ST. LOUIS, MO (KMOX) - Working mothers are still struggling to recover, according to the latest snapshot. The Brookings Institution reports that as of June, mothers between the ages 25-54 have not returned to the workforce in the same numbers as before the pandemic hit.
The non-profit says single moms of minor children saw the steepest decline in labor force participation early last year. It's a group that typically has the highest rates of employment of working moms. Single mothers currently have the lowest employment rates of any working moms -- 5 percentage points lower than in January 2020.
Mothers of teens saw the biggest rebound, returning to the workplace in the largest numbers this spring, but their gains have stalled in the summer months.
When the pandemic disrupted life outside the home, it also impacted what happened inside the family.
During the opening months of the COVID-19 pandemic, mothers with children age 12 and under reduced their employment hours by four to four and half times more than did fathers.
The Brookings Instituition's Hamilton Project -- an economic policy initiative -- looked at time use surveys from 2020. Working moms spent more time taking care of kids than working dads -- 8 hours a day for working moms versus 5.2 hours a day for working dads. Working moms also spent more time on child care than unemployed dads by a half hour a day.
When it comes to downtime, dads got slightly more time alone than moms, while mothers got a little more sleep each week than fathers.
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