January 07, 2009 (The Editor’s Desk is updated each business day.)

Women and employment by industry

In 2007, women accounted for more than half of all workers within several industry sectors: financial activities, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, and other services.

Women's percentage of industry employment, selected industries, 2007
[Chart data—TXT]

However, women were substantially underrepresented (relative to their share of total employment) in agriculture, mining, construction, manufacturing, and transportation and utilities.

Overall, women accounted for 46.4 percent of all employed workers in 2007.

These data on women workers are from the Current Population Survey. To find out more, see BLS Report 1011, Women in the Labor Force: A Databook (2008 Edition).

 

Of interest

Spotlight on Statistics: The Recession of 2007–2009

The most recent recession in the United States began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009, though many of the statistics that describe the U.S. economy have yet to return to their pre-recession values. In this Spotlight, we present BLS data that compare the recent recession to previous recessions. Read more »