The Vast Majority of Oregon Parents Work

Oregon’s civilian labor force includes almost 660,000 parents of children under 18. Working parents account for almost one-third of the state labor force, a similar percentage to the nation (32%). Parents of children under six years of age make up 14 percent of the state workforce, and those with children ages six to 17 years account for another 18 percent.

Parents are more likely to be working than people without children under 18. The participation rate for the Oregon population with no children under 18 is 57.0 percent, compared with 80.7 percent of parents with children under 18. This likely reflects an aging population and many retired people. Participation for teens and young adults has also been lower in recent years than in decades past.

For parents of children under six years of age, there’s a big difference in the labor force experiences of men versus women. Of the men in this group, 92.2 percent are in the labor force, compared with 63.0 percent of Oregon mothers of children under age six. The gender gap in labor force participation is reduced somewhat for parents of children ages six to 17. For men with children ages six to 17, the participation rate was 91.8 percent in 2016, and 78.7 percent of Oregon women with children in that age range were in the labor force.

Read the full article "For Oregon Parents, Working is the Norm" written by Employment Economist Jessica Nelson.