Handbook on women workers

Page 47

29 Women in the Labor Force At the upper end of the income scale, only 25 percent of the wives whose husbands' incomes were $10,000 or more were in the labor force. The labor-force participation rates of wives, therefore, are highest where the husbands' incomes do not represent poverty levels, but rather the lower range of middle-income levels. The rate then declines as the husbands' incomes reach higher levels. Table Ht-LABOR-FoRCE PARTICIPATION RATES OF WIVES INCOME OF HUSBAND' IN 1963 AND PRESENCE (HUSBAND PRESENT), BY AGES ANI') OF OHILDREN, MAROH 1964 (Women 14 years of age and over) Presence and ages of children Income of husband Total TotaL _ Under $1,000 _ $1,000 to $1,999 $2,000 to $2,999 $3,000 to $4,999 $5,000 to $6,999 $7,000 to $9,999 $10,000 and over 1 _ _ _ _ _ _ No children under 18 22. '7 34.4 37.8 43.0 35.6 34.1 47.6 30.6 31. 2 28. 6 48. 9 28.9 33. 4 30.6 50. 2 28. 9 39.1 41. 5 50. 2 28.9 38. 2 45.4 48.9 23.2 31. 2 43. 0 38. 5 15.0 24. 8 34. 1 25.5 13.4 May also have older children, in addition to one or more under 6. Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics: Special Labor Force Beport No. 50. When a wife decides whether or not to seek paid employment, the presence of young children in the family seems a more important (For a detailed discussion of working mothers, Among married women (hus­ band present) the labor-force participation rate in March 1964 varied from 23 percent for those who had preschool children to 43 percent for those with school-age children only. On the other hand, wives (hus­ band present) who had no children under 18 years of age had a relatively low labor-force participation rate of 38 percent. This is explained by the fact that this group includes many older women who consideration than her husband's income. see sections 25-35.) are retired or unable to work. A percent distribution of all working wives shows that in March 1964 more than half had husbands whose incomes were $5,000 or more (table 14). More working wives (about 28 percent) were found where $7,000 than at any At the extremes, 23 percent of working wives had the husbands' incomes were between $5,000 and other income level. husbands whose incomes were below $3,000; 8 percent, $10,000 or more.