Women Gain 25,000 Net Jobs in March, Lose 12,000 in Manufacturing, NWLC Analysis Shows

(Washington, D.C.)  Women gained 25,000 of the 88,000 jobs added in March, according to new analysis by the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) of Bureau of Labor Statistics data released this morning.  Women’s largest losses in March were in manufacturing (-12,000), adding to their losses in the recovery (see: Still No Recovery for Women in the Manufacturing Sector).  Since January 2010, the economy has gained over a half million manufacturing jobs — men have gained 557,000, while women have actually lost 36,000. 

“Employers added only 88,000 jobs last month and women gained less than 30 percent of them,” said NWLC Vice President for Family Economic Security Joan Entmacher.  “This slowdown should be a wake-up call to lawmakers to stop making cuts that cost jobs and hurt families.”

Women’s largest job gains in March were in private education and health (+28,000), professional and business services (+11,000), and retail (+9,500).  Men’s largest job gains were in professional and business services (+40,000), private education and health (+16,000), construction (+15,000), and leisure and hospitality (+14,000).  Their largest losses were in retail (-33,600).  Both women and men lost public sector jobs in March.  Since the start of the recovery in June 2009, women have lost 441,000 public sector jobs, while men have lost 279,000.

Adult women’s unemployment rate was unchanged in March while adult men’s declined 0.2 percentage point. These levels reflect declines in women’s and men’s labor force participation rates of 0.2 percentage point in March to 58.7 percent and 72.7 percent respectively.  The unemployment rates for adult black women and men, adult Hispanic women and men, and single mothers all declined in March. 

More than 11.7 million Americans are unemployed, more than 4.6 million of whom have been jobless for six months or more.

“March’s employment figures show that the recovery is still fragile and millions of Americans are still struggling,” added Entmacher.  “Lawmakers need to reverse course and start investing in job creation, strengthening programs that help families stay afloat, and stimulating the economy through smart policies that boost wages – like raising the minimum wage.” 

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