Indeed. It’s important to note that they were single income families because they didn’t need to be two income families. Now in many cases single-income families used to be two income families and they’re in trouble. Any participation number today in fact signifies far more economic distress than a comparable number back then.
My wife just quit her job here in central KY. It’s because it paid the going rate around here, less than ten bucks an hour, and I can make up for an entire week of her income in just a few hours of overtime. And this saves us all the expenses incurred by her working outside the home. And they are not just monetary. She quit the end of the year and already I feel like I got my wife back. Now she can work and plan the garden, likewise the future livestock, plan our new house, make custom dog food for our dog, you name it.
Both spouses working outside the home is a very expensive proposition.