This file was prepared for electronic distribution by the inforM staff. Questions or comments should be directed to inform-editor@umail.umd.edu. Facts on U.S. Working Women U S Department of Labor Women's Bureau Fact Sheet No. 86-4 October 1986 CARING FOR ELDERLY FAMILY MEMBERS Women are both the largest group of providers of eldercare and the largest group of recipients. The majority of older persons in the United States are women. Evidence indicates this will be so into the next century. But with over 55 percent of all working age women either employed or looking for work, there is less time available for the services traditionally provided by wives, mothers, and daughters. This situation will not improve without new approaches to the provision of informal care services. Women are expected to account for two-thirds of the growth of the labor force at least through 1995 - in that year, a third of the total labor force will be women ages 25 to 54. WORK AND FAMILY. Support for the elderly generally is shared by the family, particularly adult children, and society. The family provides social and psychological support and services, and the community largely provides economic support, through Social Security, but also increasingly through other services. MARRIED-COUPLE FAMILIES, BY AGE OF MEMBERS AND LABOR FORCE STATUS, MARCH 1984 (Numbers in thousands) In Labor Force ----------------------- Age All married- Neither of family couple Husband Husband Wife in labor members families and wife only only force Number 50,090 24,333 15,332 2,206 8,219 Percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Under 18 50.3 58.4 62.6 26.3 10.0 18 to 64 90.1 99.4 96.6 91.2 50.2 65 and up 18.3 3.6 9.0 36.8 74.1 ______ Source: Current Population Reports, Series P-20, No. 398, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce, March 1984. Married-couple families with both spouses working represent nearly half (47 percent) of all American families. The dual-earner family now supersedes the 'traditional' family that had a single paid worker, usually the man, and a nurturing spouse at home, usually the woman. Also, nearly 17 percent of all families are maintained by women with no spouse present; in more than half of these families, the women are employed. In March 1984, 18.4 percent of the 62 million United States families had one or more members who were 65 or older. Of more than 50 million married-couple families, some 42 million had either a husband, a wife, or both in the labor force; but only 3.1 million or 7.3 percent of these working families had members 65 years of age or over in the home. FAMILY SUPPORT: WHO ARE THE CAREGIVERS? Those caring for functionally impaired elderly family members are predominantly females, with adult daughters providing 29 percent of long-term care and wives providing 23 percent. Three-fourths of caregivers live with the care recipient, and the majority provide assistance 7 days a week, an average of 4 hours a day. About one-fourth of the daughters and one-third of the other female caregivers have competing family obligations. In 1982 the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that there were approximately 7.6 million informal caregivers providing unpaid assistance to 4.3 million elderly persons who needed assistance with everyday activities. Of these caregivers, some 2.2 million age 14 or older were providing unpaid, informal assistance to 1.2 million noninstitutionalized elderly persons. SELECTED CAREGIVER CHARACTERISTICS BY RELATIONSHIP OF CAREGIVER TO DISABLED ELDERLY PERSON, 1982 (Numbers in thousands) Relationship of Caregiver to Disabled Elderly Person Caregiver All (Female) (Male) characteristics caregivers ----------------- ------------------ Spouse Child Other Spouse Child Other Number 2,201 500 637 438 282 186 158 Percent 100.0 22.7 28.9 19.9 12.8 8.5 7.2 Primary caregiver, only 32.8 60.4 23.0 17.5 55.4 10.8 13.1 Lives with disabled person 73.9 99.3 60.6 54.0 98.6 60.6 73.3 Children less than 18 years in home 21.1 5.8 24.2 36.8 5.2 24.5 37.9 Working 30.9 9.9 43.5 32.9 12.3 55.1 45.7 Quit work to become caregiver 8.9 13.5 11.6 2.9 11.4 5.0 0.8 Not working for other reasons 59.7 76.2 44.7 64.2 76.3 39.9 53.5 ______ Notes: "Other" includes sons or daughters-in-law, siblings, grandchildren, other relatives and nonrelatives. "Disabled" is defined as being limited in one or more activities of daily living e.g., eating, bathing, dressing, getting in and out of bed or chair, getting around inside. _______ Source: 1982 National Long Term Care Survey/Survey of Caregivers, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. COMPETING DEMANDS. Work conflicts with caregiving responsibilities. While less than 10 percent of the 2.2 million persons providing care to functionally impaired elderly relatives quit their jobs to care for someone, a sizable proportion of working female and male caregivers have had to rearrange schedules (29 percent), reduce work hours (21 percent), and/or take time off without pay (19 percent) to fulfill caregiver obligations. Because of longer life expectancies, rising median ages of the