Facts and figures for Father’s Day 2016
June 16, 2016
Father’s Day, a day to honor American dads, is coming up soon.
While Sonora Dodd of Spokane, Washington, thought of Father’s Day while she listened to a Mother’s Day sermon in 1909, it wasn’t until 1966 that President Lyndon Johnson designated the third Sunday in June as Father’s Day. Dodd wanted a special day to honor her father, William Smart, a widowed Civil War veteran who was left to raise his six children on a farm.
Father’s Day has been celebrated annually since 1972 when President Richard Nixon signed the public law that made it permanent.
What’s up for Father’s Day 2016?
A gift for dad
Consumers say they will spend more than ever on Father’s Day this year, according to a survey conducted for the National Retail Federation.
Consumers are expected to spend an average $125.92 for the holiday, up from last year’s $115.57. Total spending is expected to reach $14.3 billion, the highest in the survey’s 13-year history but still below this year’s Mother’s Day total of $21.4 billion.
Consumers plan to spend $3.1 billion on special outings such as dinner, brunch, or other types of a “fun activity/experience,” 47 percent of those surveyed said. Clothing, to be given by 43 percent, and gift cards, to be given by 41 percent, are tied at just under $2 billion each while consumer electronics, to be given by 20 percent, follow at $1.7 billion.
As with Mother’s Day, greeting cards are the most commonly purchased gift at 65 percent but account for only $833 million of projected spending. Other popular gifts include personal care, automotive accessories, books, music, home improvement/gardening supplies, and sporting goods.
The survey found 22 percent of shoppers will opt for a “gift of experience” such as tickets to a concert or a sporting event. Two in five millennials are planning to give an experience, significantly higher than older generations.
When shopping for gifts, 38 percent of consumers will head to department stores and 32 percent will shop online while 27 percent will shop at a discount store, 24 percent at a specialty store, and 17 percent at a local small business.
More than half of those surveyed plan to buy for their father or stepfather, 53 percent, while others will shop for their husband, 28 percent, or son, 9 percent.
Facts and figures about fathers
How many fathers?
70.1 million
Estimated number of fathers across the nation in 2008, the most recent year for which data are available.
24.9 million
Number of fathers who were part of married-couple families with children younger than 18 in 2015.
- 21 percent were raising three or more children younger than 18; among married-couple family households only.
- 3 percent were living in someone else’s home with their families.
1.9 million
Number of single fathers in 2015; 16 percent of single parents were men.
- 9 percent were raising three or more children younger than 18.
- About 45 percent were divorced, 33 percent were never married, 17 percent were separated, and 6 percent were widowed.
- About 47 percent had an annual family income of $50,000 or more.
Stay-at-home dads
199,000
Estimated number of stay-at-home dads in 2015. These married fathers with children younger than 15 have remained out of the labor force for at least one year, mainly so they can care for the family while their wife works outside the home. These fathers cared for about 368,000 children.
29%
In spring 2013, the percentage of preschoolers regularly cared for by their father during their mother’s working hours.
Child-support payments
$3.1 billion
Amount of child support received by custodial fathers in 2013; they were due $4.2 billion. In contrast, custodial mothers received $19.4 billion of the $28.7 billion in support that was due.
40.7%
Percentage of custodial fathers who received all child support that was due in 2013; for custodial mothers the number is 46.2 percent.
70.3%
Percentage of custodial fathers receiving noncash support, such as gifts or coverage of expenses, on behalf of their children. The amount for mothers was 59.9 percent.
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