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Radio Soundbites
Labor Force Participation for Mothers With Infants Declines
for First Time, Census Bureau Reports
The labor force participation rates of mothers with infant children fell
from a record-high 59 percent in 1998 to 55 percent in 2000, the first
significant decline since the Census Bureau developed the indicator in
1976, according to a report released today by the Commerce Department's
agency.
"The declines occurred primarily among mothers in the workforce who were
30 years old and over, White women, married women living with their
husbands and women who had completed one or more years of college," said
analyst Martin O'Connell about the report, Fertility of American
Women: June 2000. "Whether the declines are short-lived or will continue
depends to a considerable extent on changes in the economy and changes in
the lifestyles of new mothers in balancing work and child-rearing activities."
In contrast to the overall trend, younger mothers (under age 30),
African American mothers, Hispanic mothers and mothers who had a high
school education or less did not experience a decline in their labor force
participation rates between 1998 and 2000.
The labor force participation rate of new mothers was still much higher
than the 31 percent first recorded by the Census Bureau in 1976.
Other highlights from the report:
- The fertility rate for Hispanic women in 2000 was 47 percent higher
than the overall average. Foreign-born Hispanic women had a higher
fertility rate (112 births per 1,000 women) than native Hispanic
women (80 per 1,000). About 1 in 5 births in the United States was to
a Hispanic women.
- Births to foreign-born women made up 17 percent of all births in
2000. The fertility rate for foreign-born women (85 births per 1,000
women) was higher than for native-born women (62 per 1,000).
- Approximately 1.2 million women gave birth out of wedlock in the 12
months preceding the survey, representing 31 percent of all births
during this period. The proportion of out-of-wedlock births was
considerably lower among foreign-born women (18 percent) than among
native-born women (34 percent).
- Overall, 43 percent of women in the childbearing ages (15 to 44 years
old) were childless in 2000. Among women 40-to-44 years old who were
nearing the completion of their childbearing years, 19 percent were
childless, almost twice as high as women of the same age in 1980
(10 percent).
- Women nearing the end of their childbearing years had an average of
1.9 children, which is below the level required for the natural
replacement of the population (about 2.1 births per woman). This
average is one child less than the average for women in this same age
group in 1980 (3.0 children).
Data are from the June 2000 supplement to the Current Population Survey.
Statistics from surveys are subject to sampling and nonsampling error.
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