April 28, 2006 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Employment in married-couple families

In 2005, the percentage of married-couple families with an employed family member was 83.8 percent, up from 83.5 percent in 2004.

Married-couple families by presence and relationship of employed members, 2005
[Chart data—TXT]

The proportion of married-couple families in which only the husband worked (20.2 percent) edged down in 2005, as did the proportion of married-couple families in which only the wife worked (6.5 percent). The proportion that were dual-worker couples (both husband and wife employed) rose to 51.3 percent.

The proportion of married-family couples in which no family member was employed was 16.2 percent.

These data are from the Current Population Survey. To learn more, see "Employment Characteristics of Families in 2005" (PDF) (TXT), news release USDL 06-731. A family is a group of two or more persons residing together who are related by birth, marriage, or adoption.