Data: Bureau of Labor Statistics; Chart: Axios Visuals
Moreworking-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."