Single mothers have been disproportionally hurt by the recession, with their rate of unemployment doubling in the last two years, according to a report released today.

The report, by the Institute of Women's Policy Research and the Women and Girls Foundation of Southwest Pennsylvania, examines the recession's effect on female heads of households.

Their unemployment rate rose from 5 percent to 11.1 percent from 2007 to 2009 and more than four out of 10 families headed by single mothers in the Pittsburgh region live in poverty.

"Many families are suffering economic hardship but families maintained by women face higher rates of poverty and higher rates of unemployment," said Ariane Hegewisch, a study director at the Institute for Women's Policy Research.

The report calls for an expansion of family-friendly workforce policies to help single mothers who are working continue to provide financially for their children.

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