Washington, DC
— According to an
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
(IWPR)
analysis
of the August employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), men gained nearly two out of every three jobs added to the U.S. economy last month. In July, women gained 68,000 jobs, while men gained 141,000 for an increase of 209,000 total jobs in July. Although the total number of jobs lost in the recession has been recovered, men are still short 392,000 jobs from their prerecession peak, having recovered 94 percent of jobs they lost. In addition, BLS revisions increased the number of jobs gained by men in May and June by 70,000, but decreased the number of jobs gained for women by 50,000.
“In recent years, the economic recovery for men has been much slower than it has been for women,” said IWPR President Heidi Hartmann. “While job growth needs to be accelerated for both men and women, this month was a much-needed boost for men’s economic recovery.”
In the last year
, from July 2013 to July 2014, of the 2.6 million jobs added to payrolls, 45 percent were filled by women (1,162,000 jobs) and 55 percent were filled by men (1,408,000 jobs). In this time period, women’s job gains were strongest in Education and Health Services, Professional and Business Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Retail Trade. Men’s job gains were strongest in Professional and Business Services, Leisure and Hospitality, and Construction.
Of the 9.7 million workers who remained unemployed in July, one in three (3.2 million) are long-term unemployed (unemployed for 27 weeks or longer), share that has declined by 4.3 percentage points in the past year, from 37.2 percent in July 2013. The
unemployment rate for single mothers
has improved substantially, falling over four percentage points since July and August 2010, their unemployment peak.
The
Institute for Women’s Policy Research
(IWPR) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women and their families, promote public dialogue, and strengthen communities and societies.
