Recent Employment Patterns among Parents

This Research Brief analyzes quarterly data from the Current Population Survey, the nation's primary data collection instrument for labor force activity. Analyses of the employment patterns of persons with children under age 18 show that they have largely mirrored the employment patterns of the rest of the labor force since the beginning of the most recent recession, including a decrease in employment. Findings show an increase in the percent of couples with neither parent employed and an increase in the percent of single mothers who were neither employed nor living with an employed cohabiting partner.