
Single mothers in Austria are finding it much harder to get by financially than the rest of the population, according to a report published on Wednesday by Statistik Austria.
The report, titled Consequences of the Crisis and the Social Situation of Women, says that “single mothers, in particular, have experienced a worsening of their financial situation” over the past three years.
At the end of 2021, just under one in five single mothers (19%) reported struggling to make ends meet. By the third quarter of 2022, this figure had doubled to nearly 38%, and although it eased slightly, it still stood at 32% at the start of 2024, according to the analysis commissioned by the aid organisation Caritas.
Energy prices have also surged since 2021, with annual inflation peaking at 8.6% in 2022 and remaining high at 7.8% in 2023.
Janina Enachescu, project manager of the survey on the social crisis’s impact since 2021, noted that the overall percentage of households facing financial difficulties remained relatively stable at around 16% from 2021 to 2023 but dropped to 13% in early 2024.