An Analysis of the Female Labor Force Participation Rate in the U.S. 1980-2004

This research uses census data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics to examine the female labor force participation from 1980 to 2004. These statistics are used to find the determinants of women’s decisions to enter the job market. The purpose of studying the female involvement in the labor force is to illustrate if females are still having trouble in the market. This article also reviews historical labor force statistics to determine how the labor force has changed and which factors have affected its changes between 1980 and 2004. The model, estimated with U.S. data, has provided empirical support for the underlying theoretical predictions and variables. Analysis of twenty-five years of data suggests that having children, an education, a husband, and a contribution to family income determine women’s labor force participation in the United States