mother in labor f o rc e .........
Employed ......................
Unemployed ..................
Mother not in labor force ..

1,918
730
667
63
1,188

736
325
304
22
410

804
282
256
26
521

379
122
107
15
256

Father in armed forces .........
Mother in labor f o rc e .........
Employed ......................
Unemployed ..................
Mother not in labor force ..

861
407
388
19
454

103
66
62
4
37

373
201
195
7
172

384
139
131
8
245

Other families:
Maintained by women2 .........
Mother in labor fo rc e .........
Employed ......................
Unemployed ..................
Mother not in labor force ..

10,513
6,607
5,753
854
3,906

2,867
1,935
1,768
167
932

4,990
3,327
2,888
439
1,663

2,656
1,345
1,098
247
1,311

Maintained by men2 .............

1,094

411

464

219

White
Total children2 ................
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
fo rc e .........................

Hispanic

White

Black

Hispanic
1,074
423

42,129
21,865

3,960
2,520

3,688
1,571

6,583
4,375

3,698
2,090

20,264

1,441

2,117

2,208

1,608

651

Children 14 to 17 years ..
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
fo rc e .........................

10,024
5,916

987
649

744
350

1,867
1,356

947
549

230
110

4,108

338

393

511

398

121

Children 6 to 13 years . . .
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
fo rc e .........................

18,416
10,057

1,754
1,147

1,572
714

3,157
2,200

1,708
1,040

512
217

8,359

606

858

957

668

295

Children under 6 years ..
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
force .........................

13,688
5,892

1,220
723

1,372
507

1,558
818

1,043
501

331
96

7,794

496

865

740

541

236

$6,300
8,900

$6,300
8,900

Median family income, 1289
Total c h ildren..................
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
fo rc e .........................

$24,200
26,900
21,700

14,900

14,000

5,000

4,400

5,400

Children 14 to 17 years ..
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
fo rc e .........................

29,000
31,100

21,400
24,500

19,700
24,400

12,500
14,900

7,600
10,600

8,200
11,400

25,400

13,600

15,600

6,800

5,400

6,400

24,800
27,200

21,100
23,700

18,000
22,400

9,000
11,700

6,600
8,900

6,400
8,400

22,400

16,100

14,200

5,100

4,600

5,600

21,000
22,800

18,400
20,300

15,000
18,500

5,300
8,200

4,600
7,300

5,300
8,000

19,500

14,100

13,200

4,200

3,600

4,600

Children 6 to 13 years . . .
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
force .........................
Children under 6 years ..
Mother in labor force ..
Mother not in labor
fo rc e ........................

$20,200
23,000

$17,100
21,400

$8,800
11,900

11ncludes only divorced, separated, widowed, or never-married persons.
2 Children are defined as “ own” children of the family. Included are never-married daugh­
ters, sons, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children such as
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.
N ote:

1Children are defined as “ own" children of the family. Included are never-married daugh­
ters, sons, stepchildren, and adopted children. Excluded are other related children such as
grandchildren, nieces, nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.
2 Includes only divorced, separated, widowed, or never-married persons.
N ote:

Hack

Due to rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.

About 4.6 million families with children were in poverty during 1980. About 7 percent of married couples
with children were poor as were 44 percent of the fami­
lies maintained by women. For both family types, the
incidence of poverty increased as family size grew.

Due to rounding, sums of individual items may not equal totals.

cases, family income in 1980 was substantially greater
when the mother was in the labor force.

FOOTNOTES
' Unless otherwise indicated, the data in this report are from infor­
mation collected in the March supplement to the Current Population
Survey conducted and tabulated for the Bureau of Labor Statistics by
the Bureau of Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census. The data
have been inflated using population weights based on results from the
1980 census of population. The March 1980 data also have been re­
vised to bring them in line with the new population weights and to
make them comparable with the March 1981 data. Previously
published 1980 data reflected population weights projected forward
from the 1970 Census. The effect of the revision on the 1980 data is
shown in table 1, which presents the original as well as the revised es­
timates for 1980.
As the table shows, the number of children with working mothers
in March 1980 was revised upward by 866,000. Despite this, and sim­




ilarly significant changes in other data for 1980, the various relation­
ships and percentages based on the new estimates are nearly the same
as those based on the previously published estimates.
2 Final Natality Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Di­
vision of Vital Statistics, Natality Statistics.
' See Howard Hayghe, “Families and the rise of working wives— an
overview,” Monthly Labor Review, May 1976, pp. 12-19; Janet L.
Norwood and Elizabeth Waldman, “Women in the Labor Force:
Some New Data Series,” U.S. Department of Labor, Report 575; and
George Masnich and Mary Jo Bane, “The Nation’s Families 19601990,” (Massachusetts, Joint Center for Urban Studies of the Massa­
chusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University, 1980), pp.
52-85.

3

Appendix A. Explanatory Not®

Estimates in this bulletin are based on Supplementary
questions in the March 1981 and 1980 Current Popula­
tion Survey conducted and tabulated for the Bureau of
Labor Statistics by the Bureau of the Census. Basic la­
bor force concepts, sample design, estimating methods,
and reliability of the data are described briefly in the
following sections.1

Children. Data on children refer to “own” children
of the husband, wife, or person maintaining the family
and include sons and daughters, stepchildren, and
adopted children. Excluded are other related children,
such as grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and cousins,
and unrelated children.
Age. The age classification is based on the age of the
person at his/her last birthday.

Definitions and e©ine@pts
Population coverage. In March 1980 and 1981, trained
interviewers collected information from a sample of
about 65,000 households in 629 areas in 1,133 counties
and independent cities with coverage in every State and
the District of Columbia. Estimates in this bulletin in­
clude persons 16 years old and over in the civilian noninstitutional population in the calendar week ended
March 14, 1981. Male members of the Armed Forces
living off post or with their families on post (817,000 in
March 1981) were also included, but all other members
of the Armed Forces were excluded.

Race. The population is divided into three groups on
the basis of race: White, black, and “other races.” The
last category includes Indians, Japanese, Chinese, and
any other race except white and black.
Hispanic origin. Persons of Hispanic origin in this bul­
letin are those persons who indicated that their origin
was Mexican, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South
American, or some other Hispanic origin. The latter
category includes persons from Spain as well as per­
sons with combinations of types of Spanish origins. Per­
sons who reported that they were of one of the specific
Hispanic-origin categories and a non-Hispanic category
were included in the specific category. Persons of
Hispanic origin may be of any race.

