Institute for Women’s Policy Research News Release - Labor Day Not So Celebratory for Many Women

WASHINGTON-(Business Wire)-September 4, 2009 - The Institute for Women’s Policy Research released today a fact sheet showing a high rate of unemployment among single mothers and substantial growth in unemployment among single mothers since April. According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning, women who maintain families without a spouse present have an unemployment rate of 12.2 percent compared with 10.2 percent for all men and 8.9 percent for all women (all data are seasonally unadjusted because seasonally adjusted data are not available for women who maintain families).

Institute for Women’s Policy Research
Fact Sheet

IWPR Publication # C369

September 2009

Unemployment Among Single Mother Families

Women who maintain families without a spouse present are almost twice as likely as married men to be unemployed, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for August 2009 (see Figure 1: Monthly Unemployment Rates by Marital Status (Seasonally Adjusted). One of every eight women (12.2 percent) who are the sole breadwinners in their families is unemployed compared with one of every sixteen married men (6.4 percent; see Table 1).

Seasonally unadjusted data show that unemployment for the labor force as a whole has increased by only one percentage point since April 2009. In contrast unemployment grew substantially more for women who maintain families (2.2 percentage points). Table 1 shows increases in unemployment in the summer months for both single women who maintain families and married women. These increases are not surprising since many women have children (and have a disproportionate share of the care of them) and most children are out of school then. Mothers may be unable to find jobs compatible with their children’s needs and child care availability (to be counted as unemployed individuals must be without a job and looking for work). The increase in single mothers’ unemployment is more than twice as much as married women’s (with an increase of 1.0 percentage points, married women’s unemployment rose over the summer months about the same amount as all workers’ unemployment). This difference suggests that single mothers have particular difficulty in finding jobs that are consistent with their family care responsibilities.


Table 1: Monthly Unemployment Rates by
Marital Status (Seasonally Unadjusted)
	Married Men	Married Women	Single Mothers	Total
December 2007	2.9	2.9	6.9	4.8
January 2008	3.4	3.2	7.0	5.4
February 2008	3.3	3.0	6.7	5.2
March 2008	3.3	3.1	7.1	5.2
April 2008	2.8	2.7	6.8	4.8
May 2008	2.7	2.8	6.9	5.2
June 2008	2.8	3.5	7.9	5.7
July 2008	3.0	3.9	8.5	6.0
August 2008	3.2	4.3	9.6	6.1
September 2008	3.3	3.7	8.2	6.0
October 2008	3.5	4.1	8.8	6.1
November 2008	3.9	4.3	9.3	6.5
December 2008	4.8	4.3	9.5	7.1
January 2009	6.3	4.9	10.3	8.5
February 2009	6.8	5.1	10.3	8.9
March 2009	6.9	5.2	10.8	9.0
April 2009	6.4	5.1	10.0	8.6
May 2009	6.5	5.1	11.0	9.1
June 2009	6.4	5.7	11.7	9.7
July 2009	6.5	6.2	12.6	9.7
August 2009	6.4	6.1	12.2	9.6
Source: Compiled by the Institute for Women's Policy Research based on
Bureau of Labor Statistics Data

The high unemployment rate for single mothers is a serious problem for their families’ well-being. One fifth of all families with children are headed by working single mothers (see Figure 2: The Increasing Responsibility of Women Workers for Family Financial Needs (All Families with Children Under 18). The families of single mothers (considering both those who work and those who do not together) have a high poverty rate, 28.3 percent (in 2007, there were 4 million poor single mother families according to the United States Census Bureau). Women’s earnings have become increasingly important for all families with children, as more women are providing for their families as members of dual-earner couples in addition to those who support their families on their own (Figure 2 and Table 2). Nearly half of all families with children under 18 are supported by two working parents, an increase from 37 percent in 1975. More than two-thirds of married mothers are employed.

Yet the persistent gender wage gap – in 2007 women full-time, year-round workers earned only 78 cents for every dollar earned by full-time, year-round male workers – means that families relying solely on women’s earnings face greater hardships. Women who support families alone are much less able than male breadwinners or married couples to build up financial reserves for bad economic times. Women workers are also less likely than men to have fringe benefits such as paid sick days.


Table 2: The Increasing Responsibility of Women Workers
for Family Financial Needs (All Families with Children Under 18)
	Dual Earner Couples	Male Breadwinner Couples	Single Mother Earners	Single Father Earners	No Earners
1975	36.5	44.2	10.1	1.2	9.7
1980	41.8	34.4	13.8	1.8	8.2
1985	45.4	28.1	15.1	2.6	8.6
1990	48.1	23.4	15.9	3.4	8.6
1995	48.8	19.7	16.6	3.8	9.2
2000	48.7	19.8	20.8	4.8	5.9
2005	46.6	21.2	20.2	4.9	9.8
Source: Compiled by the Institute for Women's Policy Research based on Current Population Survey data

These findings suggest that a number of changes in policy and practice are needed to improve women’s earnings and the ability to combine work and family in the United States. These include:

Increasing the availability of subsidized child care and family-friendly work arrangements, such as paid family leave, paid sick days, and flexibility in work schedules to allow workers to meet their family responsibilities.
Improving educational and job training opportunities for women to enter highly paid jobs, including those currently dominated by men.
Stepping up enforcement of equal pay and equal employment opportunity laws, including the active prevention of sexual harassment, to reduce discrimination in the workplace.
Protecting women’s rights on the job, including the right to organize, since the gender wage gap is smaller among unionized workers than non-unionized workers.

This fact sheet was prepared by Ashley English, Heidi Hartmann, and Ariane Hegewisch at the Institute for Women’s Policy Research. Financial support was provided by the Ford Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the Rockefeller Foundation.

For more information about IWPR reports or membership, please call (202) 785-5100,

email iwpr@iwpr.org, or visit iwpr.org.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialogue, and strengthen families, communities, and societies. The Institute works with policymakers, scholars, and public interest groups to design, execute, and disseminate research that illuminates economic and social policy issues affecting women and their families, and to build a network of individuals and organizations that conduct and use women-oriented policy research. IWPR’s work is supported by foundation grants, government grants and contracts, donations from individuals, and contributions from organizations and corporations. IWPR is a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization that also works in affiliation with the women’s studies and public policy programs at The George Washington University.

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