Married women in the labor force.

The proportion of married women working for pay has been increasing in the United States for more than half a century. This trend is related to the secular decline of the birth rate, but other factors have been chiefly responsible for declining fertility. The proportion of married women in the labor force is likely to increase still more. One consequence will probably be a depressing of the birth rate, but the fertility trend will be governed chiefly by other developments. Public policy regarding the employment of married women, if any, should take into account the economic advantage of their employment, and should not be based solely on a consideration of the possible effect upon fertility.