Marital status. Persons are classified into the follow­
ing categories according to their marital status at the
time of interview: Single; married, spouse present; and
other marital status. The classification “married, spouse
present,” applies to husband and wife if both are re­
ported as members of the same household even though
one may be temporarily absent on business, vacation,
on a visit, in a hospital, or the like at the time of the iri1
terview. The term “ other marital status” applies to per­
sons who are married, spouse absent; widowed; or
divorced.

Employed. Employed persons are all those who dur­
ing the survey week (a) did any work at all as paid
employees or in their own business or profession, or on
their own farm, or worked 15 hours or more as unpaid
workers in an enterprise operated by a member of the
family; or (b) did not work but had jobs or businesses
from which they were temporarily absent because of
illness, bad weather, vacations, labor-management dis­
pute, or personal reasons, whether or not they were
paid by their employers for the time off, or were seek­
ing other jobs.

Family. A family is a group of two or more persons
residing together who are related by blood, marriage,
or adoption. The number of families as shown in this
report includes both primary families and unrelated sub­
families. A primary family includes among its members
the married couple or person maintaining the house­
hold and all other related individuals within the house­
hold. An unrelated subfamily includes no members re­
lated to the person or persons maintaining the house­
hold and includes lodgers, guests, or resident employees.

Unemployed. Unemployed persons are all those who
did not work during the survey week, made specific
efforts to find a job within the preceding 4 weeks, and
were available for work during the survey week or
would have been available except for temporary illness.
Also included as unemployed are those who did not
work at all, were available for work, and (a) were wait­
ing to be called back to a job from which they had
been laid off, or (b) were waiting to report to a new
wage or salary job within 30 days.

1 For a more complete description o f methodology, see Concepts
and Methods Used in Labor Force Statistics Derived from the Current
Population Survey. U.S. Department o f Commerce and U.S. Depart­
ment o f Labor, BLS Report 463, October 1976.




4

Labor force. The labor force comprises all persons
classified as employed or unemployed according to the
above definitions.

these figures were added the male members of the
Armed Forces living off post or with their families on
post.

Not in the labor force. All persons not classified as em­
ployed or unemployed are defined as “not in the labor
force.” Persons doing only incidental, unpaid family
work (less than 15 hours) are also classified as not in
the civilian labor force.

Variability. Since the estimates are based on a sample,
they may differ somewhat from the figures that would
have been obtained if a complete census had been taken
using the same schedules and procedures. As in any
survey, the results are also subject to errors of response
and reporting. These may be relatively large in the case
of persons with irregular attachment to the labor force.
Particular care should be exercised in the interpretation
of figures based on relatively small estimates as well as
small differences between estimates.
The standard error is primarily a measure of sampling
variability; that is, of the variations that might occur
by chance because a sample rather than the entire popu­
lation is surveyed. As calculated for this report, the
standard error also partially measures the effect of re­
sponse and enumeration errors but does not measure
any systematic biases in the data. The chances are about
68 out of 100 that an estimate differs from a complete
census by less than the standard error. The chances are
about 95 out of 100 that the difference would be less
than twice the standard error.

Income. Income is the total amount of money received
in the preceding calendar year from (1) money wages
and salaries; (2) net income from self-employment; (3)
social security; (4) dividends, interest (on savings and
bonds), net rental income, and income from estates and
trusts; (5) public assistance; (6) unemployment and
workers’ compensation, government employee pen­
sions, and veterans’ payments; and (7) private pensions,
annuities, alimony, regular contributions from persons
not living in the same household, net royalties, and
other periodic income. The amount received represents
income before deductions for personal taxes, social se­
curity, savings bonds, union dues, health insurance, and
the like. The total income of a family is the algebraic
sum of the amount received by all persons in the family.
Earnings. Earnings are all money income of $1 or
more from wages and salaries, and net money income
of $1 or more from farm and nonfarm self-employment.

Note when using small estimates. Summary measures
(such as medians, means, and percent distributions) are
shown in this bulletin only when the base of the meas­
ure is 75,000 or greater. Because of the large standard
errors involved, there is little chance that summary
measures would reveal useful information when com­
puted on a smaller base. Estimated numbers are shown,
however, even though the relative standard errors of
these numbers are larger than those for corresponding
percentages. These smaller estimates are provided pri­
marily to permit such combinations of the categories as
serve each user’s needs.

Median. The median is the value which divides the
distribution into two equal parts, one part having val­
ues above the median, and the other having values be­
low the median.
The medians as shown in this bulletin are calculated
from the corresponding distributions by linear interpo­
lation within the interval in which the median falls.
Therefore, because of this interpolation, the median
value depends not only on the distribution of income
but also on the income intervals used in calculating the
median.

Computation o f standard errors. The figures presented
in tables A-l and A-2 provide approximations of the
standard errors of estimated numbers and percentages.
Standard errors for intermediate values may be found
by interpolation. Estimated standard errors for specific
characteristics cannot be obtained from tables A-l and
A-2 without the use of factors in table A-3. These fac­
tors must be applied to the standard errors in order to
adjust for the combined effect of sample design and
estimating procedure on the value of the characteristics.
The determination of the proper factor for a percentage
depends upon the subject matter of the numerator of
the percentage, not the denominator. The following ex­
amples illustrate the use of the standard error tables. An
estimated 31,785,000 children had mothers who were in
the labor force in March 1981. Two steps, using both
tables A-l and A-3, are required to derive an estimate of

Sums o f distribution. Sums of individual items, whether
absolute numbers or percentages, may not equal totals
because of independent rounding of totals and compo­
nents. Percentage totals, however, are always shown as
100 percent.
Reliability ©f the estimate®

Estimating procedure. The estimating procedure used
in this survey inflates weighted sample results to inde­
pendent estimates of the civilian noninstitutional popu­
lation by age, sex, and race. These independent esti­
mates are based on statistics from the 1980 Census of
Population and other data on births, deaths, immigra­
tion, emigration, and strength of the Armed Forces. To



5

population. The standard error for this percent is found
by multiplying the standard error (0.38) from table A-2
by the appropriate factor from table A-3 (0.63): 0.38 x
0.63 = 0.24. Thus, the chances are 68 out of 100 that a
complete census count would have resulted in a figure
between 53.9 and 53.5 percent, and 95 out of 100 that
the figure would have been between 54.9 and 53.2 per­
cent.

the standard error for this figure. First, from table A -l,
a preliminary estimate of the error (301,000) is found by
interpolation. Next, this estimate is multiplied by the
factor 0.63 from table A-3. Thus, the changes are about
68 out of 100 that the difference between the sample
estimate and a complete census count would be less than
190,000. The chances are about 95 out of 100 that the
difference would be less than 379,000. The 31,785,000
children represented 53.7 percent of all children in the

labile A-1. Standard errors ©It estimated numbers
(68 chances out of 100. Numbers in thousands)
Size of
estimate

Standard
error

Size of
estimate

Standard
error

25
50
100
250
500
1 000
2,5 00............................

