Will unwed new mothers seek employment?: The role of government and social support

In this paper, we use recent data on unwed new mothers living in urban cities to examine employment plans of low-income women the year following childbirth. We conceptually distinguish work expectations, a cognition; from work, a behavior. We argue that government support and social support are related to the work expectations of unwed new mothers. The results provide evidence that the receipt of various forms of government and social support are positively associated with work expectations. The only variations from this pattern were found for government medical assistance and support from the baby's father. Overall, these findings are contrary to the idea that self-sufficiency is more likely to be achieved when support is denied. Our results suggest that any effort to engage lowincome unwed mothers in work activity should consider the importance of support for employment.