Article

April 2014

The rise in women’s share of nonfarm employment during the 2007–2009 recession: a historical perspective

This article uses data from the Current Employment Statistics survey to examine changes in women’s and men’s employment during the 2007–2009 recession. The article also places these changes in historical context, comparing them with longer term employment trends observed throughout previous economic downturns. The analysis suggests that the resilience of women’s employment during recessions resulted in women’s holding an unprecedented 50 percent of nonfarm jobs during the most recent downturn. Women’s employment has made some notable strides over the past several decades, strides that partly reflect the payroll growth of women in an expanding group of service-providing industries that employ more women than men.

During the most recent recession, which began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009,¹ job losses among men outnumbered those among women by 2.6 to 1. Also during this period, women’s employment reached 50.0 percent of total nonfarm employment for the first time since the series began in 1964. This article discusses the long-term trend in the employment share of women and men on nonfarm payrolls. It highlights the sustained growth of women’s employment during previous downturns and contrasts this long-term growth with the female employment experience during the most recent recession, in which women lost more jobs than they did in any of the previous downturns. The article also examines the diverging trends of job losses between women and men working in industries that were most and least affected by recent recessions and analyzes employment dynamics in the most recent recession and postrecessionary period. Data presented in the article are based on estimates from the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey.

Long-term expansion of women’s employment

The CES payroll survey first began to produce employment estimates of women for all industry sectors in January 1964, at which point women held 31.7 percent of total nonfarm jobs.² Women’s employment has continued to expand nonfarm payrolls over the past half century and accounted for an unprecedented 50.0 percent of all payroll jobs in the last month of the most recent recession. The women’s share of payroll jobs held at that level for 11 consecutive months and then edged down; as of December 2013, however, that share was still high, at 49.5 percent.

