2007 KIDS COUNT Data Book Online >
Summary and Findings
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Percent of Children Living in Families Where No Parent Has Full-Time, Year-Round Employment
In 2005, more than 24.5 million children had no parent in the household who worked full-time, year-round. This measure is sometimes referred to as “lack of secure parental employment.” In addition to having higher poverty rates, these children are more likely to lack access to the health and family benefits that a stable job provides. We found that 15 percent of children living in families where no parent had a full-time, year-round job lacked health insurance, compared to 9 percent in other families.
- Nationally, the Percent of Children Living in Families Where No Parent Has Full-Time, Year-Round Employment increased from 32 percent in 2000 to 34 percent in 2005.
- During that period, this measure improved in 8 states, got worse in 38 others (plus the District of Columbia), and was unchanged in 4 states.
- Among the states, the 2005 figures ranged from a low of 26 percent in Iowa, Nebraska, and Utah to a high of 43 percent in Mississippi.
- The shares of African-American children (51 percent) and American Indian and Alaskan Native children (53 percent) in families where no parent has a full-time, year-round job are nearly double the rate for non-Hispanic whites (27 percent).
