New jobs figures from September show much less job growth than in the previous month, particularly for women, according to the U.S. Bureau for Labor Statistics latest Employment Situation release. Women’s official rates unemployment fell, while the number of women who are no longer actively looking for work increased. Unemployment fell between August and September for all major groups with the exception of Hispanic workers, who saw increased unemployment.

The number of women workers on non-farm payrolls increased by just 286,000 between August and September, substantially less than in the previous month (873,000), and just 43.7 percent of total growth of payroll employment. Men also saw reduced growth in payroll employment compared to the previous month (375,000 and 616,000), but face a lower jobs deficit than women compared to pre-COVID employment levels. Women’s payroll employment is still 5.79 million below February, men’s 4.95 million.