View Chart Data

Employment of women and men, in thousands, and women's share of employment, seasonally adjusted, 1964–2013
Month and year	Women's employment	Men's employment	Women's employment share (percent)
Jan 1964	18,194	39,293	31.6
Feb 1964	18,294	39,457	31.7
Mar 1964	18,383	39,515	31.8
Apr 1964	18,385	39,537	31.7
May 1964	18,443	39,646	31.7
Jun 1964	18,509	39,712	31.8
Jul 1964	18,685	39,728	32.0
Aug 1964	18,828	39,791	32.1
Sep 1964	18,779	40,124	31.9
Oct 1964	18,791	40,003	32.0
Nov 1964	18,876	40,341	31.9
Dec 1964	18,973	40,448	31.9
Jan 1965	19,022	40,561	31.9
Feb 1965	19,095	40,705	31.9
Mar 1965	19,165	40,838	31.9
Apr 1965	19,332	40,927	32.1
May 1965	19,374	41,118	32.0
Jun 1965	19,466	41,224	32.1
Jul 1965	19,745	41,218	32.4
Aug 1965	19,892	41,336	32.5
Sep 1965	19,887	41,603	32.3
Oct 1965	20,005	41,713	32.4
Nov 1965	20,109	41,888	32.4
Dec 1965	20,272	42,049	32.5
Jan 1966	20,363	42,165	32.6
Feb 1966	20,516	42,280	32.7
Mar 1966	20,669	42,523	32.7
Apr 1966	20,859	42,577	32.9
May 1966	20,980	42,731	32.9
Jun 1966	21,148	42,962	33.0
Jul 1966	21,342	42,959	33.2
Aug 1966	21,504	43,003	33.3
Sep 1966	21,515	43,129	33.3
Oct 1966	21,640	43,214	33.4
Nov 1966	21,759	43,260	33.5
Dec 1966	21,878	43,322	33.6
Jan 1967	21,960	43,447	33.6
Feb 1967	22,004	43,424	33.6
Mar 1967	22,082	43,448	33.7
Apr 1967	22,084	43,383	33.7
May 1967	22,154	43,465	33.8
Jun 1967	22,217	43,533	33.8
Jul 1967	22,197	43,690	33.7
Aug 1967	22,246	43,896	33.6
Sep 1967	22,580	43,584	34.1
Oct 1967	22,663	43,562	34.2
Nov 1967	22,793	43,910	34.2
Dec 1967	22,917	43,983	34.3
Jan 1968	22,945	43,860	34.3
Feb 1968	23,059	44,156	34.3
Mar 1968	23,126	44,169	34.4
Apr 1968	23,278	44,277	34.5
May 1968	23,325	44,328	34.5
Jun 1968	23,455	44,449	34.5
Jul 1968	23,390	44,735	34.3
Aug 1968	23,516	44,812	34.4
Sep 1968	23,717	44,770	34.6
Oct 1968	23,864	44,856	34.7
Nov 1968	23,984	45,001	34.8
Dec 1968	24,096	45,150	34.8
Jan 1969	24,210	45,228	34.9
Feb 1969	24,319	45,381	34.9
Mar 1969	24,392	45,513	34.9
Apr 1969	24,533	45,539	35.0
May 1969	24,665	45,663	35.1
Jun 1969	24,774	45,862	35.1
Jul 1969	24,679	46,050	34.9
Aug 1969	24,742	46,264	34.8
Sep 1969	24,933	45,984	35.2
Oct 1969	25,089	46,031	35.3
Nov 1969	25,093	45,994	35.3
Dec 1969	25,161	46,079	35.3
Jan 1970	25,200	45,976	35.4
Feb 1970	25,258	46,046	35.4
Mar 1970	25,325	46,127	35.4
Apr 1970	25,327	46,021	35.5
May 1970	25,284	45,839	35.5
Jun 1970	25,250	45,779	35.5
Jul 1970	25,280	45,773	35.6
Aug 1970	25,241	45,692	35.6
Sep 1970	25,321	45,627	35.7
Oct 1970	25,273	45,246	35.8
Nov 1970	25,275	45,134	35.9
Dec 1970	25,335	45,455	35.8
Jan 1971	25,381	45,485	35.8
Feb 1971	25,370	45,436	35.8
Mar 1971	25,424	45,435	35.9
Apr 1971	25,488	45,549	35.9
May 1971	25,599	45,648	35.9
Jun 1971	25,618	45,635	36.0
Jul 1971	25,581	45,734	35.9
Aug 1971	25,647	45,723	35.9
Sep 1971	25,780	45,837	36.0
Oct 1971	25,779	45,863	36.0
Nov 1971	25,850	45,996	36.0
Dec 1971	25,972	46,136	36.0
Jan 1972	26,107	46,338	36.0
Feb 1972	26,192	46,460	36.1
Mar 1972	26,315	46,630	36.1
Apr 1972	26,399	46,764	36.1
May 1972	26,493	46,974	36.1
Jun 1972	26,622	47,138	36.1
Jul 1972	26,695	47,013	36.2
Aug 1972	26,845	47,293	36.2
Sep 1972	26,915	47,348	36.2
Oct 1972	27,117	47,556	36.3
Nov 1972	27,292	47,675	36.4
Dec 1972	27,472	47,798	36.5
Jan 1973	27,561	48,060	36.4
Feb 1973	27,720	48,297	36.5
Mar 1973	27,824	48,461	36.5
Apr 1973	27,952	48,503	36.6
May 1973	28,049	48,597	36.6
Jun 1973	28,164	48,723	36.6
Jul 1973	28,142	48,769	36.6
Aug 1973	28,304	48,862	36.7
Sep 1973	28,413	48,863	36.8
Oct 1973	28,605	49,001	36.9
Nov 1973	28,733	49,179	36.9
Dec 1973	28,913	49,122	37.1
Jan 1974	28,946	49,158	37.1
Feb 1974	29,018	49,236	37.1
Mar 1974	29,123	49,173	37.2
Apr 1974	29,201	49,181	37.3
May 1974	29,339	49,208	37.4
Jun 1974	29,390	49,212	37.4
Jul 1974	29,526	49,109	37.5
Aug 1974	29,545	49,074	37.6
Sep 1974	29,689	48,922	37.8
Oct 1974	29,706	48,923	37.8
Nov 1974	29,603	48,658	37.8
Dec 1974	29,463	48,194	37.9
Jan 1975	29,327	47,970	37.9
Feb 1975	29,291	47,628	38.1
Mar 1975	29,236	47,413	38.1
Apr 1975	29,123	47,338	38.1
May 1975	29,223	47,400	38.1
Jun 1975	29,240	47,280	38.2
Jul 1975	29,311	47,458	38.2
Aug 1975	29,507	47,648	38.2
Sep 1975	29,597	47,633	38.3
Oct 1975	29,759	47,776	38.4
Nov 1975	29,832	47,848	38.4
Dec 1975	29,983	48,035	38.4
Jan 1976	30,198	48,308	38.5
Feb 1976	30,342	48,475	38.5
Mar 1976	30,470	48,579	38.5
Apr 1976	30,805	48,487	38.9
May 1976	30,847	48,464	38.9
Jun 1976	30,977	48,399	39.0
Jul 1976	31,140	48,407	39.1
Aug 1976	31,225	48,479	39.2
Sep 1976	31,187	48,705	39.0
Oct 1976	31,241	48,664	39.1
Nov 1976	31,403	48,834	39.1
Dec 1976	31,592	48,856	39.3
Jan 1977	31,767	48,925	39.4
Feb 1977	31,936	49,052	39.4
Mar 1977	32,110	49,281	39.5
Apr 1977	32,232	49,497	39.4
May 1977	32,430	49,659	39.5
Jun 1977	32,648	49,840	39.6
