Duh.

 

New Pew Report Points to Gender Disparity in Jobs Recovery; In Sluggish Economic Recovery, Women Fare Worse than Men

A new report from the Pew Research Center highlights gender disparities in the rates men and women are gaining and losing jobs in the recession. Although men lost more jobs in the first two years of the financial implosion, the second wave of layoffs has hit women much harder.

“From the end of the recession in June 2009 through May 2011, men gained 768,000 jobs and lowered their unemployment rate by 1.1 percentage points to 9.5%,” the report says. “Women, by contrast, lost 218,000 jobs during the same period and their unemployment rate increased by 0.2 percentage points to 8.5%.” The Pew Research Center report, authored by senior researcher Rakesh Kochhar, is based on an analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data.  

“This trend is important to track because it breaks with historical recovery patterns and may have a significant impact on women’s overall ability to gain financial security as the nation moves out of the recession,” said Teresa C. Younger, executive director of The Permanent Commission on the Status of Women (PCSW), a research and policy arm of the General Assembly. “This is the first time since 1970 that women have fared worse than men in the years immediately following an economic downturn. Female employment in state government seems to be the exception; women have added jobs in this sector. But it’s of concern to us that in fields not traditionally populated by women and where women have made strides, such as manufacturing and finance, they are losing jobs at a faster rate. The PCSW is paying attention to this national trend and will be watching to see its impact, if any, on Connecticut women.”

Link to the Pew Research Center Report: “In Two Years of Economic Recovery, Women Lost Jobs, Men Found Them”

Previously noted:  June, 2011 post