As a consequence of these divergent trends during the 1980's, births to unmarried women as a proportion of all births has risen rapidly, from 18 percent in 1980 to almost 30 percent in 1991. The pattern of increase in nonmarital birth rates in 1991 differs somewhat from that observed in recent years in that the increases were much greater for women under 25 years old than for women 25-34 years old. The relative poverty of households comprised solely of women and their children compared to other households points to the continued need for child support enforcement. The number of persons below the official government poverty level was 35.7 million in 1991, a figure 2.1 million higher than in 1990. The poverty rate was 14.2 percent in 1991, significantly higher than the 13.5 percent poverty rate in 1990.
Children are over-represented among the poor.
Children under 18 comprised 40 percent of the poor in 1991. The poverty rate for children under 18 was just under 22 percent in 1991. The number of poor families increased by 613,000 between 1990 and 1991 and the poverty rate for families increased to 11.5 percent. The increase in the number of poor families with a female householder accounted for almost two-thirds of the net increase in poor families between 1990 and 1991. About 44 percent of the poor received cash assistance from government programs in 1991.