Jul 1977	32,817	50,019	39.6
Aug 1977	32,973	50,101	39.7
Sep 1977	33,226	50,306	39.8
Oct 1977	33,373	50,421	39.8
Nov 1977	33,546	50,627	39.9
Dec 1977	33,727	50,681	40.0
Jan 1978	33,874	50,721	40.0
Feb 1978	34,038	50,910	40.1
Mar 1978	34,232	51,229	40.1
Apr 1978	34,487	51,676	40.0
May 1978	34,695	51,814	40.1
Jun 1978	34,912	52,039	40.2
Jul 1978	34,985	52,220	40.1
Aug 1978	35,130	52,351	40.2
Sep 1978	35,290	52,328	40.3
Oct 1978	35,465	52,489	40.3
Nov 1978	35,679	52,712	40.4
Dec 1978	35,832	52,841	40.4
Jan 1979	35,971	52,839	40.5
Feb 1979	36,078	52,976	40.5
Mar 1979	36,230	53,250	40.5
Apr 1979	36,336	53,082	40.6
May 1979	36,465	53,326	40.6
Jun 1979	36,635	53,474	40.7
Jul 1979	36,785	53,430	40.8
Aug 1979	36,986	53,311	41.0
Sep 1979	36,911	53,414	40.9
Oct 1979	37,131	53,351	41.0
Nov 1979	37,314	53,262	41.2
Dec 1979	37,386	53,287	41.2
Jan 1980	37,502	53,300	41.3
Feb 1980	37,663	53,219	41.4
Mar 1980	37,739	53,255	41.5
Apr 1980	37,806	53,044	41.6
May 1980	37,680	52,739	41.7
Jun 1980	37,636	52,463	41.8
Jul 1980	37,601	52,236	41.9
Aug 1980	37,762	52,335	41.9
Sep 1980	37,909	52,301	42.0
Oct 1980	38,040	52,451	42.0
Nov 1980	38,177	52,571	42.1
Dec 1980	38,287	52,656	42.1
Jan 1981	38,388	52,649	42.2
Feb 1981	38,477	52,628	42.2
Mar 1981	38,508	52,702	42.2
Apr 1981	38,598	52,685	42.3
May 1981	38,652	52,641	42.3
Jun 1981	38,759	52,731	42.4
Jul 1981	38,844	52,758	42.4
Aug 1981	38,901	52,665	42.5
Sep 1981	38,845	52,634	42.5
Oct 1981	38,896	52,484	42.6
Nov 1981	38,847	52,324	42.6
Dec 1981	38,823	52,070	42.7
Jan 1982	38,799	51,768	42.8
Feb 1982	38,858	51,704	42.9
Mar 1982	38,835	51,597	42.9
Apr 1982	38,807	51,345	43.0
May 1982	38,852	51,255	43.1
Jun 1982	38,821	51,043	43.2
Jul 1982	38,644	50,878	43.2
Aug 1982	38,726	50,638	43.3
Sep 1982	38,709	50,474	43.4
Oct 1982	38,687	50,219	43.5
Nov 1982	38,646	50,137	43.5
Dec 1982	38,686	50,083	43.6
Jan 1983	38,800	50,193	43.6
Feb 1983	38,846	50,072	43.7
Mar 1983	38,966	50,124	43.7
Apr 1983	39,110	50,256	43.8
May 1983	39,240	50,403	43.8
Jun 1983	39,432	50,590	43.8
Jul 1983	39,689	50,751	43.9
Aug 1983	39,597	50,535	43.9
Sep 1983	40,009	51,238	43.8
Oct 1983	40,121	51,397	43.8
Nov 1983	40,262	51,609	43.8
Dec 1983	40,482	51,745	43.9
Jan 1984	40,695	51,978	43.9
Feb 1984	40,921	52,233	43.9
Mar 1984	41,091	52,338	44.0
Apr 1984	41,299	52,493	44.0
May 1984	41,458	52,642	44.1
Jun 1984	41,665	52,814	44.1
Jul 1984	41,906	52,886	44.2
Aug 1984	42,097	52,937	44.3
Sep 1984	42,246	53,098	44.3
Oct 1984	42,447	53,183	44.4
Nov 1984	42,659	53,320	44.4
Dec 1984	42,742	53,365	44.5
Jan 1985	42,896	53,477	44.5
Feb 1985	43,006	53,491	44.6
Mar 1985	43,182	53,661	44.6
Apr 1985	43,275	53,764	44.6
May 1985	43,470	53,843	44.7
Jun 1985	43,570	53,889	44.7
Jul 1985	43,695	53,954	44.7
Aug 1985	43,828	54,014	44.8
Sep 1985	43,940	54,105	44.8
Oct 1985	44,063	54,170	44.9
Nov 1985	44,225	54,217	44.9
Dec 1985	44,363	54,246	45.0
Jan 1986	44,474	54,260	45.0
Feb 1986	44,622	54,219	45.1
Mar 1986	44,749	54,186	45.2
Apr 1986	44,910	54,212	45.3
May 1986	45,070	54,179	45.4
Jun 1986	45,116	54,039	45.5
Jul 1986	45,318	54,155	45.6
Aug 1986	45,477	54,110	45.7
Sep 1986	45,668	54,266	45.7
Oct 1986	45,833	54,287	45.8
Nov 1986	45,955	54,351	45.8
Dec 1986	46,081	54,430	45.8
Jan 1987	46,180	54,503	45.9
Feb 1987	46,315	54,600	45.9
Mar 1987	46,462	54,702	45.9
Apr 1987	46,649	54,853	46.0
May 1987	46,755	54,973	46.0
Jun 1987	46,892	55,008	46.0
Jul 1987	47,116	55,131	46.1
Aug 1987	47,216	55,202	46.1
Sep 1987	47,336	55,310	46.1
Oct 1987	47,636	55,502	46.2
Nov 1987	47,745	55,625	46.2
Dec 1987	47,890	55,774	46.2
Jan 1988	48,074	55,684	46.3
Feb 1988	48,283	55,928	46.3
Mar 1988	48,429	56,058	46.3
Apr 1988	48,552	56,180	46.4
May 1988	48,674	56,287	46.4
Jun 1988	48,878	56,446	46.4
Jul 1988	48,974	56,572	46.4
Aug 1988	49,069	56,601	46.4
Sep 1988	49,260	56,749	46.5
Oct 1988	49,405	56,872	46.5
Nov 1988	49,621	56,995	46.5
Dec 1988	49,783	57,123	46.6
Jan 1989	49,952	57,216	46.6
Feb 1989	50,099	57,327	46.6
Mar 1989	50,227	57,392	46.7
Apr 1989	50,334	57,458	46.7
May 1989	50,422	57,488	46.7
Jun 1989	50,538	57,488	46.8
Jul 1989	50,583	57,483	46.8
Aug 1989	50,638	57,477	46.8
Sep 1989	50,793	57,572	46.9
Oct 1989	50,848	57,628	46.9
Nov 1989	51,000	57,753	46.9
Dec 1989	51,074	57,775	46.9
Jan 1990	51,251	57,932	46.9
Feb 1990	51,335	58,097	46.9
Mar 1990	51,457	58,190	46.9
Apr 1990	51,540	58,148	47.0
May 1990	51,674	58,164	47.0
Jun 1990	51,701	58,162	47.1
Jul 1990	51,737	58,096	47.1
Aug 1990	51,685	57,928	47.2
Sep 1990	51,764	57,761	47.3
Oct 1990	51,760	57,606	47.3
Nov 1990	51,776	57,440	47.4
Dec 1990	51,774	57,386	47.4
Jan 1991	51,812	57,227	47.5
Feb 1991	51,740	56,995	47.6
Mar 1991	51,721	56,856	47.6
Apr 1991	51,638	56,729	47.7
May 1991	51,618	56,622	47.7
Jun 1991	51,674	56,664	47.7
Jul 1991	51,690	56,612	47.7
