About a quarter of single-parent households in 20 Swiss cities received social assistance in 2023. They were almost five times as likely to receive it as households overall.
Children in single-parent families accounted for 59% of minors receiving assistance, up from 52% in 2010. Women headed about 93% of single-parent households on welfare.
Foreign nationals headed about 64% of single-parent households receiving assistance, up from 53% in 2011.
Work does not always offer a route out. In 2023, an average of 41% of single parents receiving assistance were employed, up from 36% in 2011. They were much more likely to work than recipients without children, but earned too little to cover their families’ living costs.
The study, by Michelle Beyeler of the University of Zurich, describes pressures that can reinforce one another. Single parents must earn a living, care for children and run a household. Ill health, financial difficulties and a lack of support can make each task harder.
A lack of qualifications is one of the main factors associated with prolonged reliance on assistance. About 70% of single parents receiving support had no recognised education beyond compulsory schooling. Childcare responsibilities make it difficult to return to education, and social services report a shortage of suitable training.
Higher qualifications are associated with shorter spells of assistance. The median duration was 26 months for single parents without recognised qualifications, compared with 16 months for those with vocational or upper-secondary qualifications. Local labour markets matter, too: cities with high unemployment, including Lausanne and Bienne, had higher rates of social assistance.
Single-parent families generally received support for longer than other households. Among cases opened between 2013 and 2017, the median spell of assistance was 22 months, compared with 13 months for people living alone. A quarter of single-parent cases still received support after five years.
Childcare shortages make it harder to work or train. Just over half of the social services surveyed reported at least occasional difficulty finding suitable places. Opening hours were a particular problem. Nurseries and other childcare services generally follow office hours, whereas jobs in care, cleaning, hospitality and retail often require early starts, evening shifts or weekend work. Emergency care and places for children with additional needs were also scarce.
Supplementary family benefits appear to help families leave social assistance sooner. In cities offering them, the gap in exit rates between families and households without children was smaller.
The Cities Initiative for Social Policy argues that social assistance alone cannot resolve these problems. The report recommends more flexible training, including part-time courses, childcare suited to irregular working hours, reliable maintenance payments and better support for families leaving assistance.
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