But studies have consistently shown that if the couple remains together, it is more likely they will be richer. In households headed by a female with no spouse present, 35.2 percent are poor, while only 7.0 percent who live in married-couple families can be classified as poor. A look at the median income for each group indicates why such disparities exist. The gap is widening, too. Poverty and Work.
Poverty is more likely to be the result of being underemployed than of being underpaid.
This compares to an 11.6 percent rate of poverty for those who were employed part-time and a 39.8 percent poverty rate for those who were unemployed. The rates of chronic poverty based on employment status show an even greater disparity. Among the unemployed, the rate is 10.2 percent. In other words, an unemployed person is more than 25 times more likely to be chronically poor than a full-time worker. Young Mothers Are Poor Mothers.