Single Mothers’ Labour Market Position and the Interplay between Repartnering and Migration

Roselinde van der Wiel , University of Groningen

Single-parent families, the majority of which are mothers with children, are disproportionally affected by income poverty. Prior research has shown that repartnering is financially beneficial for many single mothers. However, existing studies have looked at household income, which tells us very little about mothers’ economic independence. The current study takes a different perspective by studying the consequences of repartnering for individual labour market outcomes. In addition, this study addresses the geographic mobility that is involved with union formation, which is likely to have an independent effect on labour market outcomes. As such, those women who moved a long distance (i.e. migrated) at the time of repartnering are distinguished from those who did not. Annual data from the System of social statistical datasets (SSD) of Statistics Netherlands are used to study mothers’ income from employment or self-employment, as well as their level of labour participation. The study population comprises all mothers aged 25-55 who separated from the other parent of their first-born child between 2005 and 2012 and who have at least one minor child living with them (N=104,396). Preliminary findings show a negative effect of repartnering on single mothers’ labour income and labour participation, especially when she migrated at the time of repartnering. These results suggest that while repartnering generally improves single mothers’ economic well-being, it makes them less economically independent.

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 Presented in Session P1. Postercafe