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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Tag: Two-income families

Working Mothers and Household Income

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  • Women as family breadwinner on the rise, study says, By Catherine Rampell, May 29, 2013, New York Times: “Women are not only more likely to be the primary caregivers in a family. Increasingly, they are primary breadwinners, too. Four in 10 households with children under age 18 now include a mother who is either the sole or primary earner for her family, according to a Pew Research Center report released Wednesday. This share, the highest on record, has quadrupled since 1960. The shift reflects evolving family dynamics…”
  • Nearly 40 percent of mothers are now the family breadwinners, report says, By Brigid Schulte, May 28, 2013, Washington Post: “In a trend accelerated by the recent recession and an increase in births to single mothers, nearly four in 10 families with children under the age of 18 are now headed by women who are the sole or primary breadwinners for their families, according to a report released Wednesday by the Pew Research Center…”
  • More U.S. women than ever are breadwinners, Pew study finds, By Emily Alpert, May 28, 2013, Los Angeles Times: “Mothers are breadwinners for a record share of American families, as more women bring up children on their own and more married mothers outearn their husbands, an analysis of census data shows. The new reality is a dramatic shift from decades ago, the Pew Research Center found in a study released Wednesday. Two years ago, more than 40% of American households with children relied on a mother as their biggest or only source of income — a massive jump from 11% of families in 1960…”

Economic Mobility

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Economic mobility: Who gets left behind, By Tami Luhby, July 10, 2012, CNN Money: “Most Americans make more than their parents did, but that doesn’t mean they’re all moving up the economic ladder. Some 84% of Americans have higher family incomes than their parents had at the same age, according to a new report from the Pew Economic Mobility Project. And 93% of those who grew up in the poorest fifth of the income ladder exceed their parents’ family income as adults. But out-earning their parents hasn’t helped many of them climb out of poverty, as many poor American families remain stuck at the bottom of the income barrel. Some 43% remain in the lowest quintile. . .”