00-01
March 2000
Accessibility Information

1. Of the 108 million women age 16 and over in the United States in 1999, 65 million were in the labor force–working or looking for work.

2. Six out of every ten women age 16 and over were labor force participants in 1999. Women age 35-44 had the highest labor participation rate in 1999.

3. Historically black women have had higher labor force participation rates than white and Hispanic women. Between 1994 and 1996, however, black and white women had virtually identical rates–approximately 59 percent and Hispanic women participated at a rate of about 53 percent.

Since that time, black women have edged ahead with a participation rate of 63.5 percent in 1999. White and Hispanic women participated at 59.6 and 55.9 percent, respectively. Hispanic origin women are gradually narrowing the participation gap between themselves and their white counterparts.

4. Women's share of the labor force reached 46 percent in 1994 and has remained at this level. By 2008, women are projected to comprise 48 percent of the labor force.

5. Educational attainment is a reliable predictor of labor force participation. The higher the level of education, the more likely the person is to be in the labor force.

6. The age of children also affects the labor force participation of women--the older the children, the more likely women will participate. In March 1999, mothers with children age 14 to 17, none younger, participated at a rate of 78.9 percent; with children age 6 to 13, none younger, 78.3 percent; with children under age 6, 64.4 percent; and with children under age 3, 60.7 percent.

7. There were 62 million working women in 1999–75 percent (46 million) were employed full time, while 25 percent (16 million) worked part time.

8. The largest share of employed women worked in technical, sales, and administrative support occupations.

9. More women work as teachers, (excluding post secondary); secretaries; managers and administrators, not elsewhere cited; and cashiers than any other areas of work.Nearly one out of every five employed women worked in one of these occupations.

10. Many women choose the armed forces as an employer. There were 195,033 women in the active duty military as of February 29, 2000–14.4 percent of the military.

11. Self-employment is also an occupational option for many women. There were 3.4 million self-employed women working in nonagricultural industries in 1999.

12. In 1999, 3.7 million women were multiple job holders. White women represented 85 percent of female multiple job holders; the remaining 15 percent were comprised of black, Hispanic, and women of other races.

13. Many women were also contingent workers–workers who do not perceive themselves as having an explicit contract with their employers for ongoing employment. In February 1999, 2.9 million women were contingent workers.

Many contingent workers have alternative work arrangements. This includes independent contractors; on-call workers; temporary help agency workers; and workers provided by contract firms.

14. Women continue to earn less than men. Median weekly earnings for full-time wage and salary workers in 1999 were $473 for women and $618 for men. In other words, women earned only 77 percent of what men earned.

15. When comparing median weekly earnings among women, white women at $483, continue to earn more than black women, at $445, and Hispanic women, at $385.

16. Occupations with the highest 1999 median weekly earnings for women were: pharmacists, $1,105; lawyers, $974; electrical and electronic engineers, $956; computer systems analysts and scientists, $907; teachers, colleges and universities, $859; and physical therapists, $808 (Note: This is based on occupations with at least 50,000 employed women).

17. Women contribute significantly to their families' incomes. Families with the wife in the paid labor force had the highest median income of all family types.

18. In 1998 women maintained 13 million (18 percent) of the 71 million families in the U.S. these are families with no husband in the household. Fourteen percent of white families, 47 percent of black families, and 24 percent of Hispanic origin families were maintained by women.

19. Women maintained 7.7 million (22 percent) of the 34.8 million families with children under 18 in 1998.

20. Large numbers of women work for low pay and are the sole providers for their families. Consequently, it is no surprise that 3.5 million (27 percent) of all families maintained by women were below the poverty level in 1998.

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