For the first time in more than a decade, single mothers are more likely than married mothers to be employed, new government statistics show.

The figures also show a large increase in the proportion of single mothers who are working, with explosive growth in work by low-skilled women with children born out of wedlock.

Even more remarkable, economists say, is the increase in work among single mothers who have never been married. In 1993, 44 percent of them were employed. The figure shot up to 65 percent last year.

The new numbers, from the Labor Department and the Census Bureau, have caught the attention of liberals and conservatives alike.