Key findings of congressional report on working mothers in the recession

Findings of congressional report on working moms

NEW YORK — Some key findings of a report on working mothers and the recession by Congress’ Joint Economic Committee, to be released Monday:

—Most jobs lost in the recession were lost by men, but many women lost jobs as well. From December 2007 to December 2009, women lost 45 jobs for every 100 lost by men.

—As the economy began to recover in recent months, women lost jobs while men gained jobs. From October 2009 to March 2010, women lost 22,000 jobs while men gained 260,000.

—April’s positive employment numbers were better for men. Women gained 86,000 jobs last month, while men gained 204,000.

—Participation of mothers in the labor force increased during the recession, from 71 percent to 71.4 percent between 2007 and 2009.

—Nearly half of all mothers with children under 18 worked full time last year.

—Of the 21.7 million mothers employed in 2009, two-thirds were in a dual-earner family. One-third — about 7.5 million mothers — were the sole breadwinners.

—Unemployment increased dramatically during the recession for single mothers. Between 2007 and 2009, the unemployment rate among single mothers increased from 8 percent to 13.6 percent.

—Many women — 3.3. million in 2009 — worked part-time for economic reasons, either because they couldn’t find full-time work or their hours were cut back.

Source: “Working Mothers in the Great Recession,” by the Joint Economic Committee. The report is an update to a May 2009 report.

On the Net:

www.jec.senate.gov