The share of mothers who worked before their first birth more than doubled to 78% over the past half century, according to a new U.S. Census Bureau report.
The share of fathers who took paid leave after the birth of their first child rose in recent decades too. The policy and employment landscape changed in that period, including the introduction of the Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) which guarantees eligible employees up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave.
The share of fathers who took paid leave for their first child’s birth rose in the years since 1994. In the 2014-2022 cohort, an estimated 50.1% of first-time dads and 49.1% of first-time moms took paid leave.
The Census Bureau report, based on the 2022 Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), explores parental leave and employment patterns among first-time mothers and fathers in the decades leading up to 2022.
The 2022 survey collected data from a nationally representative sample of households, asking when parents had their first biological child. Parents are grouped based on the time period their first child was born (referred to as “cohorts,” e.g., “prior to 1981”) to protect the identity of survey respondents.
Figure 1 details the percentage of parents who worked before the birth of their first child by the year the child was born.
The share of fathers working before their first child’s birth remained stable (around 76%) for the cohorts whose first born came prior to 1981 until the 2006–2010 timeframe.
In contrast, the share of first-time mothers who worked before their child’s birth was as low as 38% for the cohort whose child was born prior to 1981, climbed to 53% from 1981 to 1985 and remained relatively stable at around 60% from 1986 to 2015.
But by the 2021–2022 cohort, the share of first-time parents who worked before their first child was born had increased for mothers (78%) and remained stable for fathers (81%).
Leave Taken by Parents After Birth of First Child
Parental leave and employment trends among first-time parents (Figure 2):
- The share of fathers who took paid leave for their first child’s birth rose in the years since 1994. In the 2014-2022 cohort, an estimated 50.1% of first-time dads and 49.1% of first-time moms took paid leave.
- The share of new dads taking unpaid leave increased from pre-1994 cohorts (3.3%), before the FMLA was enacted, to 12.6% in the 2014-2022 cohort, while the share of first-time moms using unpaid leave remained unchanged across this time period.
- Among first-time parents in the 2014-2022 cohort, a higher percentage of mothers (27.3%) than fathers (12.6%) took some type of unpaid leave after their child was born.
- The share of mothers (about 14%) who quit or were let go from their job after the birth of their first child did not significantly differ across birth cohorts.
- The percentage of fathers with a first-born child who did not take leave has plummeted: 77% prior to 1994 compared to 35% in the 2014-2022 cohort.
- The percentage of mothers who did not take leave remained unchanged across cohorts from before 1994 through 2013. It decreased between the most recent cohorts: 2004-2013 and 2014-2022.
Types of Parental Leave
Fathers and mothers differed on the types of leave they took within the 12 weeks after the birth of their first child. Figure 3 details this 2022 survey data and presents it in the aggregate, regardless of the year the parent had their first child.
- Half of mothers took paid parental leave in the 12 weeks after birth compared to a third of fathers.
- First-time fathers were more likely to take vacation leave (37%) than mothers (7%).
- Almost a third of mothers took unpaid parental leave, compared to 13% of fathers.
- Compared to mothers (8%), a higher percentage of fathers (11%) used paid sick leave.
About the SIPP
The SIPP is a nationally representative, longitudinal survey administered by the Census Bureau that provides comprehensive information on the dynamics of income, employment, household composition and government program participation.
More information about SIPP data quality is available on the survey’s Technical Documentation webpage.