9
13
19
30
42
59
93

5,000..........................
10,000........................
15,000........................
25,000........................
50,000........................
100,000......................

131
182
221
277
364
424

NOTE: For a particular characteristic, see table A-3 for the appropriate factor
to apply to the above standard errors.
labile A-2. Standard errors of estimated percentages
(68 chances out of 100)
Base of
estimated
percentage
(thousands)

Estimated percentage
1 or
99

2 or
98

5 or
95

10 or
90

25 or
75

50

7 5 ..........................
1 0 0 ........................
250 ........................
500 ........................
1,000 ...................
2,500 ...................
5,000 ...................
10,000 .................
15,000 .................
25,000 .................
50,000 .................
100,000 ...............

2.1
1.9
1.2
.8
.6
.4
.3
.2
.15
.12
.08
.06

3.0
2.6
1.7
1.2
.8
.5
.4
.3
.2
.2
.12
.08

4.7
4.1
2.6
1.8
1.3
.8
.6
.4
.3
.3
.2
.13

6.5
5.6
3.5
2.5
1.8
1.1
.8
.6
.5
.4
.3
.2

9.4
8.1
5.1
3.6
2.6
1.6
1.1
.8
.7
.5
.4
.3

10.8
9.4
5.9
4.2
3.0
1.9
1.3
.9
.8
.6
.4
.3

NOTE: For a particular characteristic, see table A-3 for the appropriate fac­
tor to apply to the above standard errors.

Table A-3. Factors to be applied to generalized standard errors in tables A-1 and A-2
CPS data collected January 1967 to present
Persons
Characteristic

Some household members
secondary individuals

All household members

Families and u n re la te d
individuals, households,
householders, or primary
individuals

Total or
white

Black

Hispanic
origin

Total or
white

Black

Hispanic
origin

Total or
white

Black

Hispanic
origin

Total or nonfarm:
Total, regional or metropolitan ..
N onm etropolitan..........................
Education, te n u r e ........................
Employment status and
occupation ................................

1.00
1.22
1.0

1.20
1.47
1.0

1.13
1.38
1.0

1.10
1.35
1.0

1.45
1.78
1.0

1.60
1.95
1.0

0.63
.77
.63

0.60
.73
.60

0.64
.78
.64

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

1.0

F a rm ......................................................

1.38

1.66

1.56

1.52

2.01

2.21

1Apply this factor to table A-2 to obtain standard errors of estimated per­
centages; for standard errors of estimated levels, use a =0.000481, b = 1096,
and formula (2).




6

.85

.81

.86

Appendix B. Supplementary Tables
Table B-1. dumber of own children under 18 by age of children, type of family, employment
status of parents, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1981, and median family income in 1880
Number of children (in thousands)

Item

Median family income in 1980

6 to 17 years
Total
under
18 years

6 to 17 years
Under
6 years

Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

Under
6 years

Total
under
18 years

Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

Al! children
Total own children4 ......... .
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed.... ...... ..............
Unemployed.......................
Mother not in labor force............

59,148
31,785
29,269
2,516
26,269

40,842
23,569
21,882
1,687
16,398

14,607
8,698
8,193
505
5,498

26,235
14,871
13,688
1,183
10,900

18,306
8,216
7,388
828
9,871

$21,111
23,163
23,847
14,127
18,708

$22,391
24,242
24,856
14,878
19,925

$24,234
26,507
27,094
17,697
21,230

$21,458
23,141
23,796
13,948
19,331

$18,584
20,468
21,336
12,644
17,040

In married-couple families, total......
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed........... ...... .......
Unemployed......... ...... .
Mother not in labor force...........

47,542
25,178
23,516
1,662
22,364

32,111
18,307
17,226
1,081
13,804

11,329
6,763
6,426
337
4,566

20,782
11,544
10,800
744
9,238

15,431
6,871
6,290
581
8,560

23,930
26,459
26,987
19,371
21,253

25,753
28,126
28,526
21,477
22,680

28,241
30,496
30,841
22,989
24,407

24,536
26,804
27,221
20,656
21,958

20,806
22,662
23,218
16,738
19,147

Father in civilian labor force......
Mother in labor force..............
Employed................... .
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

44,763
24,042
22,462
1,580
20,721

30,095
17,432
16,409
1,023
12,663

10,490
6,372
6,060
312
4,119

19,605
11,060
10,349
711
8,544

14,669
6,610
6,053
557
8,058

24,474
26,864
27,384
19,565
22,048

26,503
28,550
28,935
21,801
23,588

29,188
31,117
31,442
23,230
25,821

25,061
27,146
27,545
21,071
22,738

21,284
22,922
23,489
16,808
19,800

Father employed........... .
Mother in labor force...........
Employed.....................
Unemployed...................
Mother not in labor force.......

42,376
22,744
21,383
1,361
19,632

28,635
16,571
15,679
893
12,064

10,003
6,086
5,813
273
3,917

18,632
10,485
9,865
620
8,147

13,741
6,173
5,704
468
7,569

24,945
27,382
27,817
20,598
22,578

26,991
28,960
29,281
22,688
24,056

29,636
31,478
31,749
23,880
26,424

25,581
27,583
27,913
22,147
23,200

21,856
23,467
23,957
17,715
20,423

Father unemployed................
Mother in labor force...........
Employed................. .
Unemployed................. .
Mother not in labor force.......

2,387
1,298
1,079
219
1,089

1,460
860
730
130
599

487
285
246
39
202

973
575
484
91
397

927
438
348
89
490

14,655
17,679
18,671
13,724
12,316

16,756
19,561
20,516
14,977
13,357

19,824
22,517
23,209
(s)
14,771

15,420
18,179
19,180
14,049
12,689

12,673
14,523
15,598
11,842
10,519

Father not In civilian labor force...
Mother in labor force....... .
Employed ....... ............. .
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

1,918
730
667
63
1,188

1,539
608
560
48
932

736
325
304
22
410

804
282
256
26
521

379
122
107
15
256

11,391
16,819
17,150
<*)
8,838

12,153
17,550
17,849
(?)
9,291

13,473
19,409
19,563
(s)
10,763

10,659
16,082
16,425
(*>
8,310

8,834
13,480
13,670
C3)
7,740

Father in Armed Forces...............
Mother in labor force.............
Employed.......................
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

861
407
388
19
454

477
268
257
11
209

103
66
62
4
37

373
201
195
7
172

384
139
131
8
245

16,608
20,977
21,062
(5)
12,794

20,862
23,343
23,388
(s)
17,160

23,313
(*>
(*)
(3)
(3)

20,122
23,176
23,467
(3)
16,128

12,153
15,932
15,819
(3)
11,116

In families maintained by women,
total2 ............................
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed............. ......... .
Unemployed.......................
Mother not in labor force...........

