American families are experiencing the effects of the "Great Recession." Most of the job losses are accruing to men, so families may find it strategic for wives to enter the labor force, or increase their work hours. We consider this possibility using the May 2008 and 2009 Current Population Survey, and compare findings to May 2004 and 2005 data,…

The jobless rate among all household heads reached 6 percent in April 1975, double the average rate over the 1963-74 period (2.8 percent), and half again as high as the previous peak (4 percent) recorded during the first half of 1963. The number of unemployed household heads increased from 1.4 to 3.2 million from October 1973 to April 1975, from…

This document presents a study that views working mothers as primary or co-equal earners, who need wages sufficient to support their families. The study hypothesized that the complex socioeconomic trends of the last two decades have had more of an impact on working mothers' wages than have their specific family relations. The study employed a…

This report describes the socioeconomic conditions of women who are heads of families noting that the accelerated growth of families headed by women in recent years, especially since 1970, has been of concern in part because one out of every three, as compared to one of every eighteen of the families headed by men, is living at or below what is…

Data from the Annual Housing Survey indicated that 22% of all employed United States household heads commuted to a county different from that in which they lived in 1975. Commuting was more prevalent among men than among women and slightly higher for whites than for Blacks. Commuting tended to increase until age 25-34 and then to decline after age…

Selected characteristics of the Spanish origin population (Mexican American, Puerto Rican, Cuban, Central or South American, and other Spanish) and labor force in the United States are presented in this chartbook, compiled from the March 1976 Current Population Survey. Divided into four sections, the chartbook looks at the size and composition of…