Labor force participation among registered nurses and women in comparable occupations

Comparison of labor force participation of female nurses with women in comparable occupations showed no difference in overall participation rates. However, analysis by family life cycle did show differences: married nurses of all ages with young children were more likely to be in the labor force than those over age 35 without young children, while the reverse was true for married women in the comparison groups. Data were obtained from a pooled national sample survey of adult noninstitutionalized persons residing in the continental United States from 1972 through 1978 and 1980. Separate discriminant function analyses on nurses, teachers, and a composite group of other women using independent variables derived from a conceptual model of pushes and pulls into the labor force and labor force status as the dichotomous dependent variable were compared. Findings indicated that the presence of young children at home keeps married teachers and others out of the labor force but has no effect on married nurses.