Aug 1991	51,699	56,609	47.7
Sep 1991	51,733	56,607	47.8
Oct 1991	51,780	56,576	47.8
Nov 1991	51,813	56,486	47.8
Dec 1991	51,839	56,485	47.9
Jan 1992	51,884	56,494	47.9
Feb 1992	51,908	56,405	47.9
Mar 1992	51,942	56,426	47.9
Apr 1992	52,033	56,494	47.9
May 1992	52,106	56,548	48.0
Jun 1992	52,148	56,573	48.0
Jul 1992	52,214	56,576	48.0
Aug 1992	52,294	56,636	48.0
Sep 1992	52,314	56,652	48.0
Oct 1992	52,378	56,767	48.0
Nov 1992	52,463	56,821	48.0
Dec 1992	52,535	56,959	48.0
Jan 1993	52,670	57,135	48.0
Feb 1993	52,802	57,245	48.0
Mar 1993	52,801	57,197	48.0
Apr 1993	52,964	57,342	48.0
May 1993	53,083	57,490	48.0
Jun 1993	53,185	57,569	48.0
Jul 1993	53,282	57,771	48.0
Aug 1993	53,370	57,842	48.0
Sep 1993	53,489	57,962	48.0
Oct 1993	53,631	58,106	48.0
Nov 1993	53,730	58,269	48.0
Dec 1993	53,877	58,434	48.0
Jan 1994	53,977	58,606	47.9
Feb 1994	54,088	58,695	48.0
Mar 1994	54,303	58,945	48.0
Apr 1994	54,482	59,115	48.0
May 1994	54,653	59,278	48.0
Jun 1994	54,760	59,487	47.9
Jul 1994	54,908	59,716	47.9
Aug 1994	55,062	59,840	47.9
Sep 1994	55,232	60,021	47.9
Oct 1994	55,329	60,139	47.9
Nov 1994	55,528	60,359	47.9
Dec 1994	55,655	60,507	47.9
Jan 1995	55,817	60,670	47.9
Feb 1995	55,936	60,755	47.9
Mar 1995	56,005	60,908	47.9
Apr 1995	56,099	60,976	47.9
May 1995	56,132	60,927	48.0
Jun 1995	56,240	61,054	47.9
Jul 1995	56,286	61,109	47.9
Aug 1995	56,433	61,211	48.0
Sep 1995	56,562	61,323	48.0
Oct 1995	56,624	61,417	48.0
Nov 1995	56,695	61,494	48.0
Dec 1995	56,755	61,566	48.0
Jan 1996	56,720	61,583	47.9
Feb 1996	56,946	61,789	48.0
Mar 1996	57,074	61,927	48.0
Apr 1996	57,151	62,014	48.0
May 1996	57,322	62,163	48.0
Jun 1996	57,433	62,341	48.0
Jul 1996	57,571	62,458	48.0
Aug 1996	57,706	62,496	48.0
Sep 1996	57,800	62,627	48.0
Oct 1996	57,959	62,718	48.0
Nov 1996	58,119	62,857	48.0
Dec 1996	58,215	62,931	48.1
Jan 1997	58,302	63,080	48.0
Feb 1997	58,422	63,262	48.0
Mar 1997	58,570	63,430	48.0
Apr 1997	58,737	63,556	48.0
May 1997	58,859	63,692	48.0
Jun 1997	58,990	63,828	48.0
Jul 1997	59,131	64,000	48.0
Aug 1997	59,207	63,885	48.1
Sep 1997	59,321	64,283	48.0
Oct 1997	59,504	64,441	48.0
Nov 1997	59,657	64,594	48.0
Dec 1997	59,814	64,740	48.0
Jan 1998	59,865	64,965	48.0
Feb 1998	59,968	65,058	48.0
Mar 1998	60,047	65,130	48.0
Apr 1998	60,125	65,331	47.9
May 1998	60,320	65,542	47.9
Jun 1998	60,419	65,661	47.9
Jul 1998	60,446	65,758	47.9
Aug 1998	60,637	65,914	47.9
Sep 1998	60,765	66,010	47.9
Oct 1998	60,844	66,127	47.9
Nov 1998	60,974	66,280	47.9
Dec 1998	61,165	66,436	47.9
Jan 1999	61,247	66,479	48.0
Feb 1999	61,450	66,687	48.0
Mar 1999	61,527	66,717	48.0
Apr 1999	61,671	66,948	47.9
May 1999	61,761	67,070	47.9
Jun 1999	61,922	67,170	48.0
Jul 1999	62,071	67,340	48.0
Aug 1999	62,164	67,414	48.0
Sep 1999	62,272	67,519	48.0
Oct 1999	62,478	67,714	48.0
Nov 1999	62,607	67,876	48.0
Dec 1999	62,748	68,030	48.0
Jan 2000	62,853	68,155	48.0
Feb 2000	62,938	68,200	48.0
Mar 2000	63,083	68,523	47.9
Apr 2000	63,278	68,615	48.0
May 2000	63,498	68,621	48.1
Jun 2000	63,452	68,622	48.0
Jul 2000	63,444	68,807	48.0
Aug 2000	63,525	68,712	48.0
Sep 2000	63,633	68,738	48.1
Oct 2000	63,620	68,737	48.1
Nov 2000	63,749	68,833	48.1
Dec 2000	63,787	68,937	48.1
Jan 2001	63,845	68,849	48.1
Feb 2001	63,909	68,857	48.1
Mar 2001	63,880	68,861	48.1
Apr 2001	63,944	68,516	48.3
May 2001	63,988	68,434	48.3
Jun 2001	63,943	68,350	48.3
Jul 2001	64,009	68,169	48.4
Aug 2001	63,953	68,067	48.4
Sep 2001	63,945	67,833	48.5
Oct 2001	63,786	67,668	48.5
Nov 2001	63,668	67,492	48.5
Dec 2001	63,611	67,378	48.6
Jan 2002	63,619	67,228	48.6
Feb 2002	63,601	67,113	48.7
Mar 2002	63,601	67,094	48.7
Apr 2002	63,571	67,044	48.7
May 2002	63,540	67,067	48.6
Jun 2002	63,568	67,096	48.6
Jul 2002	63,555	67,024	48.7
Aug 2002	63,581	66,983	48.7
Sep 2002	63,552	66,952	48.7
Oct 2002	63,589	67,040	48.7
Nov 2002	63,617	67,022	48.7
Dec 2002	63,564	66,917	48.7
Jan 2003	63,583	66,992	48.7
Feb 2003	63,578	66,844	48.7
Mar 2003	63,466	66,746	48.7
Apr 2003	63,483	66,684	48.8
May 2003	63,437	66,719	48.7
Jun 2003	63,403	66,763	48.7
Jul 2003	63,394	66,795	48.7
Aug 2003	63,287	66,861	48.6
Sep 2003	63,449	66,801	48.7
Oct 2003	63,499	66,947	48.7
Nov 2003	63,512	66,950	48.7
Dec 2003	63,569	67,017	48.7
Jan 2004	63,619	67,128	48.7
Feb 2004	63,623	67,168	48.6
Mar 2004	63,747	67,376	48.6
Apr 2004	63,850	67,522	48.6
May 2004	63,978	67,701	48.6
Jun 2004	64,004	67,749	48.6
Jul 2004	63,988	67,797	48.6
Aug 2004	63,976	67,941	48.5
Sep 2004	64,106	67,973	48.5
Oct 2004	64,257	68,168	48.5
Nov 2004	64,290	68,200	48.5
Dec 2004	64,375	68,244	48.5
Jan 2005	64,478	68,275	48.6
Feb 2005	64,566	68,426	48.5
Mar 2005	64,632	68,494	48.5
Apr 2005	64,801	68,688	48.5
May 2005	64,868	68,796	48.5
Jun 2005	64,993	68,916	48.5
Jul 2005	65,084	69,198	48.5
Aug 2005	65,136	69,342	48.4

