TRENDS IN PARENTAL EMPLOYMENT

Using data from the Labour Force Survey to model trends from 1981 to 1 989, the paper examines developments in employment among women and men with children and compares them to employment trends among women and men without children. Employment increased faster among women with chi ldren than among women without, and grew faster among certain groups o f mothers, in particular mothers with fewer and younger children, amon g white mothers and mothers living with employed partners, and among m others with higher levels of qualification. Employment grew more slowl y, or fell, among mothers with three or more children; mothers with no qualifications; black mothers; mothers with non-employed partners; an d lone mothers. The paper also looks at parental employment within fam ilies and, in particular, the marked growth of dual earner families in the 1980s. The reasons and consequences for some of these trends are also considered.