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News Articles, Press Releases and Media Advisories - BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS NUMBERS REINFORCE: UNMARRIED WOMEN MUCH HARDER HIT BY SHARP DOWNTURN
March 06, 2009
Unmarried women’s unemployment rate higher than national average at 9.5%
Washington, D.C. – February’s unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), released today, reinforces what one advocacy group has been emphasizing for years: Unmarried women are among the hardest hit during an economic crisis. The current overall unemployment rate is 8.1% and for unmarried women, 9.5% is not only higher than the national average, but is also essentially double that of married women (5.1%).
These statistics come as no surprise to the president of Women’s Voices, Women Vote (WVWV).
“While dramatic and significant, the unemployment statistics released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics come as no surprise,” said Page Gardner, president of Women’s Voices, Women Vote, a national nonpartisan organization that promotes the participation of the nation's 53 million unmarried women in the democratic process.
Unmarried women also struggle with:
- a tremendous pay gap – earning 56 cents for every dollar married men earn [Center for American Progress, 4/25/08];
- insufficient savings – the median net worth of unmarried women is $12,900 – less than half that of unmarried men at $26,850 [Majority Staff of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, 4/18/08];
- lack of retirement security – more than one-third of single women report that they have saved less than $25,000 for retirement [Ninth Annual Transamerica Retirement Survey, 9/17/08];
- an increased rate of bankruptcy – single women are the demographic group most likely to file for bankruptcy and comprise 40% of all bankruptcy filings [MSN Money]; and
- the highest poverty rate of any cross-section of the adult population –80% of all poor adult women are unmarried. [Center for American Progress, 10/08].
“Eighty-four percent of unmarried women stated, during the 2008 election, that they were ‘hopeful that we will see real change in the direction of this country.’ Right now, 83 percent of these women still hold out this hope,” said Gardner. “It is my hope that the numbers released today further inspire President Obama and Congress to enact legislation targeting the issues faced by unmarried women struggling to survive on their own in an uncertain economy.”
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Women's Voices, Women Vote, is a national nonpartisan organization that promotes the participation of the nation's 53 million unmarried women in the democratic process. For more information, please visit our website: www.wvwv.org.