Parental Employment

Parental employment is recognized as a key indicator of family economic security and child well-being. Although parental employment does not ensure that a family will not be in poverty, it is associated with higher family income, improved access to health care and a number of positive child outcomes including better health and academic achievement.

• According to the 2006-08 American Community Surveys, the latest data available, approximately 96% of all Pinellas County families with children under the age of 18 had one or more family members working, approximately the same percentage as the U.S. and Florida.
  • It is expected, however, that the economic recession, which commenced in December 2007, resulted in a reduction in the percentage of families with one or more family members working.
• Married couple families, which represent the largest proportion of families with children under the age of 18, accounted for 62% of families with one or more family members working.
• Families with children under 18 and headed by a single female accounted for 25% of all families with one or more family members working, almost three times that of families with a single male head of household.

Funded Agencies:

• The Annie E. Casey Foundation, Kids Count Indicator Brief, Increasing the Number of Children Whose Parents Have Stable Employment, July 2009.
• Department of Health (DOH) – Healthy Families
• All Neighborhood Family Centers