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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

THE WORKPLACE

In an unusual twist, many mothers are finding themselves in a new scenario: seeking work-at-home arrangements driven not by flexibility – think soccer practices and piano recitals – but as the best option to supplement family income.

With a surge in male breadwinners out of work, mothers are selling jewelry out of their kitchens, running businesses out of their living rooms and seeking Internet opportunities to make up for the shortfall in household budgets.

Women are scrambling to find anything that they can get their hands on to pay a few bills. Some are even working from home to supplement their part-time income. For most men, the main priority still is finding a full-time job, devoting almost all their day to their search.

The numbers are jarring: 800,000 women have lost full-time positions in the past 12 months, and those on payrolls part time grew by nearly 900,000. For the women who work part time, first-quarter median earnings were just $269 a week.

Opportunities to work from home exist as bookkeepers, graphic designers, virtual assistants, customer service reps and writers. Some home-based businesses operated by mothers include advertising agencies, photography studios and child care centers.

Working mothers: More than three-quarters of women are working because they have to, not because they want to, and 48 percent of working mothers are more stressed because of the recession, according to Adecco Group North America’s latest American Workplace Insights Survey.

Sixty-five percent of them are cutting the family budget, the survey found.

Almost half of working mothers wish they could spend more time with their children, and 16 percent report that their work hours have increased in this economy.

About 19 percent of working mothers are overcompensating by buying material goods for their children.

Other findings:

•13 percent of working mothers went back to working full time in this economy.

•30 percent feel overwhelmed with responsibilities at home.

•74 percent of working mothers think their children do well in school, while 60 percent of nonworking moms feel this way.

From wire reports