10,513
6,607
5,753
854
3,906

7,857
5,262
4,656
606
2,595

2,867
1,935
1,768
167
932

4,990
3,327
2,888
439
1,663

2,656
1,345
1,098
247
1,311

7,652
10,910
11,775
5,343
4,790

8,857
11,763
12,461
6,034
5,294

10,708
13,421
13,960
8,526
5,969

7,891
10,777
11,644
5,554
4,942

5,046
7,853
9,088
3,424
3,984

1,094
954
872
82
127
12

875
767
709
58
106
2

411
355
329
26
55
1

464
412
380
32
51
1

219
187
162
24
21
11

14,249
15,765
16,657
7,713
7,708
(3)

15,613
17,175
17,938
7,824
6,907
(?)

16,404
18,359
19,246
(3)
(3)
(3)

15,087
16,421
17,134
(*)
(?)
(?)

11,229
11,530
12,370
(3)
(3)
(3)

In families maintained by men, total2 .
Father in civilian labor force.......
Employed.........................
Unemployed.......................
Father not in civilian labor force...
Father in Armed Forces..............

See fo o tn o te s a t end o f ta b le




7

Table B-1. C©nt5nued=W umber of own cbiSdren under 18 by age of children, type of family,
employment status of parents, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1981, and median family
Income in 1980
Median family income in 1980

Number of children (in thousands)

6 to 17 years

6 to 17 years

Item
Total
under
18 years

Under
6 years
Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

Total
under
18 years

Under
6 years
Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

White

Mother not in labor force...........

49,579
26,240
24,573
1,667
22,472

34,171
19,529
18,412
1,118
13,935

12,231
7,272
6,921
351
4,619

21,940
12,257
11,490
767
9,316

15,408
6,711
6,162
549
8,536

$22,315
24,257
24,717
17,301
20,200

$23,736
25,561
26,027
18,914
21,590

$26,051
28,058
28,458
20,550
23,454

$22,674
24,280
24,664
18,271
20,799

$19,511
21,274
21,862
15,114
18,214

In married-couple families, total.....
Mother in labor force, total...... ..
Employed .........................
Unemployed.......................
Mother not in labor force...........

42,129
21,865
20,569
1,297
20,264

28,440
15,973
15,128
845
12,467

10,024
18,416
5,916 • 10,057
5,652
9,476
264
581
4,108
8,359

13,688
5,892
5,441
452
7,796

24,245
26,854
27,299
20,433
21,705

26,260
28,567
28,888
22,605
23,236

28,962
31,080
31,361
23,790
25,373

24,829
27,150
27,478
22,026
22,382

20,993
22,803
23,290
17,132
19,468

Father in civilian labor force......
Mother in labor force.............
Employed....................... .
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

39,996
20,966
19,729
1,237
19,030

26,891
15,258
14,459
799
11,632

9,377
5,588
5,347
241
3,789

17,513
9,670
9,112
558
7,843

13,105
5,708
5,270
437
7,397

24,689
27,211
27,640
20,742
22,304

26,867
28,950
29,251
23,019
23,907

29,758
31,673
31,923
24,364
26,532

25,300
27,442
27,752
22,414
22,949

21,388
23,020
23,508
17,327
19,996

Father employed.................
Mother in labor force...... .
Employed........... .
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force........

38,019
19,933
18,867
1,066
18,087

25,694
14,586
13,881
704
11,109

8,982
5,369
5,154
215
3,614

16,712
9,217
8,728
489
7,495

12,325
5,347
4,985
362
6,978

25,171
27,677
28,021
21,862
22,796

27,318
29,307
29,544
23,969
24,352

30,159
31,964
32,157
25,430
27,119

25,793
27,844
28,085
23,480
23,378

21,923
23,538
23,949
18,344
20,572

Father unemployed..................
Mother in labor force............
Employed ......... ............
Unemployed................. .
Mother not in labor force........

1,976
1,033
863
171
943

1,196
673
578
95
524

395
219
193
26
175

801
453
385
69
348

780
361
285
76
420

14,729
17,533
18,566
13,938
12,852

16,871
19,723
20,808
15,464
14,013

20,543
23,926
25,143
(s)
15,955

15,163
17,673
18,807
(3)
13,277

12,907
14,491
15,398
12,599
11,029

Father not in civilian labor force...
Mother in labor force............
Employed........................
Unemployed......................
Mother not in labor force.........

1,417
576
528
48
841

1,135
489
452
37
646

550
266
248
18
284

585
223
204
19
362

282
87
76
11
195

12,348
17,364
17,850
(3)
9,474

13,107
17,948
18,354
(3)
10,211

14,934
19,946
20,288
(s)
11,628

11,830
16,347
16,710
(3)
8,587

9,172
14,303
14,749
(3)
7,820

Father in Armed Forces..............
Mother in labor force.............
Employed ........... ........... .
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

716
323
312
12
393

415
226
217
8
189

97
62
58
4
35

318
164
160
4
154

301
97
94
3
203

17,279
22,238
22,315
(S)
13,509

21,830
24,396
24,337
(s)
17,639

23,028
(3)
(3)
(3)
(s)

21,440
24,595
24,773
(s)
16,808

12,185
14,474
14,748
(3)
11,504

In families maintained by women,
total2 ...........................
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed........................ .
Unemployed.......................
Mother not in labor force...........

6,583
4,375
4,004
370
2,208

5,024
3,556
3,284
273
1,468

1,867
1,356
1,269
87
511

3,157
2,200
2,015
186
957

1,558
818
721
98
740

8,822
11,905
12,408
5,498
4,990

10,315
12,793
13,293
6,207
5,526

12,527
14,911
15,429
9,092
6,846

8,957
11,725
12,237
5,494
5,105

5,311
8,226
9,061
3,845
4,204

867
784
717
68
75
8

706
643
596
47
62
1

340
302
281
20
38
0

366
341
314
27
24
1

161
141
121
20
12
8

15,916
16,917
17,831
(3)
8,842
(3)

17,153
18,163
18,952
(3)
(3)
(3)

18,682
20,106
21,048
(3)
(3)
(3)

16,061
16,838
17,543
(3)
(3)
(3)

11,147
11,465
12,463
(3)
(3)
(3)

Total own children! ............... ...
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed...................... ...

