November 2, 1999 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)
Full-time working couples more common
There has been a
marked increase over the past three decades in the share of married
couples in which both husband and wife work 35 or more hours a week.
[Chart data—TXT]
In 1969, both spouses worked full-time in about 24 percent of married
couples in which both spouses were age 25 to 54 years. By 1998, this
figure had risen to 43 percent. The increase was more dramatic among
couples with children under age 6. In 1998, fully 31 percent of such
couples had both spouses at work full-time, up from 13 percent in 1969.
One of the results of this increase has been an extension in the total
time spent at work by the average married couple. In 1998, married couples
spent, on average, 14 more hours working per week than they did in 1969.
Once again, married couples with children under 6 experienced the largest
increase. Their combined hours rose from 52.3 per week in 1969 to 68.3 in
1998.
These data are products of the Current
Population Survey. Find out more in
Chapter 3 of the Report
on the American Workforce.
Of interest
Spotlight on Statistics: National Hispanic Heritage Month
In this Spotlight, we take a look at the Hispanic labor force—including labor force participation, employment and unemployment, educational attainment, geographic location, country of birth, earnings, consumer expenditures, time use, workplace injuries, and employment projections.
.
Read more »
|