Over the past 49 years, women’s employment has largely expanded relative to men’s employment. Between 1964 and 1991, the share of women’s employment rose steadily, as women’s employment rose faster than men’s. (See figure 1.) That share leveled off soon after the 1990–1991 recession, and, except for periods of recession when the women’s share of employment saw gains, the rates of job growth for both genders have been similar since then. After reaching a recent low in June 2006, the women’s share of employment rose throughout the 2007–2009 recession and has edged lower since March 2010.

As shown in table 1, the share of women’s employment has expanded in each of the past seven recessions, as men have historically experienced the majority of net job losses and women’s employment has tended to fluctuate less in the business cycle. The table presents annualized rates of change, which remove the effect of the varying lengths of recessions and represent a measure that is comparable across scales. Annualized rates also more clearly show the continued resilience of women’s employment to sustained job losses during downturns.

Table 1. Annualized rates of employment change, seasonally adjusted, previous seven recessions, 1969–2009
Dates of recession	Annualized rates of change
Dates of recession	Total nonfarm employment	Women	Men	Women's share of employment
December 1969–November 1970	-1.3	0.5	-2.2	1.8
November 1973–March 1975	-1.2	1.3	-2.7	2.6
January 1980–July 1980	-2.1	.5	-4.0	2.7
July 1981–November 1982	-2.3	-.4	-3.7	2.0
July 1990–March 1991	-1.7	.0	-3.2	1.7
March 2001–November 2001	-1.8	-.5	-3.0	1.3
Average	-1.7	.2	-3.1	2.0
December 2007–June 2009	-3.6	-2.1	-5.1	1.6
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics for employment data.

