Federal Reserve Economic Data

Women have increased their representation in the labor force over time. In this post, we discuss how this process has differed by age group.

The FRED graph above tracks women’s share among the employed for two age groups: 20-24 years old and 35-44 years old. Women in both age groups have increased their share of employment since 1950, although growth slowed considerably after 1990.

In the younger group, women account for about 50% of total employment today, implying that young women are just as likely to work as young men. In the older group, which includes a greater representation of the married population, women account for about 46% of total employment. This smaller share reflects the fact that, within marriages, mothers are still more likely than fathers to specialize in childcare. Still, this share has increased dramatically from its 1950 level of 30%, when it was much more common for women to completely exit the labor force while raising children.

A couple of observations about women in the younger group:

First, their overall increase in employment share was smaller compared with the older group’s, given that younger women are less likely to have children and therefore more likely to be working, even back in the 1950s.

Second, their share declined in the 1950s, which may seem puzzling given the overall upward trend in women’s employment share. This decline was driven by falling labor force participation among younger women. Doepke, Hazan, and Maoz (2015) argue that these young women faced increased labor market competition, prompting them to forgo entry into the workforce in favor of marriage and childrearing, fueling the US baby boom. They explain that this increased competition came from higher labor force participation rates of women that had entered the workforce during World War II.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Employment Level – 35-44 Yrs., Women.” From the “Edit Graph” panel, use the “Edit Line 1” tab’s “Customize Data” option: Use the “Select…” bar to search for and select “Employment Level – 35-44 Yrs., Men” and add the series. In the “Formula” field, type (a/(a+b)) and select “Apply” to create the share of the employed that are females. Under the “Modify Frequency” tab, select “Semiannual” to smooth the timeseries. Now, from the “Add Line” tab, search for and select “Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Women” and repeat the previous steps to add “Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Women/(Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Women + Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Men)” to the graph. Last, use the “Format” tab to customize the line colors.

Suggested by Oksana Leukhina and Mickenzie Bass.

The FRED Blog has used county-level data to show where poverty is more prevalent in the US. Today, we use FRED’s recent addition of Census data to discuss the types of families more likely to experience poverty.

The FRED graph above shows the percent of families living below the poverty threshold, sorted into three categories, from lowest poverty to highest poverty: married-couple families (blue line), single-parent families with a male householder (red line), and single-parent families with a female householder (green line).

The data show stark differences in the poverty status of US families. Single-parent households can be between 3 and 6 times more likely to experience poverty than households where both parents are present. This can be explained by the potential ability of married-couple families to combine their two incomes and share childcare responsibilities, which are a handicap to steady participation in the labor market.

The graph also shows clear gender differences among single-parent households living below the poverty threshold. Female single parents are 2 times more likely to experience poverty than male single parents. This can be explained by gender gaps in labor force participation rates, occupations and income, and sharing of childcare responsibilities.

To learn more about this topic, read the US Census report “Poverty in the United States: 2022” by Emily A. Shrider and John Creamer.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: Married-Couple Families With Children Under 18 Years, Below Poverty Threshold.” From the “Edit Graph” panel, use the “Add Line” tab to search for and select “Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: Families With a Male Householder, No Spouse Present, With Children Under 18 Years, Below Poverty Threshold.” Repeat the last step to add ”Poverty Status of Families by Type of Family: Families With a Female Householder, No Spouse Present, With Children Under 18 Years, Below Poverty Threshold.”

Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo.

FRED includes consumer price index data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. FRED data tools make it easy to use these price data to calculate the dollar value of figures measured at constant prices—a process known as adjusting for inflation.

The FRED Blog frequently adjusts for inflation when describing prices, whether it’s gasoline prices, stock prices, or foreign exchange (just to name a few data series).

The FRED graph above shows two versions of monthly advance retail sales of retail trade and food services, reported by the US Census. The blue line shows the dollar figures unadjusted for inflation, and the red line shows the dollar figures adjusted for inflation with the aforementioned consumer price index (CPI). The CPI currently uses the years 1982-1984 as the reference period, so you can think of the data shown by the red line as retail sale figures measured in 1982-1984 prices.

FRED makes it easy to customize the reference period to adjust dollar figures for inflation. So, read on!

The second FRED graph above shows the same advance retail sales series as the first graph, but adds two alternatives using customized reference periods: the start of the 2001 recession (the dashed-dotted red line) and the start of the 2020 recession (the dashed red line). The steps for creating that graph are listed below.

A benefit of customizing the reference period, by choosing a more-recent date, is to facilitate the visual comparison between the inflation-adjusted and unadjusted data. And, given that the choice of reference period does not impact the calculation of the rate of growth of inflation-adjusted data, you can be confident using those units to tell the real story behind the numbers.

How the graphs were created: First graph: Search FRED for and select “Advance Real Retail and Food Services Sales.” Use the “Edit Graph” panel to select the “Add Line” tab and search for and add “Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services.” Second graph: Add another line for “Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services” and customize the data by searching for “Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: All Items in U.S. City Average.” Don’t forget to click “Add.” Next, type the formula (a/b)*100 and click “Apply.” Edit the “(b)” series in Line 2 by changing the units to “Index (Scale value to 100 for chosen date)” and selecting a date of your choice. Finally, repeat these last steps with a new line, searching for “Advance Retail Sales: Retail Trade and Food Services” and selecting a different date. You  can also use the “Format” tab to play with the color and style of the lines.

Suggested by Diego Mendez-Carbajo.