Related BLS programs | Related articles October 1982, Vol. 105,
No. 10 Unpaid family workers: long-term decline continues
Patricia A. Daly For more than 30 years, the total number of
persons working without pay in family businesses has dwindled to
a point that, by 1981, was less than half of the 1950 total. At
650,000, unpaid family workers accounted for less than 1 percent
of total employment in 1981, down from almost 3 percent in 1950.
Historically, the vast majority of unpaid family workers had
been in the agricultural sector, but there are now fewer unpaid
family workers in agriculture than in other industries. Unpaid
family workers accounted for one-sixth of farm employment in
1950, but for less than one-tenth in 1981. The largest numerical
decline occurred between 1960 and 1970, a decade which
experienced dramatic declines in total agricultural employment.
Although the number of unpaid family workers in nonagricultural
industries has fluctuated in the last 30 years, the levels for
1950 and 1981 were vir