More Job Growth For Women During April, Men Not So Much

Filed under: News,The Economy,Unemployment |

 Job growth for women improved in April compared to the previous month, according to an Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) analysis of the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) May employment report.

Women are half the workforce.

Women are half the workforce.

Of the 165,000 total jobs added to nonfarm payrolls, women gained 117,000 jobs, 71%. Job growth was slower for men. Men gained 48,000 jobs, 29%.

The unemployment rate for women aged 16 and older declined to 7.3% in April from 7.6% in March, according to BLS data.

The unemployment rate for men aged 16 and older rose slightly from 7.6% during March to 7.7% in April.

Growth in professional and business services helped women’s employment growth in April with 35,000 jobs added for women.

Job Growth For Women By Industry

During April retailing added 32,500 jobs for women, education and health services added 25,000 jobs and the leisure and hospitality business added 23,000 jobs.

While government jobs decreased by 11,000 overall, women’s employment in government remained steady.

The IWPR analysis of BLS payroll data shows that as of April, women have regained 83%, 2.3 million, of the total jobs they lost in the Great Recession from December 2007 to the low point for women’s employment in September 2010 at 2.7 million.

Job Growth Less For Men

Men have regained about 65%, 3.9 million, of Great Recession job losses between December 2007 and the trough for men’s employment in February 2010 of 6 million.

From April 2012 to April 2013, of the 2.1 million jobs added to payrolls, women filled 1 million, 49% of the jobs.

Men filled 51%, 1.1 million jobs.

The gap between women’s and men’s employment was 1.8 million jobs in April, substantially less than at the start of the Great Recession in December 2007 when the gap was 3.4 million jobs.

Among single mothers, the unemployment rate was 10.3% in April compared to 10.7% in March.

While the growth in jobs for women is good news, it may also reflect the fact that women are paid less than men. Simply put, women are cheaper to employ.

Women’s earnings were 77% of men’s in 2011, compared to 77.4% in 2010, according to Census statistics released Sept. 12, 2012, based on the median earnings of all full-time, year-round workers.

In 2011 men’s average earnings were $48,202. Women earned $37,118 on average in 2011, a wage gap of $11,084.

The overall picture for American jobs remains bleak compared with pre-Great Recession levels. As of April 2013, about 11.7 million American workers remain unemployed.

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