Are working mothers going home?

By Scott Williams

Beginning in the mid-1960s, the number of women in the job market saw a marked increase. In fact, in the 20 years from 1969 to 1989, the number of married mothers in the labor market jumped from just under 39 percent to just over 70 percent.

A recently released research study in the Journal of Economic Perspectives notes that the rapid increase began to moderate in the 1990s and now notes a modest reversal of working moms.

One of the most interesting phenomena noted in the report is from the youngest group of women (not just mothers) who have entered the workforce. Those born from 1976-1985 initially followed their older peers, with better than 75 percent participation in the labor force at age 25. However, while the older peer group stayed steady in the labor force through their late 20s, this younger group has shown a sharp decline past age 25.

Comparing previous peer groups as far back as those born during the Depression, there has been a pattern. Among the oldest group, women entered the work force, dropped out during the childbearing years, then returned in increasing numbers until retirement age. Among age groups since then, the number of women dropping out during childbearing years has become noticeably smaller. In fact, women born from 1966-1975 showed little or no decline in their work habits during the typical childbearing years.

The drop among the younger group looks very similar to the pattern of those women born from 1936-1945.

There have been no lack of theories for the increase in working mothers over the past few decades. The rapid rise in the number of divorces in the past decade has certainly contributed to more women entering the work force. But there are fewer explanations for the recent departure of women from the workforce. Authors of the recent study state that they aren't certain whether women leaving the workforce is a temporary trend or something more permanent. They are fairly confident, though, that the participation levels of women are unlikely to rise above the 75 percent participation level where they are now.