U.S. women workforce participation rate hits all-time high
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — Women in the United States are dramatically returning to the workforce, overturning a slump sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Bloomberg reports that women between the ages of 25 and 54 have reached a record participation rate of 77.5% in April, surpassing the previous peak in 2000, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics going back to the 1940s.
Individuals who are employed or actively searching for work are considered to be participating in the labor force.
This swift turnaround has been driven by a blend of factors, including the adoption of remote work by several companies, plentiful vacancies, and an increasing number of women earning college degrees. Additionally, persistent inflation has pushed families to seek out ways to counterbalance escalating costs.
Job openings remain high despite a slight decrease, with the number of available positions outpacing unemployed workers by 1.6 to 1. Consequently, businesses have been forced to boost wages to attract and keep employees. Private-sector wages and salaries have surged by over 10% in the past two years, incentivizing more women to re-enter the workforce.
“We’ve recovered from a decline, but that is not the same thing as thriving,” labor economist Kathryn Anne Edwards told Bloomberg. They added that many jobs currently available are in lower-paying sectors such as leisure, hospitality, and home health services and “are not jobs that we would consider to be family-sustaining.”
According to data from International Labour Organization, the labor force participation rate for women is less than 47% globally, while it is 72% for men.
