The ascension of the dual-earner family with children

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Release date: May 30, 2016

Canadian Megatrends

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More than and more Canadian families with children are finding that two incomes are meliorate than one, equally an increasing number of women have opted to join the workforce.

The number of Canadian families with two employed parents has almost doubled in the terminal 40 years—from 1.0 1000000 to one.9 one thousand thousand families, from 1976 to 2015. Over that period, the proportion of families where just one parent earned a paycheque vicious by more than half, dropping from 59% to 27%. In plow, the proportion of dual-income families has nearly doubled, from 36% to 69%.

Chart 1: Employment status of couple families with at least one child under 16, 1976 and 2015
Description for Nautical chart 1
Employment condition of couple families with at least one child aged nether 16, percentage
1976 2015
Dual earners 35.nine 69.4
Unmarried earners 58.6 26.nine
Not-earners 5.4 3.7

Women join the labour strength

Much of the impetus behind the change was spurred by the increasing participation of women in the workforce. From 1976 to 2015, women's employment charge per unit increased from 47% to 69%. The increase in female employment rates has led to notable changes in the employment construction of families, specially throughout the 1980s and 1990s.

The increase has been driven mainly by changes in cultural attitudes, an increment in women's didactics levels and general labour market weather. Other factors, such as flexible piece of work arrangements (for instance, part-time piece of work) and family support (child-care subsidies, child benefits and paid parental leave) accept as well contributed to changes in the labour-force participation rates of women.

Uneven growth in the number of dual-earner families

Although the number of dual-earner families increased almost every year, some years witnessed a decline, mostly every bit a result of economic stagnation. From 1976 to 1989, the number of dual-earner couples increased by 60%. This was followed by a menses of slower growth from 1989 to 2005, when the number of families with 2 working parents increased by 15%. The period from 2005 to 2015 had the slowest growth, where the number of dual-earner families increased by only ii%.

Periods of economic slowdown led to reductions in the number of dual-earner couples. From 1981 to 1982, when the unemployment charge per unit increased from vii.6% to eleven.0%, the number of dual-earner couples declined by iv%. Similar trends were too seen from 1990 to 1992, and in 2008 and 2009.

Chart 2: Number of dual-earner couples with at least one child under 16, 1976 to 2015
Description for Chart ii
Number of dual-earner couples with at to the lowest degree i child under 16, 1976 to 2015
thousands
1976 1,021
1977 i,054
1978 one,114
1979 1,172
1980 1,226
1981 ane,272
1982 1,219
1983 one,239
1984 1,293
1985 1,370
1986 1,456
1987 i,478
1988 1,567
1989 1,636
1990 1,638
1991 one,630
1992 i,595
1993 i,617
1994 1,646
1995 i,692
1996 i,711
1997 1,752
1998 ane,761
1999 1,781
2000 1,792
2001 1,785
2002 1,801
2003 ane,801
2004 1,819
2005 1,884
2006 i,853
2007 ane,885
2008 one,899
2009 1,835
2010 1,869
2011 1,854
2012 1,886
2013 1,932
2014 1,909
2015 1,926

Differences beyond the provinces

Across the country, in that location are differences are seen in the proportion of dual-earner families. In 1976, Alberta had the highest proportion of dual-earner couples (43% of couple families with children) followed past Ontario (42%). The Atlantic Provinces and Quebec had the lowest proportions (27% and 29%, respectively).

From 1976 to 2015, the proportion of dual-earner couples increased in all provinces, but non as. The smallest increase was in Alberta, and the largest increases in Quebec and in the Atlantic Provinces. By 2015, Alberta had the lowest proportion of dual-earner couples (64%), while Saskatchewan (74%) and Quebec (73%) had the highest proportions.

Chart 3: Dual-earning couples as a porportion of couple families with at least one child under 16, by region or province. 1976 and 2015 (%)
Clarification for Nautical chart 3
Dual-earner couples as a proportion of couple families with at least one kid aged under 16, past region, percent
1976 2015
Saskatchewan 39.7 74.1
Quebec 28.7 73.2
Manitoba 39.two 70.8
Atlantic Provinces 26.ix 69.4
Canada 36.one 69.four
Ontario 41.eight 69.iii
British Columbia 36.4 67.0
Alberta 42.6 64.i

More parents working total fourth dimension

In 1976, it was the norm in dual-earner families for both spouses to work full time (66%), and this proportion has gone up in the decades since. By 2015, 75% of dual-earner couples with children had two full-time working parents. There was also a shift among dual-earner couples with i spouse working part-time. Families with a full-fourth dimension working husband and a role-time working wife declined from 32% to 22% as a proportion of all dual-earner couples, from 1976 to 2015. This suggests that during this time, women not only increased their labour marketplace participation, but also their piece of work intensity.

Chart 4: Work intensity of dual-earner couple families with at least one child under 16, 1976 and 2015 (%)
Description for Nautical chart 4
Work intensity of dual-earner couple families with at to the lowest degree i child aged under sixteen, percentage
1976 2015
Both working full fourth dimension 66.four 74.7
Hubby full time, wife part fourth dimension 32.iv 21.6
Married woman total time, married man part time 0.vii 2.five
Both office time 0.five ane.1

Definitions

Dual-earner family: a husband–married woman family, with at least one kid under xvi at home, who reported that both spouses were employed during the survey reference week, either part time or full time.

Single-earner family unit: a husband–wife family unit, with at least one kid nether 16 at domicile, who reported that only i spouse was employed during the survey reference calendar week, either part time or full time, while the other was unemployed or not in the labour force.

Employment rate: the number of persons employed in a group (e.k., historic period, sex, marital condition, family type) expressed as a pct of the population for that group.

Full-fourth dimension work: refers to those who work at least 30 hours per week in their main job;

Part-time work: refers to those who piece of work less than 30 hours per week.

References

Bakery, M., J. Gruber and K. Milligan. 2008. "Universal childcare, maternal labor supply and family unit well-being." Periodical of Political Economy. Vol. 116, no. 4. Baronial. p. 709-745.

Connelly, R. 1992. "The effect of kid care costs on married women's labor forcefulness participation." The Review of Economic science and Statistics. Vol. 74, no. 1. February. p. 83-90.

Jaumotte, F. 2004. Labour Force Participation of Women: Empirical Evidence on the Part of Policy and Other Determinants in OECD Countries. OECD Economic Studies. No. 37. 2003/2. p. 51-108.

Milligan, K. 2014. "The Road to egalitaria: Sexual practice differences in employment for parents of young children." CESifo Economical Studies. Vol. 60, no. 2. June. p. 257-279.

Marshall, Yard. 1998. Stay-at-domicile dads. Perspectives on Labour and Income. Vol. 10, no. 1. Jump. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 75-001-XPE. p. 9-xv.

Uppal, S. 2015. Employment patterns of families with children. Insights on Canadian Society. Statistics Canada Catalogue no. 75-006-X, June.

Contact information

To enquire about the concepts, methods or information quality of this release, contact Sharanjit Uppal (Sharanjit.Uppal@canada.ca; 613-854-3482), Labour Statistics Division.

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