The Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women and their families, promote public dialogue, and strengthen communities and societies.
According to (IWPR) analysis of the August unemployment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job growth continued in July with 163,000 jobs added to nonfarm payrolls. In July, women gained 86,000 jobs, or 53 percent of the total, and men gained 77,000 jobs.
Women’s employment growth was aided by strong growth in professional and business services (37,000 jobs added for women) and education and health services (35,000 jobs added for women). Government also added 3,000 jobs for women after losing 91,000 jobs in the last 12 months (July 2011 to June 2012).
IWPR analysis of the BLS payroll data shows that women have regained 42 percent (1.1 million) of the total jobs they lost in the recession (2.7 million) from December 2007 to the trough for women’s employment in September 2010.
The picture looks somewhat better for men: men have regained 47 percent (2.9 million) of the jobs they lost between December 2007 and the trough for men’s employment in February 2010 (6.1 million). In the last year, from July 2011 to July 2012, of the 1.8 million jobs added to payrolls, 742,000 or 40 percent were filled by women, and 1,096,000 or 60 percent were filled by men. The gap between women’s and men’s employment is 1.8 million jobs in July.
According to the household survey data reported by the BLS, the unemployment rate for women remained largely steady from June to July, increasing slightly for women aged 16 and older (to 8.1 percent from 8.0 percent). The unemployment rate for men aged 16 and older remained steady (8.4 percent). As of July, 12.8 million workers remain unemployed.
