Secure Parental Employment

Secure parental employment is a major factor in the financial well-being of families.1 It is associated with higher family income and has been linked to a number of positive outcomes for children, including better health, education, and social and emotional development.2 One measure of secure parental employment is the percentage of children whose resident parent or parents were employed full time throughout a given year.

Indicator ECON1 Percentage of children ages 0–17 living with at least one parent employed year round, full time by family structure, 2000–2023
Indicator ECON1: Percentage of children ages 0–17 living with at least one parent employed year round, full time by family structure, 2000–2023

NOTE: Year-round, full-time employment is defined as usually working 35 hours or more per week for 50–52 weeks. The data for 2019 were collected during the global COVID-19 pandemic. While the U.S. Census Bureau went to great lengths to continue to complete interviews by telephone, the response rate for the survey was negatively impacted. The Census Bureau creates weights designed to adjust for nonresponse, but nonrespondents in 2020 are less similar to respondents than in earlier years. In particular, respondents in 2020 had relatively higher incomes and were more educated than nonrespondents. For possible effects on these estimates, see https://www.census.gov/newsroom/blogs/research-matters/2020/09/pandemic-affect-survey-response.html. Data for 2020 reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and efforts to contain it.

SOURCE: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

  • In 2023, 79% of children ages 0–17 had at least one parent employed year round, full time. This percentage was not significantly different from the percentage in 2022.
  • In 2023, 89% of children living in families maintained by two married parents had at least one parent employed year round, full time. In contrast, 68% of children living in families maintained by a single father and 53% of children living in families maintained by a single mother had a parent employed year round, full time.
  • Since 2010, approximately 80% to 90% of children living in families maintained by two married parents have had at least one parent employed year round, full time. In contrast, approximately 60% to 70% of children living in families maintained by a single father and approximately 40% to 50% of children living in families maintained by a single mother had a least one parent employed year round, full time. All family structures experienced increases in 2021 as labor market conditions improved from the prior year.
  • In 2023, 76% of children ages 0–5 and 81% of children ages 6–17 had at least one parent employed year round, full time.
  • In 2023, 50% of children in families maintained by two married parents who were living below the poverty threshold had at least one parent employed year round, full time. In contrast, 92% of children in families maintained by two married parents who were living at or above the poverty threshold had at least one parent employed year round, full time.
  • Black, non-Hispanic children and Hispanic children were less likely than White, non-Hispanic children to have a parent employed year round, full time. In 2023, 72% of Hispanic children and 70% of Black, non-Hispanic children had a parent employed year round, full time, compared with 86% of White, non-Hispanic children.

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1 Following U.S. Office of Management and Budget Statistical Policy Directive 14, poverty status is determined by comparing a family's (or an unrelated individual's) income to one of 48 dollar amounts called thresholds. The thresholds vary by the size of the family and the members' ages. In 2023, the poverty threshold for a family with two adults and two children was $30,900. For further details, see http://www.census.gov/data/tables/time-series/demo/income-poverty/historical-poverty-thresholds.html.

2 Cauthen, N. K. (2002). Policies that improve family income matter for children (Improving Children's Economic Security: Research Findings About Increasing Family Income Through Employment, Policy Brief No. 1). National Center for Children in Poverty. https://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:127558/CONTENT/text_480.pdf

Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics

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