*EMPLOYMENT CHARACTERISTICS OF FAMILIES--2010* [24 March 2011]

http://www.bls.gov/news.release/famee.nr0.htm

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In 2010, 12.4 percent of families included an unemployed person, up from 12.0 percent in 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The proportion of families with an unemployed member in 2010 was at its highest level since the data series began in 1994. Of the nation's 78.2 million families, 80.0 percent had at least one employed member in 2010, down from 80.4 percent in 2009.

These data on employment, unemployment, and family relationships are collected as part of the Current Population Survey (CPS), a monthly sample survey of approximately 60,000 households. Families are classified either as married-couple families or as families maintained by women or men without spouses. For further information about the CPS, see the Technical Note.

Families and Unemployment

The number of families with at least one unemployed member edged up to 9.7 million in 2010. The proportion of families with an unemployed member was 12.4 percent in 2010, up from 12.0 percent in 2009 and nearly double the 6.3 percent in 2007. (The most recent recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009 according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.) In 2010, black and Hispanic families

remained more likely to have an unemployed member (19.2 and 17.4 percent, respectively) than white and Asian families (11.3 percent each). (See table 1.)

Most families with an unemployed member also have at least one family member who is employed. Among families with an unemployed member in 2010, 67.7 percent also had an employed member, down from 68.6 percent in 2009 and 71.2 percent in 2007. (See table 1.)

Among married-couple families with an unemployed member in 2010, 79.4 percent contained at least one employed member. Among families maintained by men (no spousepresent) with an unemployed member, 53.3 percent had an employed member in 2010; for families maintained by women (no spouse present), the proportion was 44.7 percent.

These proportions were little changed from 2009 for the three family types. (See table 3.)

**************************************** Stuart Basefsky Director, IWS News Bureau Institute for Workplace Studies Cornell/ILR School 16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor New York, NY 10016

Telephone: (607) 255-2703 Fax: (607) 255-9641 E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu **************************************** *