Why are African American women disproportionately likely to be never-married parents? How many of them eventually marry?

African American women are disproportionately likely to be never-married parents, comprising 40% of never-married mothers (compared with 32% for white non-Hispanic and 24% for Hispanic). In addition, African American women are more likely to postpone marriage after childbirth than are women of other ethnic groups. Higher rates of job loss, mortality, and persistent unemployment among many African American men influence young African American women's decisions. About one third of never-married African American mothers marry within 9 years after the birth of their first child, often to a man who is not the child's biological father, and the resulting family is much like any other first-marriage family.