New York Magazine Drives Against the Convention Wisdom on Laid-Off Dads
Posted on 01. Jun, 2009 by Brian Reid in General
I have no idea what to make of this line from a recent New York Magazine cover story (thanks, Matt!) on how the recession is reshaping the Big Apple:
As a rule, able-bodied, unemployed men spend an average of just three and a half extra minutes per day actively caring for their kids, according to Jay Stewart, an economist at the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Most spend their extra time on sleep and “leisure activities” (including almost two extra hours of TV), though they do spend an extra hour and 42 minutes on “unpaid household work,” which includes passive forms of child supervision (like being in the same room).
First, I suspect this is historical data, so it doesn’t automatically apply to New York’s newly unemployed. Maybe they are just like the unemployed of old. But maybe not.
Second, let’s be clear about what “unemployed” means: by definition, it means that you’re actively looking for new work, not making a formal shift to take on the household duties. In fact, against all common sense, the BLS believes that “at-home dads” (according to the silly, undercounted stat released each spring) and the “unemployed” are mutually exclusive groups, demographically.
Third the piece makes it sound like “unpaid household work” is mostly sitting around, ignoring the kids. That’s certainly part of the definition, but most of the “unpaid household work” is actually “unpaid household work,” not second-rate childcare.
Those are my attempted explanations. There is a fourth: the laid-off guy do a terrible job of stepping up at home. If it’s true that the average unemployed guy spends an average of 3.5 extra minutes a day with the kids, that’s absolutely unconscionable. Anyone have any perspective on that stat?
Dave
02. Jun, 2009
maybe they are saying that New York employers are laying off slacker, lazy, selfish men?
Philip Cohen
02. Jun, 2009
They probably are referring to a stat based on the definition of “father” that includes all fathers with coresident children under 18, including those with 17-year-olds in high school, those in other daycare arrangements, etc. Across all those dads, the average amount of childcare is going to be low, so the 3.5 minutes might not be such a small increase. Just a guess.
Working Dad
04. Jun, 2009
I dealt with a lot of Bureau of Labor Statistics data, and that one doesn’t seem to fit. I may run it by one of my old BLS economist sources.
Dgreetings
06. Jun, 2009
I don’t understand why they are referring to fathers and specially when fathers day is nearby
Dgreetings
08. Jun, 2009
How long this recession will last?
Kelly M. Bray
09. Jun, 2009
“Dgreetings” says… “I don’t understand why they are referring to fathers and specially when fathers day is nearby” For some reason everyone like to slam dads on Fathers Day. Mothers Day is all chocolate and roses…Fathers Day is lazy husbands, stupid farting fathers, and deadbeat dads..Sighhhh………
Marcus
17. Jun, 2009
‘As a rule,’ I don’t listen to randomly carved statistics. I just do the best I can with my kids. And that is a day-to-day existence. Who shives a git what these doods say?
But dads SHOULD be helping round the house more and spending more time with the wee ones. I hope it isn’t true.