Unmarried Women Continue to See High Unemployment in April

New data released last week by the Labor Department shows the continuing consequences of the Great Recession for unmarried women. This group continues to experience high and extended unemployment as well as underemployment, and this underscores the urgent need for Congress and the administration to continue to focus on job creation and policies to spur demand and assist the unemployed.

High unemployment poses enormous challenges for all kinds of workers, but it can be a tragedy for unmarried women. Unmarried women already face higher-than-average poverty, many are responsible for family members including children and elders, and they frequently do not have a partner to rely on during times of economic distress.

Last month, 10.8 percent of unmarried women (age 16 and over) were unemployed (data by marital status is not seasonally adjusted). Of unmarried women who had jobs, 8.1 percent were working part time but said that they wanted to work full time. Nationally, unemployment was at 9.9 percent and 6.6 percent of workers worked part time but would prefer full-time work (part-time data is not seasonally adjusted). Women who head a household without a spouse (with a child, parent, or other dependent household member) faced a slightly higher unemployment rate than other unmarried women, at 11.0 percent in April.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2010/05/unmarried_women_unemployment.html