Jul 19, 2022 - Economy

Mothers still aren't fully back to work

Percentage change in employment among parents of young children
Data: Indeed analysis of BLS data; Chart: Axios Visuals

Employment levels for mothers of young children are still lagging their pre-pandemic mark, according to a new analysis of women's economic recovery from jobs site Indeed.

Why it matters: Though women are almost back to where they were before — the reverberations of this era will linger.

  • Women who left the labor market missed out on months of job experience and paychecks — likely to weigh on gender wage disparities for years to come.

Details: Overall, women's employment has not yet returned to its February 2020 level — although men's employment has, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

On the plus side: The shift to remote work and more flexibility for some workers seems here to stay, and has been beneficial to working parents.

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