The share of prime-age white women who are out of work to care for family declined by more than half between 1979 and 2016: Distribution of earners and nonearners by reason, white women ages 25--54, selected years, 1978--2016
| Working | Ill/disabled | Taking care of home/family | Going to school | Could not/unable to find work | Retired | Other | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | 68.3% | 2.1% | 27.8% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.6% |
| 1979 | 70.9% | 2.0% | 25.6% | 0.5% | 0.5% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 1980 | 71.4% | 2.1% | 24.9% | 0.6% | 0.7% | 0.1% | 0.3% |
| 1988 | 79.4% | 2.0% | 16.9% | 0.7% | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.3% |
| 1989 | 79.7% | 2.1% | 16.4% | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.4% |
| 1990 | 80.2% | 2.1% | 15.7% | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% |
| 1994 | 81.1% | 3.0% | 13.2% | 1.3% | 0.5% | 0.4% | 0.5% |
| 1995 | 81.5% | 3.3% | 13.0% | 1.0% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| 1996 | 81.4% | 3.4% | 12.9% | 0.9% | 0.3% | 0.7% | 0.4% |
| 1999 | 82.5% | 3.4% | 12.2% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.6% | 0.3% |
| 2000 | 81.8% | 3.6% | 12.4% | 0.8% | 0.2% | 0.9% | 0.2% |
| 2001 | 81.1% | 3.9% | 12.6% | 0.8% | 0.3% | 1.0% | 0.3% |
| 2006 | 79.3% | 4.9% | 12.9% | 1.1% | 0.3% | 1.2% | 0.3% |
| 2007 | 79.6% | 4.8% | 12.5% | 1.1% | 0.4% | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| 2008 | 79.4% | 5.0% | 12.1% | 1.1% | 0.7% | 1.3% | 0.3% |
| 2013 | 77.4% | 5.5% | 12.5% | 1.6% | 1.3% | 1.3% | 0.4% |
| 2014 | 77.2% | 5.9% | 12.5% | 1.5% | 0.8% | 1.4% | 0.6% |
| 2015 | 78.1% | 5.4% | 12.3% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 1.4% | 0.5% |
| 2016 | 78.5% | 5.5% | 12.1% | 1.4% | 0.5% | 1.6% | 0.4% |
Notes: Nonearners are those who reported that they did not work any hours or earn any wages over the course of an entire year. Shaded areas denote recessions.
Source: Authors’ analysis of Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement microdata