In families maintained by men, total2 .
Father in civilian labor force.......
Employed....................... .
Unemployed.................. .
Father not in civilian labor force...
Father in Armed Forces........ .

See footnotes at end of table.




8

Table B-1. Co nil nued=W umber of own children under 18 by age of children, type of family,
employment status of parents, race, and Hispanic origin, SVIarch 1981, and median
family income in 1980
Number of children (in thousands)

Item

Median family income in 1980

6 to 17 years
Total
under
18 years

6 to 17 years
Under
6 years

Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

Total
under
18 years

Total

Under
6 years
14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

Black

Total own children! ......... . „„0 0 0. 0 0
Mother in labor force, total.... .„..
Employed....... ..................
Unemployed................... .
Mother not in labor force...........

7,851
4,610
3,819
790
3,049

5,542
3,385
2,851
534
2,011

1,198
1,056
142
736

3,548
2,187
1,795
392
1,275

2,310
1,224
968
256
1,038

$11,883
15,286
17,089
8,149
6,974

$12,403
15,473
17,170
8,500
7,477

$12,770
16,390
17,222
12,256
7,737

$1 1 , 9 9 9
14,991
17,143
7,455
7,281

$10,587
14,863
16,909
6,303
6,143

In married-couple families, total.....
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed.........................
Unemployed.......................
Mother not in labor force...........

3,960
2,520
2,200
320
1,441

2,741
1,797
1,585
211
944

987
649
586
63
338

1,754
1,147
999
148
606

1,220
723
615
108
496

20,233
22,954
23,971
15,474
14,863

21,179
24,040
24,950
16,202
15,350

21,395
24,541
25,380

21,054
23,741
24,745
15,174
16,102

18,414
20,317
21,704
14,528
14,066

Father in civilian labor force.......
Mother in labor force.........
Employed.... ............ ......
Unemployed.......... ...........
Mother not in labor fbrce..........

3,542
2,342
2,033
309
1,200

2,430
1,669
1,462
208
761

848
596
533
63
252

1,582
1,073
929
144
509

1,111
672
571
101
439

21,429
23,436
24,555
15,175
17,339

22,477
24,577
25,665
16,032
18,082

23,007
25,329
26,413

22,175
24,147
25,272
14,944
18,277

19,168
20,739
22,214
14,095
15,705

Father employed..................
Mother in labor force...........
Employed.....................
Unemployed...................
Mother not In labor force.......

3,213
2,132
1,869
264
1,081

2,215
1,521
1,345
176
694

769
543
489
54
226

1,446
978
856
122
468

998
611
523
88
387

22,115
24,012
25,148
15,619
18,484

22,991
25,018
26,213
16,276
18,968

23,577
26,092
27,235

22,668
24,516
25,658
15,267
19,159

20,097
21,609
22,967
14,800
17,419

Father unemployed...............
Mother in labor force...........
Employed.....................
Unemployed .............. .....
Mother not in labor force........

329
210
164
46
119

215
148
116
32
67

79
53
44
9
26

136
95
73
22
41

113
61
48
14
52

12,894
17,200
18,205

15,321
19,101
19,823

15,461

15,252
19,149

9,433

(3)
(3)

(3)

(s)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

7,567

(3)

(3)

(3)

(*)

Father not in civilian labor force...
Mother in labor force.............
Employed.......................
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

312
120
113
7
192

267
98
95
3
169

133
49
49
0
84

134
49
46
3
85

45
22
18
4
23

9,762
14,769
14,012
(*)
7,375

9,789
14,614
14,172

10,433

9,386

(3)

(3)

(3)

C3 )

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(S)

(3)

(3)

8,007

8,655

6,066

(3)

Father in Armed Forces..............
Mother in labor force.............
Employed.......................
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

107
58
54
4
49

43
29
28
0
15

6
4
4
0
2

37
25
24
0
13

63
29
26
3
34

13,176

(3)

(3)

(»)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

In families maintained by women,
total.2 ...................... .
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed.........................
Unemployed.......................
Mother not in labor force...........

3,698
2,090
1,619
470
1,608

2,655
1,589
1,266
323
1,067

947
549
470
78
398

1,708
1,040
796
244
668

1,043
501
354
148
541

6,309
8,927
10,483
5,206
4,384

6,937
9,505
10,767
5,930
4,992

193
146
134
13
43
3

146
109
100
9
36
0

60
46
41
5
14
0

86
63
59
4
23
0

47
37
34
3
7
3

10,807
11,935
13,019
(3)

10,703
12,711
13,340
(»)

(3)

(3)

In families maintained by men, total2 .
Father in civilian labor force......
Employed..........
Unemployed.......................
Father not in civilian labor force...
Father in Armed Forces..............

1,994

See footnotes at end of table.




9

(3)

(3)

13,632

(3)

17,641

(3)

18,536

(3)

(»)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(s)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(S)

(3)

(*)

(S)

(3)

7,556
10,649
11,320
8,449
5,434

6,643
8,855
10,566
5,563
4,587

4,630
7,285
9,407
3,035
3,589

(3)

11,221

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)
(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(S)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

(3)

Table B-1. Confinuedl^Wymber of own children under 18 by age of children, type of family,
employment status of parents, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1981, and median
family income in 1980
Number of children (in thousands)

Item

Median family income in 1980

6 to 17 years
Total
under
18 years

6 to 17 years
Under
6 years

Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

Total
under
18 years

Under
6 years
Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

H isp a n ic
Total own children1 ..............
Mother in labor force, total.........
Employed............. ............
Unemployed................. .
Mother not in labor force...........

4,884
1,994
1,787
207
2,768

3,150
1,391
1,263
128
1,667

1,022
460
419
41
514

2,128
931
844
87
1,153

1,735
603
524
79
1,101

$14,138
18,866
19,819
12,016
11,299

$15,021
19,874
20,895
11,462
11,611

$16,493
20,965
22,074
(3 )
12,445

$14,464
19,423
20,369
11,176
11,225

$12,631
16,828
17,737
12,504
10,834

In married-couple families, total.....
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed............. ....... .
Unemployed.........................
Mother not in labor force...........

