Household Employment

IN OUR SOCIETY TODAY, household employment has fluctuated up and down depending on the economy. There are different types of households that vary with the average income.

In many cases the division centers on whether or not the household is a one-income household or a two-income household. Some of the factors impacting household employment are as follows: region of the country, type of occupation of the person, and education and age of the householder.

One—income households vary by gender of the householder. The average one-income household in-earns $28,500 and the average female one-income household earns $20,800. Another division of the one-income household is the age of the householder. For example, of the 31.1 million one-income households in the United States, 4.5 million householders are under the age of 25 and 9.9 million are over 65.

The average family income in the United States is currently about $43,625 a year. This is a household with a two-person income in the United States. Two-person income and quality of life vary by whether or not there are children in the household. If no children are present in the household, the couple will have more discretionary income to purchase luxury items. If there are children in the home, the family income will become very strained by the expenses that occur with children in the household.

Employment in the area of residence is a major factor affecting household income. In 2004, Hawai’i had the lowest jobless rate and Alaska and Oregon had the highest jobless rates. There were 16 other states that had above-national-average unemployment rates of 5.5 percent in 2004. Thus the region of the country will have an impact on household income. Another state that has an unemployment problem is Michigan. Michigan is making a transition from a manufacturing economy to a service economy. On the other hand, the Colorado economy is good because people are moving to Colorado from all parts of the country.

The type of job a person holds in many cases dictates the income of that person. In society today, there are several booming occupations that are listed as paying well. According to the Occupational Prestige Ranking, the top five occupations in the 2000s are as follows: physician, college professor, dentist, architect, and lawyer.

As society changes from an industrial economy to a service economy, degrees and diplomas matter in the job market. It has been indicated that people with a college degree earn more in a lifetime than individuals with a high school diploma. The top five occupations all require education. If a household does not have individuals that have credentials, the income of the household suffers.

As the age of a person goes up, the income goes down because many older individuals are on a fixed income. Social Security remains the number one source of income for individuals over 65. There are other [Page 507]sources of income for the elderly. For example, many individuals over 65 can obtain income in the form of assets, pensions, earnings, and public assistance. Overall the poverty rate for individuals over 65 fell from 25 percent in 1976 to 17 percent in 2000.

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