The number has gone up three-fold in the last three months and the organisation expects more such women to seek its help as the economic downturn worsens.

Mendaki Sense will be stepping up efforts to ensure that as many of these women get jobs.

Mendaki Sense general manager Zulaiha Yusuf on Friday said that the number of single mothers approaching the organisation for help to get jobs rose from 20 in September to 59 in November.

She expects the number to go up in the coming months as more are expected to find it hard to get employed as companies slash jobs as part of cost-cutting measures.

Madam Zulaiha told reporters on the sidelines of a workshop for 21 single mothers on Friday: 'Many Malay single mothers will find it hard to get employed during this period when jobs are already hard to come by. This is because many have have been out of the workforce for years little and low education qualifications.'

To deal with this surge in job-seekers, Mendaki Sense will be holding more workshops to keep the women updated on current labour trends and techniques they need to land jobs.