Single Mothers Struggling Despite Germany’s Coronavirus Rescue Packages

Germany counts around 1.5 million single-parent households with children under 18, overwhelmingly headed by women.

A recent Forsa survey commissioned by the government found that single mothers have been uniquely impacted by the pandemic.

Thirty percent of single mums in salaried employment have had to take leave for lack of childcare, compared with 19 percent of other parents. They are also more likely to have stopped working altogether.

Read also: Small Rise in EU Unemployment Rate Despite Easing Lockdown

Of the single mums who are self-employed, just 15 percent have been able to continue working as normal.

The North Rhine-Westphalia branch of the VAMV, an association for single parents, said Chancellor Angela Merkel's government should offer more targeted and longer-term aid to prevent single mums from "falling into the poverty trap".

Wary employers

Schoenfeld still considers herself lucky, saying she and her child "are getting by" with her savings and the maintenance her ex has been ordered to pay until their divorce is finalized.

She is hunting for a job, "but it's slim pickings," she said, believing that employers are wary of hiring single parents who may have childcare problems if a second wave of infections hits.

Pototschnik is also looking for work to tide her over until the event industry gets back on its feet.

She has so far unsuccessfully applied to be a postal worker, a driver and a petrol station attendant.

'Not right'

The German government has pledged over a trillion euros in aid to shield companies and citizens in Europe's top economy from the pandemic fallout, including through loans, grants and subsidized shorter-hours programs.

It has also lowered the hurdles for receiving unemployment benefits and rent assistance.

But Schoenfeld said she doesn't qualify because she is technically still married and her estranged husband earns a good salary.