Policy Changes, Employment, and Single Parenthood in Finland

The labor supply of mothers is in? uenced by womens preferences and labor market conditions, as well as by family policy packages which enable families to reconcile work and family life. This article deepens the understanding about why Finnish single mothers are facing higher unemployment risks than mothers in two-parent families. The main question is how the changes in the Finnish family policy system have affected the economic and labor market status of single mothers in the last part of the 1990s. Have the changes in family policy affected their entry / re-entry into the labor market? Or can these changes in employment rate be explained by mothers personal decisions. Single parents were more vulnerable compared to partnered mothers in parental leave reforms and in the Family reform package in 1994. Changes in the labor market have had an impact on the situation of mothers with small children. One group of mothers can enjoy the full provision of leaves, bene? ts and job security, but an increased share of mothers have become dependent on only basic bene? ts. In this respect, the inequality among mothers has increased