MARRIED COUPLES—EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME - Leading Indicators - Finance Facts - Cost of Food at Home

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Finn

Monthly Finance Facts summarizes consumer financial behavior and selected economic indicators, including labor force participation patterns for married couples by husbands’ and wives’ age, child presence, and education. It reports median family income under different earnership scenarios and compares employment time splits between spouses. The publication also tracks composite leading and lagging indicators, producer price movements, personal income changes, food-at-home costs, producer price indexes, and household credit and mortgage-rate information.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

MARRIED COUPLES—EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME

LEADING INDICATORS

FINANCE FACTS

COST OF FOOD AT HOME

PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES

PERSONAL INCOME

HOME FURNISHINGS

CONSUMER INSTALLMENT CREDIT

MORTGAGE RATES

Any or all the material in this publication may be quoted or reproduced. # MARRIED COUPLES—EMPLOYMENT AND INCOME Husbands less likely now than formerly to be sole breadwinner for familyaccording to Census Bureau.In March 1977,81%of husbands were inlabor force.Participation of husbands was highest (96%)for those inmiddle years of 35 to 44.Close to one-half (47%)of all married womenwere in labor force.Youngest wives (under 25)were most likely to be inlabor force(58%).Participation rate of wives 25 to 34 years old droppedto 52%. Married women having one or more children under 18 were about aslikely to be members of labor force(48%)as married women who had nochildren(45%).Highest participation rate(82%)was among marriedwomen age 25 to 34 years who did not have children.Among wives nothigh school graduates,33%were working or job hunting,and of thosewho had completed more than 4 years of college 69%. Married couples with both spouses working or seeking work had medianfamily income in 1976 of $19,327.If only husband was in labor force,median family income was $16,267.If only wife was a member of laborforce,median income was $12,450.During 1976,84%of husbandsworked for some period of time,65%worked full-time all year,2%heldpart-time jobs for the year.By comparison,54%of all wives workedsometime during year,23%worked full-time,7%worked part-time. Husband was family's sole earner in 26%of married-couple families.More common were two earners,husband and wife (36%).Proportion ofcouples in which wife was the only earner was 4%. # LEADING INDICATORS Composite index of leading indicators decreased 0.5%in December tolevel of 137.3 (1967=100).Six of ten indicators available for Decembercontributed to decline in index:average workweek,layoff rate,change intotal liquid assets,contracts and orders for plant and equipment in 1972dollars,money balance in 1972 dollars,and building permits.Four of tenincreased:vendor performance,change in sensitive prices,stock prices,and new orders in 1972 dollars.Indicator contributing most to decline inindex was change in total liquid assets.Of indicators that increased,change in sensitive prices had largest influence on index Composite index of lagging indicators increased 2.4%in December tolevel of 159.4 (1967=100).Revised November index was 155.7,3.5%above revised October level.Ratio of coincident to lagging indicators一which tends to be a leading series-has been declining steadily for almostthree years,but it registered sharpest drop in November 1978. # FINANCE FACTS A Monthly Publication on Consumer Financial Behavior MARCH 1979 Labor Force ParticipationRates of Married Women ByPresence and Age ofChildren,March 1965 toMarch 1977Per Cent of Population ## COST OF FOOD AT HOME Cost of similar market baskets of food rose over 7%between September1977 and September 1978.Examples of low-cost plan in September 1978were $56.90 for food for one week for family of four with school childrenand $33.90 for family of two between 20 and 54 years of age,compared to$52.40 and $31.30,respectively,for September 1977. Liberal plan for food at home for one week was estimated to cost family offour with children in school $85.50 and for family of two between 20 and54 years of age $50.90,compared to $79.00 and $47.20,respectively,inSeptember 1977. ## PRODUCER PRICE INDEXES Producer Price Index for Finished Goods moved up 1.3%from Decem-ber to January on seasonally adjusted basis,largest monthly advance sinceNovember 1974.Prices for intermediate and crude goods also rosesharply.Acceleration in all three stages of processing occurred primarilyin beef and cattle prices and in a broad range of nonfood commodities. Index for consumer durables advanced 1.2%in January as the prices forpassenger cars increased more than in recent months.Prices for con-sumer nondurable goods other than food also increased 1.2%,whilefinished consumer foods index increased 1.8%. ## PERSONAL INCOME Personal income increased $7.9

FAQs

How does the document describe employment patterns for husbands and wives?

It reports that husbands were less likely than in the past to be sole breadwinners and provides labor force participation rates by husbands’ and wives’ age. It also contrasts rates for wives with and without children under 18.

What income outcomes are given for married couples with different earnership setups?

It provides median family income for couples where both spouses work or seek work, where only the husband is in the labor force, and where only the wife is a member of the labor force. It also states the share of families by earnership composition.

Which economic indicators and financial metrics are highlighted beyond labor participation?

The document covers composite leading and lagging indicators, producer price indexes for finished goods and other categories, personal income changes, estimates of home furnishing spending, and the size and breakdown of consumer installment credit and related mortgage-rate context.

Sep 21, 2026

Uploaded by Finn