3,688
1,571
1,429
143
2,117

2,316
1,064
986
78
1,252

744
350
326
25
393

1,572
714
661
53
858

1,372
507
442
65
865

17,113
21,367
22,216
13,937
13,992

18,482
23,005
23,670
14,617
14,553

19,671
24,382
24,999
(3)
15,586

17,926
22,413
23,080
(3)
14,221

14,972
18,452
19,363
(s)
13,159

Father in civilian labor force.......
Mother in labor force.............
Employed.......................
Unemployed.......................
Mother not in labor force..........

3,390
1,506
1,365
141
1,884

2,136
1,021
943
78
1,115

672
331
306
25
341

1,464
690
637
53
775

1,254
485
422
64
769

17,838
21,724
22,600
14,034
14,683

19,140
23,355
24,061
14,617
15,298

20,714
24,860
25,637
( s)
16,717

18,521
22,702
23,411
(3)
14,789

15,815
18,821
19,756
(3)
13,886

Father employed...................
Mother in labor force.... .
Employed......................
Unemployed...................
Mother not in labor force........

3,163
1,388
1,286
102
1,775

2,007
960
897
63
1,048

630
318
296
23
312

1,378
641
601
40
736

1,156
428
389
40
727

18,302
22,367
22,932
16,430
14,946

19,611
23,881
24,421
(3)
15,727

21,495
25,238
25,938
(*)
17,469

18,951
23,305
23,811
(3)
14,977

16,218
19,501
19,970
(3 )
14,094

Father unemployed................
Mother in labor force...........
Employed......................
Unemployed...................
Mother not in labor force.......

227
118
79
39
109

129
61
46
15
68

42
13
10
2
29

87
48
36
12
38

98
57
33
24
42

12,402
13,908
16,713
(* )
10,711

12,385
(s)
(s)
(3 )
(s)

(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)

12,074
(3 )
(3)
(3)
(3)

12,432
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3 )

Father not in civilian labor force...
Mother in labor force....... .
Employed.......................
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

233
49
47
2
184

156
32
32
0
124

65
12
12
0
53

91
20
20
0
72

76
17
15
2
59

7,856
(» )
(3 )
(* )
7,579

8,106
(3)
(3)
(3)
7,432

(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)

7,778
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3 )

7,549
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)

Father in Armed Forces..............
Mother in labor force..............
Employed.......................
Unemployed.....................
Mother not in labor force.........

65
16
16
0
49

23
11
11
0
12

7
7
7
0
0

16
4
4
0
12

42
5
5
0
37

(s)
(s)
(s)
(3)
(3)

(3)
(3 )
(3 )
(3)
(3 )

(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3 )

(3 )
C3)
(3)
(3)
(3)

(3)
(3)
(3 )
(3)
(3)

In families maintained by women,
total2 .............................
Mother in labor force, total........
Employed................... .....
Unemployed................. .....
Mother not in labor force.... ......

1,074
423
358
65
651

743
327
277
51
415

230
110
93
16
121

512
217
183
34
295

331
96
82
14
236

6,262
8,886
10,219
(3)
5,394

6,834
9,511
11,008
(3 )
5,779

8,195
11,433
12,517
(3)
6,393

6,354
8,407
9,804
(» )
5,615

5,260
7,960
8,469
(3)
7,128

122
108
93
15
14
0

92
78
70
8
14
0

48
37
35
2
11
0

44
41
35
6
3
0

31
30
23
7
0
0

11,273
11,184
11,749
(3)
(» )
(3)

12,164
12,097
(3 )
(3)
(3)
(*)

(3)
<»)
( 3)
( S)
(3)
(3)

(3)
(3 )
(3)
(3)
( S)
(» )

(3)
(s)
(3)
(3)
(3)
(3)

In families maintained by men, total2 .
Father in civilian labor force.......
Employed................... .....
Unemployed.......................
Father not in civilian labor force...
Father in Armed Forces..... ...... .

1Own children include never-married daughters and sons, step-children, and
adopted children. Excluded are other children such as grandchildren, nieces,
nephews, cousins, and unrelated children.




2Widowed, divorced, separated, and never-married persons,
3 Median not shown where base is less than 75,000.

10

Table B-2. Number of families with own children under 18 by age of children, type of family,
employment status of mother, race, and Hispanic origin, March 1981, and median
family Income In 1980
Median family income in 1980

Number of families (in thousands)

Item

With
children
under
18,
total1

Children 6 to 17 only

Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
only
years

With
Children children
under 6
under
years
18,
total1

Children 6 to 17 only

Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
only
years

Children
under 6
years

A ll fa m ilie s
Married-couple families, total..,,.......
Mother in labor force..................
Employed...... ............ .
Unemployed.................. ......
Mother not in labor force............

24,935
13,902
13,017
886
11,033

13,427
8,392
7,951
441
5,034

4,259
2,696
2,583
113
1,564

9,167
5,697
5,369
328
3,470

11,509
5,510
5,066
445
5,998

$24,345
26,870
27,360
19,925
21,521

$27,794
29,634
29,923
23,743
24,257

$30,459
32,718
32,967
25,562
26,189

$26,662
28,373
28,664
23,335
23,580

$21,313
23,118
23,645
17,297
19,498

Families maintained by women, total2 ....
Mother in labor force................
Employed...........................
Unemployed............... ..........
Mother not in labor force............

5,935
4,030
3,553
478
1,904

3,823
2,888
2,600
288
935

1,257
931
861
70
326

2,566
1,957
1,739
218
609

2,112
1,143
953
190
969

8,343
11,165
11,889
5,410
4,538

10,493
12,382
12,921
6,427
5,299

12,202
14,286
14,822
(3)
5,979

9,698
11,548
12,188
5,977
4,967

5,358
8,258
9,288
3,777
3,999

Families maintained by men, total2 .....

692

513

241

272

179

14,763

16,663

17,509

16,164

11,418

Married-couple families, total..........
Mother in labor force................
Employed............................
Unemployed.........................
Mother not in labor force.............

22,299
12,197
11,490
708
10,102

12,086
7,476
7,112
363
4,610

3,845
2,417
2,323
94
1,428

8,241
5,059
4,790
269
3,182

10,213
4,722
4,377
345
5,491

24,622
27,230
27,660
20,859
21,917

28,262
30,021
30,273
24,431
24,838

31,062
33,207
33,410
26,863
27,061

27,043
28,673
28,925
23,984
24,084

21,453
23,240
23,704
17,704
19,774

Families maintained by women, total2 ....
Mother in labor force................
Employed.................... .......
Unemployed.........................
Mother not in labor force.............

