1Center or American Progress | Not Working: Unemployment Among Married Couples
Not Working: UnemploymentAmong Married Couples
Unemployment Continues to Plague Families in Today’s Tough Job Market
By Heather Boushey
All kinds o amilies have aced he prospec o job losses, downsizing, involunary par-ime work, and oen less-generous benes as a resul o he Grea Recession.Dual-earner, married couples may seem like he luckies kind o amilies when i comeso unemploymen since hey have a second earner o keep he amily aoa when onespouse loses heir job.New daa or 2010, however, highligh ha even married couples have been vulnerableo unemploymen. And or he rs ime in decades unemploymen has been concen-raed among husbands raher han wives. Wih so many wives—and women more generally—supporing amilies here could no be a more imporan ime o ensure ha women are paid airly. Te ypical woman earnsan average o 77 cens on he male dollar, and so when a husband loses his job he amily suers since her earnings are ypically lower han his.
1
Tese daa show ha addressinghis pay inequiy should be a key goal o our economic recovery policy agenda.Furher, unemploymen has grown sharpes among husbands in older couples, leavingmany pre-reiremen couples wih he double-whammy o alling asse values and lim-ied job prospecs. Older workers are having an especially hard ime nding re-employ-men. Job marke challenges are compounded by he ac ha his generaion is he vanguard or our naion’s experimen in he efcacy o 401(k)s as a reiremen savings vehicle, even as we’ve lived hrough he bursing o asse bubbles. As he naion debaes reiremen securiy we need o ensure ha ocusing on he impli-caions now and poenially ar ino he uure o high unemploymen and asse shocksamong older workers are inegral o he conversaion. Ye here is a growing chorus o voices clamoring o pare back governmen pensions and limi Social Securiy benesor uure reirees. Congressman Paul Ryan’s (R-WI) budge plan, or example, wouldshi an increasing share o he cos o Medicare ono seniors. Tis policy agenda suersrom a lack o recogniion o economic realiy.
2Center or American Progress | Not Working: Unemployment Among Married Couples
High unemploymen, especially among husbands, is occurring across amilies, regard-less o race or ehniciy. Arican-American husbands, however, are more likely o beunemployed compared o oher husbands. Given he long-sanding ruism ha he raeo Arican-American unemploymen is abou double ha o whie unemploymen, andhe excruciaingly high unemploymen because o he Grea Recession, amilies o colorare sruggling more han ever. Making sure ha all workers—including men o color—have access o good jobs mus be a op policy prioriy.Tis brie will explore hese rends in more deph and oer recommendaions going orward.
Rise in dual-earner married couples
Since he lae 1970s here has been a marked increase in he share o “dual-earner” mar-ried couples. Tis is where boh spouses are in he labor orce.
2
A sharp rise occurred beween 1979 and 1997, when he share o married couples wih boh spouses in labororce rose seadily rom 52.4 percen o 67.1 percen. (see Figure 1)Since 1997 he share o dual-earner marriedcouples has remained relaively a, alling slighly during recession years and increasing slighly dur-ing nonrecession years. In 2010, when he naionalunemploymen rae averaged 9.6 percen, he shareo married couples wih boh spouses in labor orce was 64.7 percen.Te share o dual-earner married couples wih bohspouses employed ell more sharply due o heGrea Recession han i had due o prior recessions.By 2010, he share o dual-earner married couples wih one spouse employed and one unemployedrose o 6.8 percen, higher han any ime since 1979.
The Great Recession underscored the importance of women’s earningsto family well-being
Te increase in dual-earner couples is due o a rise in women in he labor orce, espe-cially mohers. Beween 1979 and 2010, women’s labor orce paricipaion rose rom50.9 o 58.6 percen.
3
As a resul, women’s earnings have become increasingly imporano amily well-being.By 2008, women were breadwinners or co-breadwinners in wo-hirds o amilies wihchildren, bringing home a leas a quarer o heir amilies’ earnings.
4
In 2009, he las
figure 1
Percent of married couples with both spouses in the labor force
Source: Center for American Progress’ analysis of the Center for Economic and Policy Research Extracts of theCurrent Population Survey, Outgoing Rotation Group Files
40%50%60%70%Both spousesemployedOne spouseemployed, oneunemployedBoth spousesunemployed20101980 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005Recessions in gray
3Center or American Progress | Not Working: Unemployment Among Married Couples
year or which we have daa on amily income, working wives brough home nearly hal (47 percen) o heir amily’s earnings.
5
Te Grea Recession has urher underscored he imporance o women’s earnings, because unlike in prior recessions husbands have been more likely han wives o experi-ence unemploymen. As a resul, amilies have been more relian on wives’ earnings hanin prior recessions.Up unil he Grea Recession i was more common or wives han husbands o be unem-ployed (see Figure 2). In he wake o he recessions o he early 1980s, he percen o married couples wih he husband employed and he wie unemployed hi a high o 3.4percen, while he share wih he wie working and he husband unemployed hi a high o 3 percen. During he recessions o he early 1990s and early 2000s, however, here was nogender dierence in which spouse was unemployed during he peak unemploymen years.During he economic recoveries o he 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s, he rend moved back o being he case ha wives were more likely han husbands o be he one unemployed.Tere was a marked shi in he wake o he GreaRecession. In 2010, he share o married couples wih he husband unemployed rose o 3.7 percen,much higher han he share wih he wie unem-ployed, which reached 3.1 percen.On he one hand, his makes sense because overhe course o he Grea Recession men los hemajoriy o jobs. Beween December 2007 and June 2009, he recession as dened by he NaionalBureau o Economic Research, men los over 70percen o he jobs. Tis gendered patern in joblosses, however, was no new and hus cannoexplain he rends in spousal unemploymen. Inhe 2001 recession, men los 86 percen o he jobs.In he early 1990s recession, men los 98.2 perceno he jobs; and in he early 1980s recession(s) women acually gained jobs.Te gendered patern in unemploymen amongspouses may be explained by looking o re-employ-men paterns. Workers are less likely o be re-employed, compared o prior recessions.Bu he all in he re-employmen rae is greaer or men han or women. According oanalysis by he Cener or Economic and Policy Research o Bureau o Labor Saisicsdaa ha racks workers who los a job wihin he prior hree years due o heir planclosing or posiion being abolished, among men, in 1994, 65 percen who had been
figure 2
Percent of married couples with one spouse working, oneunemployed, by gender
Source: Center for American Progress’ analysis of the Center for Economic and Policy Research Extracts of theCurrent Population Survey, Outgoing Rotation Group Files
Husband working, wife unemployedWife working, husband unemployed2010198019851990199520002005Recessions (in gray)0%1%2%3%4%
Search History:
Result 00 of 00
00 results for result for
p.
Not Working: Unemployment Among Married Couples
Dual-earning families have often been safe during recession times, but even married couples have been vulnerable to unemployment during the Great Recession, writes Heather Boushey.
837
Reads
1
Readcasts
41
Embed Views
More From This User
Notes
Load more
