Work, poverty, and single-mother families
From Economic Policy Institute:
This month marks the 10th anniversary of the welfare reform legislation signed in August 1996. Those touting the program's success often cite the sharp decline in the poverty rates of single-mother families over the course of the latter 1990s.
But what economic factors are really at the heart of these improvements, and have they carried over into today's economy? Get the facts at a glance in this week's Economic Snapshot.
While research has shown that changes in the rules governing welfare did contribute to an increase in welfare recipients (and potential recipients) in the workforce, other economic factors also played an important and complementary role.
In fact, the strong increase in employment opportunities in the latter 1990s meant that the demand for labor expanded more than enough to meet the increase in labor supply precipitated by welfare reform.
Note, for example, that employment for non-managers in retail grew by 1.9 million jobs from 1994 to 2000, but actually lost 33,000 jobs from 2000 to 2005.
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