EMBARGOED UNTIL: 9:30 A.M. EDT, SEPTEMBER 29, 1998 (TUESDAY) Public Information Office CB98-181 301-457-3030/301-457-3670 (fax) 301-457-4067 (TDD) e-mail: pio@census.gov Arthur Jones/Shirley Smith 301-457-3242 Married Women Joining Work Force Spur 150 Percent Family Income Increase, Census Bureau Finds in 50-Year Review An increase in the number of married women in the work force contributed to a 150 percent increase in the real median income of married-couple families between 1947 and 1997, the Commerce Department's Census Bureau reported today in a chart book chronicling a half century of measuring income in America. Other important findings in the book include the climb of the female-to-male earnings ratio to a record high, the growth in real median income of college graduates and a continuing three-decade increase in the number of children in poverty. (The publication, Measuring 50 Years of Economic Change Using the March Current Population Survey, can be accessed at http://www.census.gov/ dcmd/www/embargo/embargo.html. Call the Public Information Office to obtain access information. After the release time, go to http://www.census.gov/hhes/income/chartbk.html.) "Since 1951, the proportion of married women in the labor force has almost tripled," said Arthur Jones, co-author with Shirley Smith of the anniversary book. "This was a major factor contributing to the growth in the real median income of all married-couple families during the 50-year period from $20,620 in 1947 to $51,591 in 1997." Jones added, "For families with wives in the paid labor force, the gain amounted to 154 percent from $23,901 in 1949 to $60,669 in 1997." "For the past 50 years, researchers and analysts have extensively relied on data collected in the Current Population Survey to track the effectiveness of government programs, gauge the economic well-being of the country, develop marketing strategies for businesses and examine demographic patterns, " said James Holmes, acting Census Bureau director. The chart book makes these additional points: - Since 1967, the proportion of full time, year-round workers who were women increased from 29 percent to 41 percent. Since 1960, the earnings of these women rose 54 percent to $24,973. The result is a female-to-male earnings ratio that is currently at an all-time high of 0.74. - Men who were college graduates had a 1997 median income of $47,126 a 22 percent increase since 1963. Less-educated men showed declines in income. - Women in all educational attainment groups experienced increases in income since 1963, with college-educated women showing, at 53 percent, one of the biggest increases. - Poverty for most races has declined since 1959. Over the past three decades, poverty has increased for children. Female householder families with no spouse present have had the highest poverty rate. - The number of married-couple families as a percentage of all families declined from 87 percent to 77 percent between 1947 and 1997. - Family income inequality grew considerably during the 1980s, but has been unchanged since 1993. - Despite being tempered by business-cycle downturns, real per capita income increased 77 percent between 1967 and 1997, from $10,895 to $19,241. - Until recently, the income of each new generation was higher than the previous one. This trend reversed beginning with the generation of men who were 25 to 34 in 1987; their median income was lower than that of same-age men from the previous generation (20 years earlier). Women of the same age, however, continued to outpace the previous generation in real median income. As in all surveys, the Current Population Survey data are subject to sampling variability and other sources of error.-X-The Census Bureau pre-eminent collector and provider of timely, relevant and quality data about the people and economy of the United States. In more than 100 surveys annually and 20 censuses a decade, evolving from the first census in 1790, the Census Bureau provides official information about America's people, businesses, industries and institutions.