3,945
2,786
2,550
236
1,159

2,676
2,083
1,925
158
593

890
687
647
40
203

1,786
1,396
1,278
118
390

1,269
703
625
78
566

9,390
11,945
12,400
5,672
4,746

11,524
13,105
13,590
6,684
5,643

13,400
15,529
15,946
7,447

10,560
12,212
12,664
6,031
5,213

5,574
8,683
9,354
3,953
4,171

Families maintained by men, total2 .....

552

421

197

224

131

16,465

18,210

20,374

16,987

11,391

Married-couple families, total..........
Mother in labor force................
Employed..... ............... ......
Unemployed.........................
Mother not in labor force.... ..... .

1,944
1,296
1,1.45
151
648

1,033
707
640
67
326

314
210
197
13
104

720
497
443
54
222

910
589
504
84
322

20,797
23,403
24,263
16,120
15,692

22,288
25,482
26,097

22,188
25,530
26,296

22,331
25,468
26,037

(3)

(3)

(3)

16,201

15,773

16,422

19,259
21,079
22,360
15,317
14,960

Families maintained by women, total2 ....
Mother in labor force................
Employed.............. .............
Unemployed..... ........... .
Mother not in labor force.... .

1,863
1,159
926
233
703

1,063
743
620
123
320

341
227
198
29
114

721
515
421
94
206

800
417
306
111
383

6,597
9,534
10,775
5,163
4,079

7,981
10,503
11,402
6,198
4,783

8,728
11,474
12,168
(3)
5,237

7,707
10,171
11,158
5,902
4,521

5,039
7,696
9,457
3,515
3,663

Families maintained by men, total2 .....

117

77

38

39

40

10,595

10,020

(*)

(3)

(3)

Married-couple families, total....... .
Mother in labor force................
Employed.......................... .
Unemployed................... -....
Mother not in labor force............

1,672
767
698
68
905

692
362
343
19
329

191
102
94
9
89

500
260
250
10
240

980
404
355
49
576

17,837
21,687
22,560

21,439
25,664
26,116
(»)
16,852

22,269
27,901
28,224

22,218
25,033
25,541

15,881
19,062
19,993

(3)

(3)

(3)

16,569

16,980

13,702

Families maintained by women, total2 ....
Mother in labor force....... .
Employed..... ............. .
Unemployed..................... .
Mother not in labor force.............

547
249
216
33
298

298
166
145
21
132

84
49
43
7
34

215
117
103
14
98

248
83
71
12
165

6,289
9,247
10,468
(s)
4,846

7,395
10,226
11,716

9,022

6,667
9,373
11,002

Families maintained by men, total2 .....

68

45

23

22

23

W hite fa m ilie s

B la c k fam ilie s

(3)

-

H is p a n ic fam ilies

1 O w n c h ild re n in c lu d e neve r-m a rrie d d a u g h te rs and s o n s , s te p -c h ild re n , and
a d o p te d c h ild re n . E x c lu d e d are o th e r c h ild re n s u c h as g ra n d c h ild re n , n ie c e s ,
n e p h e w s, c o u s in s , a n d u n re la te d c h ild re n .




(3)

14,595

(»)

(3)

(3)

(3)

5,484

(3)

5,346

5,364
8,412
(3)
(*)
4,467

(3)

(*)

(3)

(3)

(3)
(3)

2 W id o w e d , d iv o rc e d , s e p a ra te d , and ne v e r-m a rrie d pe rs o n s ,
3 M e d ia n n o t s h o w n w h e re base is le ss th a n 75,000.

11

Table B-3. Wumber ©f ©wo ©biSdren under 18 by age ©f children, type ©f family, employment
status ©f parents, March 1980, and median family income in 1979
Number of children (in thousands)

Median family income in 1979

6 to 17 years

6 to 17 years

Item
under
18 years
Total

14 to 17
years

6 to
13
years

Under
6
years

Total
under
18 years
Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years

Under
6 years

All children
$20,991
22,489
22,942
14,635
18,944

$23,006
24,674
24,993
17,386
20,503

$19,945
21,310
21,837
13,338
18,338

$17,564
18,967
19,613
11,659
16,485

22,465
24,390
24,677
19,125
20,172

23,960
25,799
26,080
20,675
21,521

26,463
28,326
28,461
24,573
23,351

22,869
24,407
24,667
19,127
20,692

19,581
21,190
21,562
16,579
18,340

19,969 14,278
11,010 6,077
10,389 5,573
621
505
8,959 8,200

23,022
24,794
25,075
19,884
20,924

24,589
26,332
26,574
21,782
22,417

27,396
28,895
28,999
25,873
24,516

23,424
24,796
25,037
19,898
21,473

20,021
21,523
21,871
17,148
18,866

19,079 13,459
10,519 5,771
9,971 5,336
548
435
8,559 7,688

23,376
25,094
25,391
20,823
21,384

24,918
26,652
26,858
22,568
22,835

27,729
29,157
29,255
26,188
24,867

23,751
25,066
25,324
20,868
21,922

20,425
21,788
22,068
17,959
19,355

819
307
237
70
512

14,756
18,389
19,370
14,240
11,991

16,255
19,384
20,219
15,521
12,867

17,966
19,787
20,018
(?)
15,780

15,519
19,230
20,287
(?)
12,516

12,765
16,603
17,777
(»)
10,866

912
365
324
41
547

421
136
124
12
285

10,838
15,361
16,163
11,459
8,257

11,475
15,905
16,723
(*)
8,703

12,845
17,248
17,734
(3)
9,569

10,387
14,591
15,565
(?)
7,551

8,261
12,663
13,110
(3)
6,778

122
71
71
1
50

409
206
195
11
203

424
172
154
19
251

15,666
17,226
17,826
(?)
13,910

18,278
18,640
18,992
(*)
17,599

23,482
(?)
(?)
(3)
(S)

16,831
17,064
17,429
(?)
16,354

12,890
15,201
16,137
(?)
12,132

7,961
5,300
4,737
563
2,661

2,905
1,986
1,818
168
919

5,057
3,314
2,919
395
1,743

2,620
1,317
1,060
257
1,303

7,386
10,031
10,695
5,239
4,623

8,373
10,662
11,234
5,811
5,185

10,240
12,449
12,880
6,699
5,979

7,468
9,619
10,286
5,533
4,852

4,835
7,460
8,283
4,201
3,705

794
702
659
43
87
5

401
349
328
21
49

393
353
331

184
154
130
24
18
12

15,406
16,805
17,038

16,512
17,716
17,863
(3)
6,020
(3)

18,298
19,794
20,004
(3)
(?)
(3)

14,935
16,057
16,281
(?)
(?)
(?)

