New Research Reveals Depths of Young Parents’ Employment Decline and Economic Hardship during the Pandemic

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – August 19, 2021
Contact: William Lutz | [email protected]
Full Report: [link removed]

Washington, DC – New research from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) finds that young parents (18 to 29 years old) suffered disproportionate declines in employment and labor force participation at the height of the pandemic recession and have been on a bumpy road of recovery since. Young single mothers have especially borne the brunt of the crisis in their dual roles of primary breadwinner and caregiver, the report finds.

Research highlights:

• Among all parents aged 18 to 54, young mothers suffered the largest decline in employment and labor force participation between February and April 2020. Young fathers’ employment rates also fell significantly and remained low throughout the summer of 2020.
• Among young parents, single mothers—the majority of whom are Black and Latina mothers—experienced the sharpest decline in employment in the initial months of the pandemic.
• The slow and difficult recovery patterns for young parents may be attributed to a combination of the job sectors in which young parents concentrate and increased responsibilities for taking care of young children during lockdown periods. These challenges are especially pronounced for young single parents.
• The pandemic disrupted both employment and education for young parents. Compared to married parents, single parents experienced the sharpest increase in being out of work and out of school in the year during the pandemic.

“Young parents face Herculean challenges in managing work, education, and parental responsibilities,” said C. Nicole Mason, PhD, President and CEO of IWPR. “The conditions of low-wage jobs coupled with the lack of affordable quality child care make meeting work and parental obligations an impossible juggling act,” she added.

“Young single parents disproportionately face structural barriers in accessing higher education, quality jobs, and wealth,” said IWPR’s Shengwei Sun, PhD, noting that her new research shows that a large share of young single parents hold low-wage, service-sector jobs lacking paid leave and flexible schedules. “The recession and the collapse of the care infrastructure during the pandemic further undermined economic security for their families.”

Between February and April 2020, young mothers experienced the largest decline in employment levels among parents, dropping from 61.1 percent to 46.7 percent, a 23.6 percent decline. Young fathers’ employment rate fell from 88.2 percent to 77.1 percent, a 12.6 percent decline, compared with a 9.1 percent decline among older fathers and a 14.2 percent decline among older mothers. Among young parents, single mothers experienced the sharpest decline in employment levels at the height of the pandemic recession, highlighting their precarious and marginalized position in the labor market.

The large initial decline in employment levels among young parents at the beginning of the pandemic could partly be due to young workers’ concentration in job sectors that were hit the hardest by the economic downturn. A large share of young mothers were employed in sectors where job losses have been particularly severe, including Leisure and Hospitality (15.6 percent), Education and Health Services (34.8 percent), and Retail (13.1 percent).

Young mothers and young fathers were the least likely (21.6 percent and 13.1 percent, respectively) to have teleworked or worked from home during the pandemic among employed workers of the same gender. Many of them were classified as “essential workers” and had to report to work while access to child care declined significantly, increasing the strain of balancing work and family obligations. They also face elevated health threats during a pandemic. These challenges are especially pronounced for single parents.

Many young parents are managing work and child care responsibilities while pursuing education.

Comparing the year immediately before the COVID-19 outbreak in the U.S. and the year after, the share of young parents who are neither employed nor enrolled in school increased from 26.3 percent to 32.4 percent. The increase is the largest among young single parents, from 26.0 percent to 34.3 percent. Such disruption will likely impact young parents’ long-term economic security and career prospects.

Young parents’ particular vulnerability during economic downturns calls for long-term, systemic support to help them navigate the transition to adulthood while taking care of young children. The differing experience among young parents calls for policy responses to address socioeconomic inequalities and to prioritize the most vulnerable groups such as low-income young single parents. Policy recommendations include continued economic support, a stronger social safety net, universal child care and paid leave, affordable healthcare and housing, higher wages, predictable schedules, and workplace protections. Given that a large share of young parent households has children under three years of age, investing in young parent households would yield long-term benefits for both young parents and their children.

Read the Full Report: [link removed]

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research strives to win economic equity for all women and eliminate barriers to their full participation in society. As a leading national think tank, IWPR builds evidence to shape policies that grow women’s power and influence, close inequality gaps, and improve the economic well-being of families. Learn more at IWPR.org and follow us on Twitter.

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