Table 3.
Employment, Economic, and Sociodemographic Characteristics of NLSY79 Mothers at the Time They Obtained Each Level of Post-Motherhood Education (N= 848)1
| High School Degree/GED | Associate’s degree or Some College | Bachelor’s degree | |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|||
| Occupational Sector | |||
| Professional/managerial | 7% | 31% | 48% |
| Technical/sales/administrative support | 28% | 44% | 34% |
| Service occupations | 40% | 20% | 14% |
| Other | 26% | 4% | 4% |
| Economic Factors | |||
| Family income | 15,331.01 (924.56) | 34,012.96 (2,415.78) | 73,703.23 (18,855.61) |
| Partner income | 8,855.10 (1255.86) | 18,493.46 (2,369.61) | 38,968.17 (5,546.32) |
| Family wealth | 12,758.29 (2,978.51) | 43,999.68 (6,224.62) | 203,475.60 (77,178.19) |
| Poverty | 53% | 29% | 15% |
| Employment Characteristics | |||
| Number of weeks out of labor market | 32.11 (1.74) | 24.16 (2.52) | 29.37 (4.54) |
| Average number of jobs per year | .66 (.05) | .58 (.02) | .55 (.04) |
| Employed | 25% | 60% | 51% |
| Family and Maternal Characteristics | |||
| Divorced/widowed | 22% | 29% | 15% |
| Never married | 23% | 16% | 10% |
| Number of children in home | 1.63 (.06) | 1.82 (.06) | 1.76 (.12) |
| Mother age | 24.86 (.37) | 31.32 (.36) | 33.41 (.59) |
| Region | |||
| North east | 12% | 14% | 21% |
| Midwest | 25% | 28% | 21% |
| South | 41% | 37% | 46% |
| West Coast | 22% | 22% | 12% |
| Weighted % (of full sample)2 | 7% | 8% | 3% |
| Raw n2 | 421 | 401 | 136 |
Notes:
1
Estimates calculated for the subsample of NLSY79 women (N= 848) who obtained additional education after becoming a mother.
2
Sum of numbers greater than 858 because some women achieved multiple levels of post-childbearing education. Standard deviation presented in parenthesis. Estimates based on weighted sample.