Some Factors Determining the Work Effort of Single Black Women

Abstract

In recent years the interest in the problems faced by teen-age mothers has expanded dramatically. Unfortunately, most of the literature has ignored questions related to the impact of childbearing and subsequent responsibilities on the ability of young mothers to enter successfully the job market. Given the rapid expansion in the proportion of the female population entering the labor force, the development of a rational long term manpower policy dictates that a determination be made as to whether the employment problems likely to be experienced by young single mothers are comparable in scope and magnitude to those experi? enced by older single mothers, wives, etc. The present analysis is an attempt to examine the impact of the deci? sion to keep one's child on the labor market behavior of never-married black females. The analysis is structured in a way that allows compari? sons to be made between younger and older single mothers as well as among single mothers in different types of households. There are sound intuitive reasons to expect that special policies may be necessary to facil? itate attempts by teen-age mothers to become self-supporting. Unlike the situation of many older single mothers who are divorced, separated or widowed, teen-age mothers and single mothers in their early twen? ties are likely to possess fewer job skills, have less employment experi? ence, and receive less support from the fathers of their offspring. At the same time, however, there may be less pressure on younger mothers to establish and/or maintain a separate household with the consequence that access to parental resources may ameliorate their economic prob? lems. As indicated above, this investigation seeks to determine whether there are significant differences in work effort among sub-groups of never-married black females classified by age, child-bearing status, type of household, and status within the household. More specifically, the analysis uses multiple-regression analysis to examine variations in hours worked per week and weeks worked per year across the sub? groups. The one-in-a-hundred public use sample file developed from responses to the fifteen percent 1970 Census questionnaire is used as the