September Jobs Gains Puts Women's Employment at Pre-Recession Levels

Unemployment rate for single mothers now at lowest level since October 2008

WASHINGTON, Oct. 23, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to an Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) analysis of the October employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), of the 148,000 total jobs added to nonfarm payrolls in September, women gained 76,000 of those jobs (51 percent) while men gained 72,000 jobs (49 percent).

IWPR analysis of the BLS payroll data shows that as of September, women hold more jobs (67,378,000) than at the start of the recession in December 2007 (67,315,000), which is just 6,000 jobs below their employment peak reached in March 2008. Men have regained 70 percent of the jobs they lost between December 2007 and the trough for men's employment in February 2010. In the last year—from September 2012 to September 2013—52 percent of the 2.2 million jobs added to payrolls were filled by women, while 48 percent were filled by men. Nonetheless, men held 1.5 million more jobs than women in September.

"Even though women's jobs are back to pre-recession levels, men still have a long way to go before they regain the jobs they lost," noted Jeffrey Hayes, IWPR Study Director. "Families are increasingly relying on women's earnings, and there is a need to create good jobs for both men and women that provide access to benefits, such as health insurance or pension plans."

According to the household survey data reported by the BLS, the unemployment rate for women aged 16 and older decreased to 6.7 percent in September from 6.8 percent in August. The unemployment rate for men aged 16 and older remained steady at 7.7 percent. Among single mothers (female heads of households), the unemployment rate fell to 8.8 percent in September, a marked decline from 11 percent in August. While this series is not seasonally adjusted and can fluctuate due to small sample sizes in the household survey, this is the lowest unemployment rate for single mother families since October 2008.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women and their families, promote public dialogue, and strengthen communities and societies.

SOURCE Institute for Women's Policy Research

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