Modest Recovery Largely Leaves Women Behind

 (updated February 2012)[1]

The deep recession that began in December 2007 cost workers nearly 7.5 million jobs before it officially ended in June 2009.  Overall job growth during the recovery has been weak; the economy added just over 1.9 million jobs between June 2009 and January 2012.[2]  Although unemployment remains high and job growth unacceptably slow for both men and women, it is striking that women did not make any net gains until two and a half years into the recovery and their unemployment rate is higher than it was when the recovery began. 

Women gained few jobs over the course of the recovery.

• Men fared worse in the recession (December 2007 – June 2009), suffering more than 70 percent of the job loss.  However, the recovery has been tougher on women – between June 2009 and January 2012, women gained just eight percent of the jobs added.[3]
• Heavy job losses in public sector employment have disproportionately affected women and contributed to the dismal employment picture for women throughout the recovery.  While women represented just over half (57.2 percent) of the public workforce at the end of the recession, they lost a disproportionate share (69.3 percent) of the 597,000 jobs cut in this sector between June 2009 and January 2012.[4]
• Women’s job gains in the private sector were modest. While the private sector picked up over 2.5 million jobs over the course of the recovery, women gained 22.5 percent of those jobs (564,000).[5]

Women’s unemployment rose during the course of the recovery while men’s declined.

•  Between June 2009 and January 2012, women’s overall unemployment rate increased from 7.6 percent to 7.7 percent while men’s overall unemployment rate dropped from 9.9 percent to 7.7 percent.[6]

Unemployment for many vulnerable groups remained high during the recovery.

•  Between June 2009 and January 2012 unemployment rates increased for black women (11.6 percent to 12.6 percent) and single mothers (11.7 percent to 12.0 percent).[7] 
• Unemployment rates declined during the recovery for black men (16.3 percent to 12.7 percent) and Hispanic women (11.5 percent to 11.3 percent). The unemployment rate for Hispanic men was unchanged since the start of the recovery (10.7 percent). [8]

Long-term unemployment has grown during the course of the recovery.

•  The percent of jobless workers who were still looking for work after more than six months of unemployment increased substantially since the start of the recovery in June 2009, to 43.4 percent for women in January 2012, a 14.1 percentage point increase, and to 42.4 percent for men in January 2012, an 11.7 percentage point increase.[9]
• In January, almost 5.6 million Americans were still looking for work after more than six months.[10]

The continued grim jobs picture highlights the need for Congress to take action to extend federal emergency unemployment benefits through 2012 and invest in job creation for women and men – and to reject further cuts in funding for public services that would mean more jobs losses and increased hardship, especially for women and their families.

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Modest Recovery Largely Leaves Women Behind