18 September 2007 – Publication of DWP research report 452: partnership transitions and mother’s employment
This study used data from the Department’s Families and Children Study (and the British Household Panel Survey) to examine the relationships between changes in the partnership status of mothers, and changes in their employment status.
- Approximately one-third of mothers change their partnership status (separation, or formation of a new partnership) at some point during the twenty years following the birth of their first child. The majority of these mothers change their partnership more than once.
- Partnership transitions are critical times for mothers’ work participation: periods with a separation are associated with high exit rates from work, while periods with a partnership union are related to high entry rates. However, when partnership and work transitions occur close together, the initial transition is almost equally likely to be of either kind, suggesting that any causation may run equally in either direction, or that there is a third factor driving both changes.
- Mothers who remain in work during the period of partnership transition, are likely to experience some adjustments in work characteristics. Re-partnering is associated with churning between part-time and full-time work, and separations are associated with changes in occupation, industry and employment/self-employment, as well as ‘convenience factors’, such as place of work, time of day worked, and commuting time.
- Findings indicate that mothers with partners who have previously been single mothers are less likely to be in work than mothers who have always had a partner during the period of motherhood. In addition, single mothers who have previously been partnered mothers are more likely to be in work than mothers who have always been single during the period of motherhood.
Notes to Editors
- This report is published on 18th September 2007 and will be in the DWP Research Series Report (no. 452); see: http://www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rrs-index.asp
- The author is Gillian Paull from the Institute of Fiscal Studies
- The Families and Children Study is a refreshed panel study of approximately 7000 families in Britain, investigating the circumstances of all families with dependent children. It covers a range of topics including: health; disability and caring; education; income; childcare; child maintenance; housing; transport; and labour market activity.
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