Single parents earn less —census

Press, 7 September 1989, Page 5

Single parents earn less —census

PA . Wellington Single-parent families have to make do with considerably less than half the average income of two-parent families. The one-parent median income for the year to March, 1986, was only 41 per cent of that for twoparent families — $12,500, compared with $30,400, a difference of $lB,OOO.

While eight out of 10 two-parent families receive above $20,000, the incomes of seven out of 10 one-parent families fell below that figure. Nearly a third of oneparent families receive less than $lO,OOO, an income reported by only 2.5 per cent of two-parent families.

Half of all two-parent families received above $30,000, and 31.9 per cent received more than $40,000.

In contrast, only 12.6 per cent of one-parent families earned more than $30,000 and only 5 per cent more than $40,000.

The median income for solo mothers was $11,900, some 43 per cent below that of solo fathers, $20,800. Census figures show 199,164 or 8.1 per cent of all New Zealanders live alone. “The number of oneperson households has been increasing steadily since the 1920 s and is still growing at more than twice the rate of all other households put together.” One-person households now comprise 19 per cent of all households (one in 5).