The CES survey versus the CPS survey

The Bureau of Labor Statistics produces two monthly employment series that are independently obtained: (1) the estimate of total nonfarm jobs, derived from the CES survey, also called the establishment or payroll survey; and (2) the estimate of total civilian employment, derived from the Current Population Survey (CPS), also called the household survey.³ The two surveys use different definitions of employment, as well as different survey and estimation methods. The data used in this article are from the CES survey, a survey of employers that provides a measure of the number of payroll jobs in nonfarm industries. The CPS is a household survey that provides a measure of employed people ages 16 years and older in the civilian noninstitutional population.

Whereas CES payroll employment estimates are restricted to nonagricultural wage and salary jobs and exclude private household workers, CPS estimates are based on a broader employment definition. Employment estimates from the CPS provide information about workers in both the agricultural and nonagricultural sectors and about all types of work arrangements; that information captures workers with wage and salary jobs (including employment in a private household), the unincorporated self-employed, unpaid absences from work, multiple job holders, and those doing unpaid work for at least 15 hours a week in a business or farm operated by a family member. As a result of this broader definitional scope, employment estimates derived from the CPS survey are higher than those derived from the CES survey. In addition, while periodic discrepancies in employment trends have occurred, the payroll and household surveys track well over the long term.

Because of the rich demographic detail available in CPS data, these data are generally preferred for the analysis of employment trends among women and men. In addition, the CPS survey estimates employment series separately for women and men, whereas the CES survey estimates employment series for total employment and women, as well as production or nonsupervisory employees. As a result, the employment series for men, as estimated by the payroll survey, must be calculated by the data user.

However, the CES survey offers certain benefits that provide for an enhanced analysis in this paper. While both surveys are subject to sampling error, the payroll survey has a much larger sample size than the household survey.⁴ The payroll survey’s monthly sample includes approximately 554,000 business establishments of all sizes, representing about one-third of total nonfarm employment. By contrast, the monthly sample size of the household survey is much smaller, at 60,000 households, and covers a smaller fraction of total employed people. Over-the-month changes in household survey employment are therefore subject to a larger sampling error, about four times that of the payroll survey. Because of its larger sample size, smaller sampling error, and more accurate estimation processes, the CES survey allows a more representative analysis of employment trends among men and women across industries.

