Majority of Married and Unmarried Mothers Work Full Time

How has full-time work among married and unmarried mothers compared historically? An IFS report by Wendy Wang and Jenet Erickson answers this question, finding that in 1970, nearly twice as many unmarried mothers of young children were working full-time compared to married mothers of young children. Through the rest of the twentieth century, this gap shrank until the mid- to late-90s, when full-time work among unmarried mothers spiked post-PRWORA, peaking at 63% in 2000. Since then, the shares of unmarried and married mothers working full time have converged, with both exceeding a majority. In 2024, for the first time more married mothers than unmarried mothers worked full time.

by Sophie Anderson