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Job-related expenditures of gainfully employed female household heads in Corvallis, Oregon

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  • The purpose of this study was to examine the job-related expenditures of female household heads. Also examined were levels of education, occupations, presence of dependent children, employment benefits and reasons for working. A random sample of 75 female household heads was drawn from the 1973 Polk's Corvallis City Directory. The sample was composed of 28 divorced, 3 separated, 15 single and 28 widowed women living in Corvallis, Oregon. The interviews were conducted during March and April of 1974. The median age for the 75 household heads was 51 years. They had completed a mean of 15 years of schooling. Single household heads were both younger, with a median age of 32, and had a higher level of education, 17 years, than widows and divorced women. Forty-nine percent of the female household heads were professional workers; 39 percent were clerical and sales workers; and the remaining 12 percent were semiskilled workers. Eighty percent of the single household heads were employed in professional occupations, compared with 45 percent of the widows and 38 percent of the divorced and separated women. Median employment income for all 75 household heads was $7, 249. For the 68 women who had worked the entire year, the median employment income was $7, 500 and the mean, $8, 162. Hypothesis 1. Hypothesis 1, there is no relationship between level of education of the female household head and amount of earnings, was not supported by the data and it was rejected. As the level of education increased, the employment income also increased. Household heads who had not completed high school were employed in the lowest-paying occupations. Full-time workers who were college graduates earned 52 percent more than high school graduates and 14 percent more than household heads with some college education. Household heads who had master's degrees earned 36 percent more than college graduates. Household heads with doctoral degrees earned 28 percent more than those with master's degrees. Hypothesis 2. Hypothesis 2, between 40 and 50 percent of the employed female household heads' income from gainful employment was absorbed by job-related expenditures, was not supported by the data. There was a significant difference at the .01 level and the hypothesis was rejected. Female household heads in the study reported 35.8 percent of their cash employment income was used for job-related expenditures or a mean of $2, 930. Payroll deductions absorbed the highest percentage of employment income, 26.5 percent or a mean of $2, 164. Federal income taxes were the highest reported expense, 13.7 percent, with a mean of $1, 122 and a range of $1. 15 to $4, 441. Directly-related expenses were reported as 5.2 percent of the employment income. Education related to the job and transportation were the highest directly-related expenses, 1.5 and 1.6 percent, respectively. Indirectly-related expenses amounted to 4.1 percent of the employment income. Clothing needed for work was the most expensive indirectly-related expense reported, 1.5 percent. Hypothesis 3. Hypothesis 3, there is no difference in percentage of employment income spent for job-related expenses of female household heads with dependent children aged 18 and under and those without dependent children, was accepted since no significant difference in the percentage of income spent was found at the .025 level in a two-tailed "t" test. Female household heads with dependent children reported 36.9 percent of their employment income was spent on job-related expenses and those without children reported 35. 8 percent. Hypothesis 4. For female household heads with dependent children aged 18 and under, there is no difference in the percentage of employment income spent for job-related expenses of household heads with preschool children and those with no preschool children. Hypothesis 4 was not tested. Only two household heads in the study had children of preschool age. Female household heads reported receiving a mean dollar value of $168 in employment benefits. Eighty-three percent of the 75 workers reported receiving health insurance with a mean value of $79. Cash bonuses were valued at a mean of $22 and employer discounts at $21 for all workers. A combined mean dollar value of $44 was received for meals, coffee and snacks, life insurance, gifts from the employer, laundering and drycleaning of work clothing and discounts from other organizations. Only two reasons for working were given by more than 50 percent of the 75 household heads, These reasons were to pay for current living expenses and because they enjoyed working.
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