Number of young unwed mothers on the rise

More than 60 percent of new mothers in their early 20s aren't married, the U.S. government said Wednesday in a report that underscores concern about the well-being of the nation's young children.

The overall number of births to unwed mothers increased to 36 percent in 2011 from 31 percent in 2005, the earliest year for which data are available, the U.S. Census Bureau said in the report.

The high rate of children born to young, unwed mothers is significant because the parents are more likely to have less education and have lower incomes than married families. Their children are likely to be poor and have developmental delays.

"The poorer developmental and behavioral outcomes experienced by children living in cohabitating households may be due in part to family instability," the study's authors wrote.

Forty percent of children will probably live in a broken family before reaching the age of 15, they said.

The percentage of young unmarried new mothers contrasts with the 17 percent of new mothers in their late 30s who aren't married. About 32 percent of new moms between the ages of 25 and 29 were single, the census bureau said.

The report showed wide variations in the number of births to unwed mothers by income, race, state of residence and place of birth.