The latest reports on unemployment show that the trend of a gender gap in unemployment continues to exist, as male-dominated industries are cutting back more than female-dominated industries. This is not new news, as a similar gap existed in our last recession as well. The gap has narrowed since the summer but unemployment among women still sits around 2% less than men.
This cutback in male-dominated jobs has pushed many women back into the workforce. You see women taking off less time, mostly because households cannot afford for them to stay off work for extended periods. Unfortunately, the recession still makes it hard for women trying to reenter the workforce and over 20% of women attempting to enter the workforce admit they are having difficulty finding a job.
The return of women to the workforce has its "ups" for retail shops such as Ann Taylor who have seen a rise of overall sales, accumulated mostly from purchases of dresses and suits.
Overall, this report shows that the rate of job separations for men exceeds that of women and that the rate of job findings for men exceeds that of findings for men, leading to higher rates of unemployment for men. This type of unemployment would be considered frictional, with the change in the demand amongst industries representing a sectoral shift away from male-dominated jobs like construction toward female-dominated jobs such as health care and education.
It does make sense that men still dominate the workforce after so many years. But that does mean, men also lose more jobs because there are many more men working than woman. Women need to stay in the workforce/ try to find a job, retail or not.
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