Parents and the Labor Force
Data-driven insights into parents in the labor force and what parents say about how childcare affects their work.
1. Parents residing with children, as percentage of the 25 to 54-year-old labor force
| Parents residing | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Wisconsin | 7th District States | United States |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| With youngest child under 5 | 16% | 19% | 20% | 17% | 17% | 17% | 16% |
| With youngest child 17 and under | 46% | 51% | 52% | 44% | 49% | 47% | 45% |
Source: Current Population Survey – monthly average October 2023–September 2024.
2. Percent of men and women aged 25-54 in the labor force, by age of youngest child they live with
| Parents residing | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Wisconsin | 7th District States | United States | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | |
| With youngest child under 5 | 70.2% | 95.9% | 74.1% | 96.0% | 83.3% | 94.5% | 74.1% | 95.7% | 72.9% | 96.6% | 73.4% | 95.8% | 69.5% | 95.2% |
| With youngest child 5-17 | 81.6% | 94.1% | 82.0% | 97.4% | 86.2% | 96.8% | 81.6% | 92.3% | 84.7% | 94.7% | 82.5% | 94.6% | 78.6% | 94.2% |
Source: Current Population Survey – monthly average October 2023 – September 2024.
3. Percent of women aged 25-54 in the labor force compared to pre-pandemic
| Female residing | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Wisconsin | 7th District States | United States | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024* | 2019 | 2024* | 2019 | 2024* | 2019 | 2024* | 2019 | 2024* | 2019 | 2024* | 2019 | 2024* | 2019 | |
| With youngest child under 5 | 70.2% | 68.9% | 74.1% | 63.4% | 83.3% | 76.0% | 74.1% | 71.2% | 72.9% | 79.9% | 73.4% | 70.8% | 69.5% | 67.0% |
| With youngest child 5-17 | 81.6% | 77.9% | 82.0% | 78.9% | 86.2% | 90.0% | 81.6% | 77.5% | 84.7% | 86.5% | 82.5% | 80.1% | 78.6% | 77.5% |
| Not with children under 18 | 82.2% | 81.8% | 80.2% | 78.4% | 84.8% | 84.7% | 80.3% | 77.9% | 85.9% | 84.7% | 82.0% | 80.9% | 80.6% | 79.1% |
* October 2023–September 2024.
Source: Current Population Survey – monthly average January–December 2019 and October 2023–September 2024.
4. Percent of parents aged 25-54 who report being childcare-affected
Parents are “childcare-affected” if they cite childcare problems as the main reason for any of these three outcomes:
- Being out of the labor force (not employed and not seeking work) while wanting or maybe wanting a job
- Working part-time rather than full-time
- Missing work during the previous week
For more details on “childcare affected”, please see this article.
| Parents residing | Illinois | Indiana | Iowa | Michigan | Wisconsin | 7th District States | United States | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | Women | Men | |
| With youngest child under 5 | 4.0% | 0.5% | 7.0% | 0.3% | 3.9% | 1.0% | 6.6% | 1.3% | 4.8% | 0.9% | 5.4% | 0.8% | 5.0% | 0.6% |
| With youngest child 5-17 | 2.4% | 0.5% | 1.8% | 0.4% | 1.9% | 0.0% | 4.1% | 0.2% | 2.9% | 0.1% | 2.7% | 0.3% | 2.4% | 0.3% |
Source: Current Population Survey – monthly average October 2023 – September 2024.
Notes
Numbers are approximate. Statistics focus on men and women aged 25-54 who reside with at least one child under 18 years old. Statistics presented in figures 1 and 2 are twelve-month averages for October 2023 – September 2024. Statistics in figure 3 are calculated as 12-month averages for January 2019 – December 2019 and October 2023 – September 2024. Statistics reported in figures 2 and 3 on the percent of women and men in the labor force are labor force participation rates. Each labor force participation rate is the percentage of the applicable civilian population that is in the labor force. Statistics presented in figure 4 are twelve-month averages for October 2023 – September 2024.
Source
Current Population Survey via IPUMS CPS, University of Minnesota, available online.
