Jobs in 2011: Job Gains and Losses by Sector for Women and Men

Though millions of people are still looking for work, some sectors added jobs in 2011. How did women and men fare in different industries?

For women, most of their job growth was in the service industry. Women gained jobs in private education and health services, professional and business services, leisure and hospitality. Women also added jobs in both retail and wholesale trade, as well as in "other" services (which includes repair shops and laundry services). The one non-service sector which saw some growth for women in 2011 was mining and logging.

Losses in the public sector were a huge story for women in 2011 — this sector saw the most losses by far. Women also lost jobs in goods-producing fields like manufacturing and construction, as well as in some service sectors like financial activities (which includes banking and real estate), information (which includes media and publishing), transportation and warehousing, and utilities.

For men the story is quite different — for every sector other than information and public jobs, they made gains in 2011.

Though women gained about 32 percent of the jobs added in 2011, they have a long way to go — they've only accounted for three percent of the jobs added since the recovery started in June 2009. Broadening the sectors where women are adding jobs in 2012 would be a great way to ensure a recovery that reaches everyone.