Unemployment

Women have regained a large number of the jobs they lost during the recession, but their gains are highly concentrated in low-wage occupations. Sixty percent of the increase in employment for women between 2009 and 2012 was in the 10 largest occupations that typically pay less than $10.10 per hour. In contrast, these 10 low-wage occupations accounted for only 20 percent of men’s employment growth over the same period.

After decades of job losses, U.S. manufacturing has started to make a comeback—but women are not sharing in these gains.  Men gained 535,000 manufacturing jobs between January 2010 and February 2013, while women lost 18,000 manufacturing jobs over the same period. As policymakers focus on promoting manufacturing employment in the U.S., they should ensure that women share in this growth.