Trends in Employment and Earnings
Women’s status in the area of employment and earnings has improved on two indicators since the publication of IWPR’s last national report on the status of women, the 2004 Status of Women in the States, and remained unchanged or declined on two others. Women’s median annual earnings for full-time, year-round work in 2013 ($39,157) were nearly identical to their earnings for similar work in 2002 ($39,108 when adjusted to 2013 dollars). The gender earnings ratio improved during this time from 76.6 to 78.3 percent, narrowing the gender wage gap by 1.7 percentage points, and the share of women working in professional or managerial occupations grew from 33.2 to 39.9 percent. Women’s labor force participation rate, however, declined from 59.6 in 2002 to 57.0 percent in 2014.
Women Gained 127,000 Jobs in October; Men Still 71,000 Short from Pre-Recession Employment Levels
Men are still short 71,000 jobs from the start of the recession. In October, men gained 87,000 jobs on nonfarm payrolls, while women gained 127,000 for an increase of 214,000 total jobs in October.
Women Have Recovered 50% More Jobs than They Lost Since the Start of the Recession, Men Still Inching toward Jobs Recovery
According to an Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR) analysis of the November employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), although the total number of jobs lost in the recession has been recovered, men are still short 71,000 jobs from the start of the recession. In October, men gained 87,000 jobs on nonfarm payrolls, while women gained 127,000 for an increase of 214,000 total jobs in October. Women, who completed their jobs recovery in October 2013, hold 50 percent more jobs than they did at the start of the economic downturn.
Women and Men in the Recovery: Where the Jobs Are; Women Recover Jobs Lost in Recession in Year Five
While the number of jobs dropped steeply, particularly for men, in the Great Recession, slow job growth has characterized the recovery.