View Chart Data

Civilian employment of women and men, in thousands, and women's share of employment, seasonally adjusted, 1964–2013
Month and year	Women's employment	Men's employment	Women's employment share (percent)
Jan 1964	23,359	44,968	34.2
Feb 1964	23,648	45,103	34.4
Mar 1964	23,638	45,125	34.4
Apr 1964	23,969	45,387	34.6
May 1964	23,998	45,633	34.5
Jun 1964	23,908	45,310	34.5
Jul 1964	23,769	45,630	34.2
Aug 1964	23,915	45,548	34.4
Sep 1964	23,854	45,724	34.3
Oct 1964	23,901	45,681	34.3
Nov 1964	23,952	45,783	34.3
Dec 1964	24,068	45,746	34.5
Jan 1965	24,141	45,856	34.5
Feb 1965	24,135	45,992	34.4
Mar 1965	24,345	46,094	34.6
Apr 1965	24,420	46,213	34.6
May 1965	24,557	46,477	34.6
Jun 1965	24,785	46,240	34.9
Jul 1965	24,978	46,482	35.0
Aug 1965	24,920	46,442	34.9
Sep 1965	24,907	46,379	34.9
Oct 1965	25,134	46,561	35.1
Nov 1965	25,147	46,577	35.1
Dec 1965	25,379	46,683	35.2
Jan 1966	25,465	46,733	35.3
Feb 1966	25,424	46,710	35.2
Mar 1966	25,433	46,755	35.2
Apr 1966	25,581	46,929	35.3
May 1966	25,666	46,831	35.4
Jun 1966	25,811	46,964	35.5
Jul 1966	25,925	46,935	35.6
Aug 1966	26,164	46,982	35.8
Sep 1966	26,351	46,907	36.0
Oct 1966	26,403	46,998	36.0
Nov 1966	26,735	47,105	36.2
Dec 1966	26,671	47,058	36.2
Jan 1967	26,419	47,252	35.9
Feb 1967	26,432	47,174	35.9
Mar 1967	26,334	47,105	35.9
Apr 1967	26,700	47,182	36.1
May 1967	26,613	47,231	36.0
Jun 1967	26,791	47,487	36.1
Jul 1967	26,914	47,606	36.1
Aug 1967	27,077	47,690	36.2
Sep 1967	27,154	47,700	36.3
Oct 1967	27,278	47,773	36.3
Nov 1967	27,395	47,730	36.5
Dec 1967	27,628	47,845	36.6
Jan 1968	27,114	47,586	36.3
Feb 1968	27,426	47,803	36.5
Mar 1968	27,572	47,807	36.6
Apr 1968	27,573	47,988	36.5
May 1968	28,022	48,085	36.8
Jun 1968	27,998	48,184	36.8
Jul 1968	27,856	48,231	36.6
Aug 1968	27,754	48,289	36.5
Sep 1968	28,002	48,170	36.8
Oct 1968	28,001	48,223	36.7
Nov 1968	28,189	48,305	36.9
Dec 1968	28,199	48,579	36.7
Jan 1969	28,294	48,511	36.8
Feb 1969	28,612	48,715	37.0
Mar 1969	28,687	48,680	37.1
Apr 1969	28,831	48,692	37.2
May 1969	28,805	48,607	37.2
Jun 1969	29,140	48,740	37.4
Jul 1969	29,245	48,714	37.5
Aug 1969	29,289	48,961	37.4
Sep 1969	29,293	48,957	37.4
Oct 1969	29,488	48,957	37.6
Nov 1969	29,508	49,033	37.6
Dec 1969	29,685	49,055	37.7
Jan 1970	29,668	49,112	37.7
Feb 1970	29,609	49,089	37.6
Mar 1970	29,666	49,197	37.6
Apr 1970	29,850	49,080	37.8
May 1970	29,489	49,075	37.5
Jun 1970	29,586	48,827	37.7
Jul 1970	29,819	48,907	37.9
Aug 1970	29,774	48,850	37.9
Sep 1970	29,570	48,928	37.7
Oct 1970	29,830	48,855	37.9
Nov 1970	29,700	48,950	37.8
Dec 1970	29,661	48,933	37.7
Jan 1971	29,904	48,960	37.9
Feb 1971	29,778	48,922	37.8
Mar 1971	29,677	48,911	37.8
Apr 1971	29,703	49,284	37.6
May 1971	29,758	49,381	37.6
Jun 1971	29,606	49,151	37.6
Jul 1971	29,769	49,536	37.5
Aug 1971	29,983	49,556	37.7
Sep 1971	30,126	49,563	37.8
Oct 1971	30,266	49,652	37.9
Nov 1971	30,482	49,815	38.0
Dec 1971	30,619	49,852	38.0
Jan 1972	30,881	50,078	38.1
Feb 1972	30,934	50,174	38.1
Mar 1972	31,078	50,495	38.1
Apr 1972	31,095	50,560	38.1
May 1972	31,209	50,678	38.1
Jun 1972	31,137	50,946	37.9
Jul 1972	31,201	51,029	37.9
Aug 1972	31,370	51,208	38.0
Sep 1972	31,345	51,198	38.0
Oct 1972	31,420	51,196	38.0
Nov 1972	31,626	51,364	38.1
Dec 1972	31,792	51,608	38.1
Jan 1973	31,643	51,518	38.1
Feb 1973	32,096	51,816	38.2
Mar 1973	32,288	52,164	38.2
Apr 1973	32,479	52,080	38.4
May 1973	32,645	52,003	38.6
Jun 1973	32,849	52,336	38.6
Jul 1973	32,763	52,536	38.4
Aug 1973	32,828	52,376	38.5
Sep 1973	32,986	52,502	38.6
Oct 1973	33,202	52,785	38.6
Nov 1973	33,410	52,910	38.7
Dec 1973	33,343	53,058	38.6
Jan 1974	33,253	53,302	38.4
Feb 1974	33,526	53,228	38.6
Mar 1974	33,662	53,157	38.8
Apr 1974	33,716	52,953	38.9
May 1974	33,726	53,165	38.8
Jun 1974	33,857	53,084	38.9
Jul 1974	34,159	52,990	39.2
Aug 1974	34,014	53,023	39.1
Sep 1974	33,979	53,072	39.0
Oct 1974	33,950	53,045	39.0
Nov 1974	33,755	52,871	39.0
Dec 1974	33,707	52,437	39.1
Jan 1975	33,660	51,967	39.3
Feb 1975	33,467	51,789	39.3
Mar 1975	33,555	51,632	39.4
Apr 1975	33,645	51,544	39.5
May 1975	33,755	51,696	39.5
Jun 1975	33,846	51,509	39.7
Jul 1975	34,050	51,844	39.6
Aug 1975	34,214	52,020	39.7
Sep 1975	34,274	52,005	39.7
Oct 1975	34,372	51,998	39.8
Nov 1975	34,390	52,066	39.8
Dec 1975	34,554	52,111	39.9
