Women Gained Half of New Jobs Added in September

Men now have a higher number of jobs than they did in February 2009; women's job growth accelerated in past year.

WASHINGTON, Oct. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- According to an Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) analysis released today of the September employment report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), job growth was evenly divided with women and men each gaining 57,000 jobs, mostly in the private sector as in past months. Jobs in the public sector also grew slightly with 7,000 new jobs for men and 3,000 new jobs for women.

Women experienced strong job gains in education and health services (40,000 jobs added), financial activities (15,000 jobs), and professional and business services (14,000 jobs). Since January 2012, an average of 146,000 jobs have been added each month, 43 percent of which went to women.

Men now have a higher number of jobs than they did in February 2009, the time of the first jobs report after President Barack Obama took office with a net growth of 745,000 jobs as of September 2012. Women, whose job peak and job trough occurred later than men's, are still 82,000 jobs below their February 2009 jobs number, but their job growth has accelerated in the past year.

IWPR analysis of the BLS payroll data shows women have regained 46 percent (1.2 million) of the total jobs they lost in the recession from December 2007 to the trough for women's employment in September 2010 (2.7 million). The picture looks somewhat better for men, who have regained nearly 50 percent (3.0 million) of the jobs they lost between December 2007 and the trough for men's employment in February 2010 (6.1 million).

According to the household survey data reported by the BLS, the unemployment rate for women and men aged 16 and older declined from 8.1 percent in August to 7.8 percent in September.  For women aged 16 and older, the unemployment rate declined to 7.5 percent from 7.8 percent. The unemployment rate for men aged 16 and older declined as well, to 8.0 percent from 8.3 percent. As of September, 12.1 million workers remain unemployed.

In August 2012, the Congressional Budget Office estimated that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) increased employment by 200,000 to 1,200,000 in the second quarter of 2012 (April–June 2012) and reduced the unemployment rate by 0.1 to 0.6 percentage points. Several economic analysts estimated that, had President Obama's September 2011 American Jobs Act been enacted, it would have produced more than a million jobs and reduced the unemployment rate.

The Institute for Women's Policy Research (IWPR) conducts rigorous research and disseminates its findings to address the needs of women, promote public dialogue, and strengthen families, communities, and societies. The Institute works with policymakers, scholars, and public interest groups to design, execute, and disseminate research that illuminates economic and social policy issues affecting women and their families, and to build a network of individuals and organizations that conduct and use women-oriented policy research. IWPR's work is supported by foundation grants, government grants and contracts, donations from individuals, and contributions from organizations and corporations. IWPR is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization that also works in affiliation with the women's studies, public policy, and public administration programs at The George Washington University.

SOURCE Institute for Women's Policy Research