11,809
12,738
12,991
(?)
(s)
(3)

Total own children* ..... ................
Mother in labor force, total............
Employed ..............................
Unemployed ......................... ...
Mother not in labor force..............

59,714
31,529
29,224
2,305
27,208

41,788
23,826
22,313
1,513
17,168

15,048
8,931
8,486
445
5,717

26,739 17,927 $19,818
14,895 7,703 21,532
13,827 6,911 22,068
1,067
792 13,345
11,451 10,040 17,946

In married-couple families, total.........
Mother in labor force, total.............
Employed..............................
Unemployed............................
Mother not in labor force...............

48,155
24,912
23,427
1,485
23,244

33,032
18,525
17,576
950
14,507

11,743
6,945
6,668
277
4,798

21,290 15,123
11,581 6,386
10,908 5,851
673
535
9,709 8,737

Father in civilian labor force..........
Mother in labor force.................
Employed...... .....................
Unemployed ..........................
Mother not in labor force.............

45,086
23,634
22,255
1,379
21,452

30,808
17,556
16,682
874
13,251

10,839
6,546
6,293
253
4,293

Father employed.......................
Mother in labor force................
Employed................... .
Unemployed........................
Mother not in labor force...........

43,009
22,617
21,400
1,217
20,392

29,550
16,846
16,063
783
12,704

10,471
6,327
6,092
235
4,144

Father unemployed.....................
Mother in labor force...............
Employed..........................
Unemployed................. .
Mother not in labor force...........

2,077
1,017
856
161
1,060

1,258
710
619
91
548

368
220
201
18
148

890
491
418
73
400

Father not in civilian labor force.......
Mother in labor force.................
Employed.............................
Unemployed.................... .....
Mother not in labor force.............

2,115
828
752
76
1,288

1,694
691
627
64
1,003

782
327
303
23
456

Father in Armed Forces..................
Mother in labor force..... ...........
Employed............................
Unemployed.... .....................
Mother not in labor force.... ........

954
450
420
30
504

531
278
266
12
253

In families maintained by women, total2 ...
Mother in labor force, total............
Bnployed..............................
Unemployed...........................
Mother not in labor force...............

10,582
6,617
5,797
820
3,964

In families maintained by men, total2 ....
Father in civilian labor force..........
Employed.... .........................
Unemployed...................... .....
Father not in civilian labor force......
Father in Armed Forces.................

978
856
789
67
105
17

2

1 O w n c h ild re n in c lu d e ne v e r-m a rrie d d a u g h te rs and s o n s , s te p -c h ild re n , and
a d o p te d c h ild re n . E x c lu d e d are o th e r c h ild re n s u c h as g ra n d c h ild re n , n ie c e s ,
n e p h e w s, c o u s in s , and u n re la te d c h ild re n .




22

38
3

(S)

5,812
(?)

2 W id o w e d , d iv o rc e d , s e p a ra te d , and n e v e r-m a rrie d pe rs o n s .
3 M e d ia n n o t s h o w n w h e re ba s e is less th a n 75,000.

12

Table B-4. dumber of families with own children under 18 by age of children, type of family,
employment status of mother, IViarch 1980, and median family Income in 1979___________
Number of children (in thousands)

Median family income in 1979

6 to 17 years only
Item

Total
under
18
years 1

Total

6 to 17 years only

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years
only

Under
6 years

Total
under
18
yearsl

Total

14 to 17 6 to 13
years
years
only

Under
6 years

Married-couple families..... .
Mother in labor force....... .
Employed...................... .
Unemployed......................
Mother not in labor force..........

24,974
13,558
12,777
781
11,416

13,575
8,391
8,021
370
5,184

4,368
2,643
2,558
85
1,724

9,208
5,748
5,464
284
3,460

11,398
5,166
4,755
411
6,232

$22,799
24,707
25,023
18,644
20,351

$25,695
27,331
27,546
21,919
22,903

$28,149
30,233
30,354
26,158
24,176

$24,664
26,066
26,309
20,712
22,303

$20,006
21,557
21,952
16,647
18,644

Families maintained by women2 .......
Mother in labor force..............
Employed.......... ....... .
Unemployed................. .....
Mother not in labor force..........

5,718
3,833
3,412
421
1,885

3,638
2,692
2,459
232
946

1,190
877
822
55
313

2,448
1,815
1,637
177
633

2,080
1,141
953
188
938

8,008
10,497
11,076
5,216
4,354

10,041
11,682
12,091
6,568
5,270

11,933
13,643
13,886
(3)
6,403

9,120
10,847
11,339
6,129
4,932

5,114
7,623
8,370
4,101
3,719

Families maintained by men2 .........

633

480

238

242

153

15,224

16,758

18,714

15,407

11,538

1 O w n c h ild re n in c lu d e ne v e r-m a rrie d d a u g h te rs and s o n s , s te p -c h ild re n , and
a d o p te d c h ild re n . E x c lu d e d are o th e r c h ild re n s u c h as g ra n d c h ild re n , n ie c e s ,
ne p h e w s, c o u s in s , and u n re la te d c h ild re n .




2 W id o w e d , d iv o rc e d , s e p a ra te d , a n d ne v e r-m a rrie d p e rs o n s ,
3 M e d ia n n o t s h o w n w h ere b a s e is le s s th a n 75,000.

13

cs
iegoomal

c@s

Region I
1603 JFK Federal Building
Government Center
Boston, Mass. 02203
Phone: (617) 223-6761

Region SW
1371 Peachtree Street, N.E.
Atlanta, Ga. 30367
Phone: (404) 881-4418

Region ¥
Region il
Suite 3400
1515 Broadway
New York, N.Y. 10036
Phone: (212) 944-3121

Region BIB
3535 Market Street
P.O. Box 13309
Philadelphia, Pa. 19101
Phone: (215) 596-1154




9th Floor
Federal Office Building
230 S. Dearborn Street
Chicago, III. 60604
Phone: (312) 353-1880

Region VS
Second Floor
555 Griffin Square Building
Dallas, Tex. 75202
Phone: (214) 767-6971

Regions VIS and VBII
911 Walnut Street
Kansas City, Mo. 64106
Phone: (816) 374-2481

Regions IX and X
450 Golden Gate Avenue
Box 36017
San Francisco, Calif. 94102
Phone: (415) 556-4678