The September Review

An increasing number of children living in nontraditional families has led to widespread research and commentary on the social and policy implications of such arrangements. Differences in children’s well-being between two-parent and single-parent households have been identified and often attributed to differences in household income.

In our opening article this month, Professor Megumi Omori notes that, “although it is well established that income is a strong indicator of children’s wellbeing, less attention has been paid to possible differences in the allocation of economic resources, especially by family type.” She goes on to explore determinants of expenditures relating to children’s well-being by type of household, then compares those determinants across household types, especially between marriedcouple households and single-parent households.

Self-employment, notes BLS economist Steven F. Hipple, continues to be an important source of jobs in the United States. In 2009, more than 15 million people were self-employed, making up nearly 11 percent of total employment. In recent years, the share of total employment composed of the self-employed has held steady.

In his article, the author describes the self-employment measures he uses, discusses historical trends, provides an overview of the characteristics of self-employed workers, and examines the effects of recessions on this employment group.

Every 2 years BLS publishes longterm employment projections. It also has a history of publishing evaluations of those projections. In our concluding article for this month, BLS economist Ian D. Wyatt takes a look at the 1996–2006 projections.

In a departure from earlier evaluative articles, he not only quantifies the accuracy of the projections, but also attempts to explain, when possible, why differences occurred between actual and projected data. He analyzes the four parts of the projections (the macro-economy, population and labor force, industry employment, and occupational employment) in “a holistic manner” in an attempt to show how problems in different parts of the projections process may affect one another.

Download Full Magazine: Monthly Labor Review, September 2010

PDF format, 3.5MB, 151Pages

Household expenditures on children, 2007–08 3
Household income and parental education are the primary factors influencing expenditures on children’s education, entertainment, and books
Megumi Omori

Self-employment in the United States 17
In 2009, about 1 in 9 workers was self-employed with the incidence continuing to be the highest among men, Whites, and older workers
Steven F. Hipple

Evaluating the 1996–2006 employment projections 33
Generally, BLS employment projections outperformed alternative naïve models, but some inaccuracies did occur because of large macroeconomic fluctuations
Ian D. Wyatt

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Established in 1915, Monthly Labor Review is the principal journal of fact, analysis, and research from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, an agency within the U.S. Department of Labor.

Each month, economists, statisticians, and experts from the Bureau join with private sector professionals and State and local government specialists to provide a wealth of research in a wide variety of fields—the labor force, the economy, employment, inflation, productivity, occupational injuries and illnesses, wages, prices, and many more.

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