May 6, 2024 - Economy
More women are working now than at any time in U.S. history
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More working-age women are employed than ever before in U.S. history, according to Friday's jobs report.
Why it matters: The rise in flexible work arrangements is likely helping, in addition to the strong labor market.
- The increase in women working also likely contributed to the recent strength in household spending, Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter, writes in a note.
Zoom in: The employment numbers — technically the employment-to-population ratio — include part-time workers. So it would include women who want to work full-time but can't due to child care issues.
- Women overall are working less now than in 2019, as ADP research found earlier this year.
- Much of the improvement was driven by college-educated women (those are the ones who can work remotely) with children under 3, Diane Swonk, chief economist of KPMG said in a post on X Friday.
The bottom line: "Moral of the story. Women are working and caring for their families, but a crisis in childcare is making it harder for them to stay at work," Swonk posted. "This could snowball and cause another setback in the pay gap between women and men."
