Job Growth Remains Steady for Both Women and Men

Washington, DC– IWPR’s analysis of the July employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) finds that job growth for both women and men continued to improve in June compared to the previous month. Of the 195,000 total jobs added to nonfarm payrolls, women gained 113,000 jobs (58 percent) while men gained 82,000 jobs (42 percent).

Women’s employment growth in June was aided by growth in Leisure and hospitality (44,000 jobs added for women), Professional and business services (32,000 jobs added for women), Retail trade (22,100 jobs added for women), and Education and health services (18,000 jobs added for women).

As of June, women have regained 92 percent (2.5 million) of the total jobs they lost in the recession from December 2007 to the trough for women’s employment in September 2010 (2.7 million). Men have regained over 68 percent (4.1 million) of the jobs they lost between December 2007 and the trough for men’s employment in February 2010 (6 million). In the year from June 2012 to June 2013, of the 2.3 million jobs added to payrolls, half went to women and half went to men: 1.2 million or 50.2 percent were filled by women, and 1.1 million or 49.8 percent were filled by men. The gap between women’s and men’s employment is 1.7 million jobs in June, which is half of the gap that existed at the start of the recession (3.4 million jobs in December 2007).

According to the household survey data reported by the BLS, while the overall unemployment rate remained steady at 7.6 percent, the unemployment rate for women aged 16 and older increased slightly to 7.3 percent in June from 7.1 percent in May. The unemployment rate for men aged 16 and older dropped slightly from 7.9 percent in May to 7.8 percent in June. The unemployment rate for single mothers rose to 10.7 percent in June. As of June, 11.8 million workers remain unemployed.

There has been improvement over the past year in the average (mean) number of weeks spent unemployed and looking for work from 39.7 weeks in June 2012 to 35.6 weeks in June 2013. (The median number of weeks declined from 19.4 weeks in June 2012 to 16.3 weeks in June 2013.) While the number of long-term unemployed has remained the same (about 4.3 million), the number of those employed part-time for economic reasons has increased by 322,000 since May 2013 to 8.2 million.

The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialogue, and strengthen families, communities, and societies. The Institute works with policymakers, scholars, and public interest groups to design, execute, and disseminate research that illuminates economic and social policy issues affecting women and their families, and to build a network of individuals and organizations that conduct and use women-oriented policy research. IWPR’s work is supported by foundation grants, government grants and contracts, donations from individuals, and contributions from organizations and corporations. IWPR is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that also works in affiliation with the women’s studies and public policy and public administration programs at The George Washington University.