Changes in the Employment Activities of New Parents

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of the High School Class of 1972 this paper examines the impact of the transition to parenthood on the amount of time men and women spend on paid employment. An individual-effects methodology is used. Its basic premise is that the effect of parenthood on the activities of a particualr individual can be estimated by comparing changes over time in the individuals activity measures with estimates of the expected changes for that individual in the absence of parenthood. In this study the expected changes are estimated using regression equations fitted to observations on the married NLS participants who remained childless through October 1979. Results of the analyses give considerable information on how a 1st birth affects mens and womens employment. The majority of women have jobs prior to pregnancy; most leave these jobs as pregnancy progresses so that only 1 woman in 5 remains employed in the month the child is born. Some women return to work but by 2 years after the birth employment rates reach only 60% of their previous levels. In the absence of parenthood the proportion employed would have steadily increased so that the real employment deficit due to parenthood exceeds that implied by a comparison of employment before and after the birth. The most important contributor to womens decreased work activity forllowing parenthood is withdrawal from employment. On virtually all the measures fathers show higher levels of work activity than would be expected in the absence of the 1st birth but this parenthood effect predates the pregnancy by a substantial amount. The analysis clarifies a number of points raised by previous studies. 1st the effects of parenthood on womens work effort are not universal but are restricted to a subgroup of women who leave work befor the 1st birth. Those who remain at work an important minortty show few parenthood effects on thir commitment to work. 2nd men show only small parenthood effects on average although the results suggest that employment might affect the timing of mens entry in to fatherhood.