Mothers and Fathers Exiting the Workforce in 2008.

In 2008, both mothers and fathers exited the workforce for various reasons, including caring for a minor child. Estimates from Current Population Survey (CPS) data spanning 1968-2009 indicate the percentage of homes with a stay-at-home father in which the wife earned 100% of the income increased from 1.2% to 3.4% (the percentage of homes with a stay-at-home mother decreased from 47.7% to 25.7%) (Kramer and McColloch, 2010). The increased trend of fathers leaving the workforce to take care of a child is associated with financial reasons (Doucet, 2004), parenting values, career advancement of his partner (Rochlen et al., 2010), and economic conditions (Chelsey, 2011). This profile depicts the reasons mothers and fathers leave the workforce and provides a demographic snapshot of those who left the workforce to care for a minor child versus those who stayed. (Author abstract)