After decades of decline, a rise in stay-at-home mothers

About this report:

This report examines the demographic characteristics of U.S. mothers who lived with their children younger than 18 in 2012 and did not work outside the home. It compares them with their counterparts in earlier years and reports on trends for this population since 1970, based on U.S. Census Bureau data. In addition, it compares the characteristics of stay-at-home mothers with those of mothers who work for pay outside the home. The report also compares the time use of stay-at-home and working mothers, using data from the American Time Use Survey, and reports on trends in public opinion about working and stay-at-home mothers.

Overview:

The share of mothers who do not work outside the home rose to 29% in 2012, up from a modern-era low of 23% in 1999, according to a new Pew Research Center analysis of government data. This rise over the past dozen years represents the reversal of a long-term decline in "stay-at-home" mothers that had persisted for the last three decades of the 20th century. The recent turnaround appears to be driven by a mix of demographic, economic and societal factors, including rising immigration as well as a downturn in women's labor force participation, and is set against a backdrop of continued public ambivalence about the impact of working mothers on young children.

The broad category of "stay-at-home" mothers includes not only mothers who say they are at home in order to care for their families, but also those who are at home because they are unable to find work, are disabled or are enrolled in school.