JEC REPORT REVEALS RECESSION’S DEVASTATING IMPACT ON WORKING MOTHERS

Analysis of Unpublished and Newly Released Government Data Show One out of Every Ten Women Maintaining a Household Are Unemployed

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), and JEC Vice Chair Senator Charles E. Schumer, released a new report entitled, “Women in the Recession: Working Mothers Face High Rates of Unemployment.”  The JEC report finds that the increases in unemployment during this recession have been especially steep for female heads of household – mothers who are solely responsible for maintaining their families’ economic security. Using unpublished and newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the JEC report shows that, in particular, minority women have suffered some of the worst effects of the current recession.  The JEC report reveals that families are relying more and more on women’s employment, but the trend of rising job losses among women will put an even greater strain on households struggling to make ends meet in this downturn.     

Maloney said, “The recession is having a devastating impact on our nation’s most vulnerable families.  Nearly a million single moms are out of work and their families are suffering. The fact that they are receiving pink slips in greater numbers than in prior recessions has serious implications for family economic well-being. Working mothers are having a tough time sheltering their families from the current economic storm, with women of color faring the worst. The recovery measures that are starting to kick-in will help families in need, create or save jobs in healthcare and education fields which are dominated by women, and provide job training for displaced workers. We need to do all this and more to help women and their families weather this downturn.”
 
Schumer said, “In 2008 over 70 percent of mothers were active in the labor force and now, just one year later, nearly 1 million of those women are unemployed.  Today’s family cannot afford to have either parent out of work, much less a single mother who is the sole breadwinner of the household.  This report highlights a serious and disconcerting trend which the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has sought to rectify through various programs targeted at job creation and security.  It is absolutely critical to both our economy and American families that these women are not left behind.”  

Highlights from the JEC report “Women in the Recession: Working Mothers Face High Rates on Unemployment” include:

• In 2008, seven out of ten mothers with children under 18 years old were in the labor force.  Over half of all mothers usually worked full time last year.
• As of April 2009, nearly one million working-age female heads of household wanted a job but could not find one.
• One out of every ten women maintaining a family is unemployed, which exceeds the highest rate (9.0 percent) experienced during the 2001 recession and the “jobless recovery” that followed.
• The ranks of female heads of household who are unemployed or “marginally attached” to the labor force has grown across all demographic groups, with women of color faring the worst. Black and Hispanic women in this group are currently experiencing unemployment at rates of 13.3 percent and 11.0 percent, respectively.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will temper the effects of the current recession for these families right now and over time, according to the report. Extended unemployment benefits, nutrition assistance programs, preserving Medicaid benefits and tax cuts will bring immediate relief for these families.  In addition, ARRA invests in job creation in education, healthcare, and child care that tend to disproportionately employ women.  This will help to ensure that female-headed households will not be left behind in the recovery.

 The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.
 www.jec.senate.gov
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Joint Economic Committee Democrats Chairman - Senator Martin Heinrich (D-NM)

JEC Report Reveals Recession's Devastating Impact On Working Mothers

May 28, 2009 -May 28, 2009

JEC REPORT REVEALS RECESSION’S DEVASTATING IMPACT ON WORKING MOTHERS

Analysis of Unpublished and Newly Released Government Data Show One out of Every Ten Women Maintaining a Household Are Unemployed

Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, Chair of the Joint Economic Committee (JEC), and JEC Vice Chair Senator Charles E. Schumer, released a new report entitled, “Women in the Recession: Working Mothers Face High Rates of Unemployment.”  The JEC report finds that the increases in unemployment during this recession have been especially steep for female heads of household – mothers who are solely responsible for maintaining their families’ economic security. Using unpublished and newly released data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the JEC report shows that, in particular, minority women have suffered some of the worst effects of the current recession.  The JEC report reveals that families are relying more and more on women’s employment, but the trend of rising job losses among women will put an even greater strain on households struggling to make ends meet in this downturn.     

Maloney said, “The recession is having a devastating impact on our nation’s most vulnerable families.  Nearly a million single moms are out of work and their families are suffering. The fact that they are receiving pink slips in greater numbers than in prior recessions has serious implications for family economic well-being. Working mothers are having a tough time sheltering their families from the current economic storm, with women of color faring the worst. The recovery measures that are starting to kick-in will help families in need, create or save jobs in healthcare and education fields which are dominated by women, and provide job training for displaced workers. We need to do all this and more to help women and their families weather this downturn.”
 
Schumer said, “In 2008 over 70 percent of mothers were active in the labor force and now, just one year later, nearly 1 million of those women are unemployed.  Today’s family cannot afford to have either parent out of work, much less a single mother who is the sole breadwinner of the household.  This report highlights a serious and disconcerting trend which the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act has sought to rectify through various programs targeted at job creation and security.  It is absolutely critical to both our economy and American families that these women are not left behind.”  

Highlights from the JEC report “Women in the Recession: Working Mothers Face High Rates on Unemployment” include:

• In 2008, seven out of ten mothers with children under 18 years old were in the labor force.  Over half of all mothers usually worked full time last year.
• As of April 2009, nearly one million working-age female heads of household wanted a job but could not find one.
• One out of every ten women maintaining a family is unemployed, which exceeds the highest rate (9.0 percent) experienced during the 2001 recession and the “jobless recovery” that followed.
• The ranks of female heads of household who are unemployed or “marginally attached” to the labor force has grown across all demographic groups, with women of color faring the worst. Black and Hispanic women in this group are currently experiencing unemployment at rates of 13.3 percent and 11.0 percent, respectively.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will temper the effects of the current recession for these families right now and over time, according to the report. Extended unemployment benefits, nutrition assistance programs, preserving Medicaid benefits and tax cuts will bring immediate relief for these families.  In addition, ARRA invests in job creation in education, healthcare, and child care that tend to disproportionately employ women.  This will help to ensure that female-headed households will not be left behind in the recovery.

 The Joint Economic Committee, established under the Employment Act of 1946, was created by Congress to review economic conditions and to analyze the effectiveness of economic policy.
 www.jec.senate.gov
#          #          #

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