U.S. parents, 2025

The parent labor-force gap is widest with young children

Fathers' participation stayed above 92% across parent groups in 2025. Mothers' participation was lowest among those with children under 6, widening the gap to 27.3 percentage points.

          27.3 pts
          Gap for parents with children under 6, the largest shown.
        

19.8 pts Overall gap among parents with own children under 18.

14.3 pts Gap when the youngest child was ages 6 to 17.

Note: Rates are annual averages and measure the share working or looking for work. The overall under-18 group overlaps with the two child-age groups. 2025 estimates are 11-month averages excluding October because data were not collected during the federal government shutdown. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, The Economics Daily.