population and labor force, and delayed childbearing; an increasing proportion of women will be providing care to children under the age of 18 as well as elderly relatives. These demographic trends and the projected increases in labor force participation rates among all women suggest that in the future work and family obligations may conflict with caregiving responsibilities to a greater extent than today. Of all the caregivers in 1982, 79.8 percent provided unpaid assistance 7 days per week. Three-fourths of daughters and 71 percent of sons devoted part of each day to caregiving activities. Only 16 percent of all primary caregivers with no assistance were employed; about 31 percent of those who had unpaid help were employed and 27 percent who had a combination of paid and unpaid help were working. EMPLOYMENT STATUS OF CAREGIVERS BY LEVEL OF ASSISTANCE 1982 (Numbers in thousands) Primary Primary Primary Secondary caregiver caregiver caregiver caregiver only with inform. with inform. Status help /formal help ---------------------------------------------------------------- Number 722 630 212 637 Percent 100.0 100.0 100.0 100.0 Working 15.0 30.8 27.2 49.4 Not working 73.2 58.7 64.6 42.5 Never worked 10.6 9.5 8.2 8.1 _______ Source: 1982 National Long Term Care Survey/Survey of Caregivers, U.S. Department of Heath and Human Services. WORK ARRANGEMENTS TO ACCOMMODATE CAREGIVING, 1982 Arrangements All Persons -------------------------------------------- Number 1,023,000 Percent 100.0 Worked fewer hours 21.0 Rearranged schedule 29.4 Took time off without pay 18.6 _______ Source: 1982 National Long Term Care Survey/ Survey of Caregivers, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Women were more likely than men to arrange their schedules to care for elderly relatives. Wives rearranged their schedules more often than husbands; daughters more often than sons took each of the three options to reduce work-family conflict. CHILDCARE AND ELDERCARE NEEDS. Some family caregivers are both parents of dependent children and care providers for elderly family members. In 1982, almost one-fifth of all caregivers, one-fourth of caregiving children and one- third of other caregivers reported having children under 18 years of age in their households. The burden for workers responsible for both children and elderly relatives, however, is expected to be especially great in the years of the next century when the baby boom cohort largely constitute the members of the elderly population. Many persons then ages 45 to 49 will have to support both an aged parent or parents, often over 70 years, and children of college age, or younger. CARE OF THOSE LIVING ALONE. Many elderly persons do not live in the same household as their caregivers. According to the U.S Department of Health and Human Services National Health Interview Survey Supplement on Aging, about 31 percent of all persons age 65 and over, or 8 million people, were living alone in 1984. On average, they were older than those who lived with others, averaging 75.2 years. Eighty percent were women, mostly widows. While 29 percent had no living children, half of those who had children lived close enough to them to get help within a matter of minutes. Nearly one-fourth (23 percent) had daily contact with their children. Almost 70 percent relied upon their families to take care of them as needed. CONCLUSION. Stresses of competing demands of work and family, including responsibility for care of elderly relatives, have increasingly came to the attention of employers and policymakers. Alleviation of distractions and concerns of workers in these situations has been provided by some employers through a variety of alternative work arrangements including flexible leave and work times, and providing information and referral assistance for care services. For additional information on alternative work scheduling write to the Women's Bureau for a free copy of "Alternative Work Patterns," Fact Sheet No. 86-3. Information on services for older people is available from local area agencies on aging. The telephone number of the area agency on aging may be found in the telephone book under "Aging" or "Senior Citizens." RESOURCES. "Caregivers of the Frail Elderly: A National Profile," by Robyn Stone, M.D., P.H. and others, 1986, National Center for Health Services Research and Health Care Technology Assessment, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. "Aging in the Eighties, Age 65 Years and Over and Living Alone: Contacts with Family, Friends, and Neighbors," Advancedata, Number 116, May 9, 1986, National Center for Health Statistics. Demographic and Socioeconomic Aspects of Aging in the United States, Current Population Reports, Special Studies, Series P-23, No. 138, August 1984, Bureau of the Census, U.S. Department of Commerce. Household and Family Characteristics, March 1984, Current Population Reports, Series P-20, No. 398, April 1985, Bureau of the Census, U.S Department of Commerce. U.S. Department of Labor Office of the Secretary Women's Bureau 200 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20210-9990