The 1996 welfare reform bill connected many single parents to jobs. But how are they faring now? According to the latest posting on the Urban Institute's "Single Parents' Earnings Monitor," the economic downturn undid only part of the gains in employment and wages during 1996-2000. Single mothers' unemployment rate rose from a low of about 6.5 percent in mid-2000 to a high of about 10 percent in mid-2003. Real hourly wages continued to increase, though at a lower pace after 2000 than between 1996 and 2000 -- particularly for the lowest-paid workers.

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