Jan 1976	34,922	52,478	40.0
Feb 1976	35,002	52,670	39.9
Mar 1976	35,214	52,771	40.0
Apr 1976	35,345	53,071	40.0
May 1976	35,650	53,144	40.1
Jun 1976	35,641	52,922	40.2
Jul 1976	35,839	53,254	40.2
Aug 1976	35,802	53,421	40.1
Sep 1976	35,774	53,399	40.1
Oct 1976	35,803	53,471	40.1
Nov 1976	36,148	53,486	40.3
Dec 1976	36,224	53,579	40.3
Jan 1977	36,211	53,717	40.3
Feb 1977	36,458	53,884	40.4
Mar 1977	36,727	54,081	40.4
Apr 1977	36,944	54,327	40.5
May 1977	37,283	54,471	40.6
Jun 1977	37,226	54,733	40.5
Jul 1977	37,277	54,807	40.5
Aug 1977	37,496	54,945	40.6
Sep 1977	37,728	54,974	40.7
Oct 1977	37,727	55,325	40.5
Nov 1977	38,106	55,655	40.6
Dec 1977	38,260	55,845	40.7
Jan 1978	38,524	55,860	40.8
Feb 1978	38,704	55,815	40.9
Mar 1978	38,899	55,856	41.1
Apr 1978	39,232	56,162	41.1
May 1978	39,399	56,370	41.1
Jun 1978	39,619	56,724	41.1
Jul 1978	39,539	56,551	41.1
Aug 1978	39,711	56,720	41.2
Sep 1978	40,036	56,634	41.4
Oct 1978	40,320	56,813	41.5
Nov 1978	40,345	57,140	41.4
Dec 1978	40,492	57,089	41.5
Jan 1979	40,537	57,411	41.4
Feb 1979	40,781	57,548	41.5
Mar 1979	41,043	57,437	41.7
Apr 1979	40,734	57,369	41.5
May 1979	40,882	57,449	41.6
Jun 1979	40,980	57,699	41.5
Jul 1979	41,287	57,719	41.7
Aug 1979	41,183	57,593	41.7
Sep 1979	41,514	57,826	41.8
Oct 1979	41,691	57,713	41.9
Nov 1979	41,869	57,705	42.0
Dec 1979	42,052	57,881	42.1
Jan 1980	42,133	57,746	42.2
Feb 1980	42,071	57,924	42.1
Mar 1980	42,044	57,669	42.2
Apr 1980	42,026	57,207	42.4
May 1980	41,941	57,004	42.4
Jun 1980	41,908	56,774	42.5
Jul 1980	42,001	56,795	42.5
Aug 1980	42,054	56,770	42.6
Sep 1980	42,230	56,847	42.6
Oct 1980	42,244	57,073	42.5
Nov 1980	42,378	57,167	42.6
Dec 1980	42,346	57,288	42.5
Jan 1981	42,597	57,358	42.6
Feb 1981	42,816	57,375	42.7
Mar 1981	42,974	57,597	42.7
Apr 1981	43,177	57,879	42.7
May 1981	43,272	57,776	42.8
Jun 1981	43,052	57,246	42.9
Jul 1981	43,097	57,596	42.8
Aug 1981	43,151	57,538	42.9
Sep 1981	42,683	57,381	42.7
Oct 1981	43,126	57,252	43.0
Nov 1981	43,175	57,032	43.1
Dec 1981	42,913	56,732	43.1
Jan 1982	43,020	56,672	43.2
Feb 1982	43,052	56,710	43.2
Mar 1982	43,131	56,541	43.3
Apr 1982	43,066	56,510	43.2
May 1982	43,350	56,766	43.3
Jun 1982	43,372	56,171	43.6
Jul 1982	43,380	56,113	43.6
Aug 1982	43,472	56,161	43.6
Sep 1982	43,455	56,049	43.7
Oct 1982	43,268	55,947	43.6
Nov 1982	43,265	55,847	43.7
Dec 1982	43,259	55,773	43.7
Jan 1983	43,377	55,784	43.7
Feb 1983	43,377	55,712	43.8
Mar 1983	43,380	55,799	43.7
Apr 1983	43,549	56,011	43.7
May 1983	43,509	56,133	43.7
Jun 1983	43,716	56,917	43.4
Jul 1983	44,057	57,151	43.5
Aug 1983	44,446	57,162	43.7
Sep 1983	44,709	57,307	43.8
Oct 1983	44,605	57,434	43.7
Nov 1983	44,829	57,900	43.6
Dec 1983	44,963	58,033	43.7
Jan 1984	44,978	58,223	43.6
Feb 1984	45,302	58,522	43.6
Mar 1984	45,346	58,621	43.6
Apr 1984	45,638	58,698	43.7
May 1984	46,190	59,003	43.9
Jun 1984	46,129	59,462	43.7
Jul 1984	46,223	59,212	43.8
Aug 1984	45,962	59,201	43.7
Sep 1984	46,082	59,408	43.7
Oct 1984	46,173	59,465	43.7
Nov 1984	46,342	59,630	43.7
Dec 1984	46,561	59,662	43.8
Jan 1985	46,731	59,571	44.0
Feb 1985	46,992	59,563	44.1
Mar 1985	47,213	59,776	44.1
Apr 1985	47,122	59,814	44.1
May 1985	47,001	59,931	44.0
Jun 1985	46,889	59,616	44.0
Jul 1985	47,061	59,746	44.1
Aug 1985	47,154	59,941	44.0
Sep 1985	47,525	60,132	44.1
Oct 1985	47,656	60,191	44.2
Nov 1985	47,779	60,228	44.2
Dec 1985	47,970	60,246	44.3
Jan 1986	48,031	60,856	44.1
Feb 1986	47,931	60,549	44.2
Mar 1986	48,189	60,648	44.3
Apr 1986	48,247	60,705	44.3
May 1986	48,438	60,651	44.4
Jun 1986	48,780	60,796	44.5
Jul 1986	48,959	60,851	44.6
Aug 1986	49,082	60,933	44.6
Sep 1986	49,085	61,000	44.6
Oct 1986	49,245	61,028	44.7
Nov 1986	49,195	61,280	44.5
Dec 1986	49,296	61,432	44.5
Jan 1987	49,362	61,591	44.5
Feb 1987	49,593	61,664	44.6
Mar 1987	49,749	61,659	44.7
Apr 1987	49,985	61,809	44.7
May 1987	50,389	62,045	44.8
Jun 1987	50,315	61,931	44.8
Jul 1987	50,536	62,098	44.9
Aug 1987	50,745	62,312	44.9
Sep 1987	50,518	62,391	44.7
Oct 1987	50,781	62,501	44.8
Nov 1987	50,909	62,596	44.9
Dec 1987	51,108	62,685	44.9
Jan 1988	51,181	62,835	44.9
Feb 1988	51,249	62,978	44.9
Mar 1988	51,313	62,724	45.0
Apr 1988	51,372	63,278	44.8
May 1988	51,161	63,131	44.8
Jun 1988	51,562	63,365	44.9
Jul 1988	51,613	63,447	44.9
Aug 1988	51,802	63,480	44.9
Sep 1988	51,861	63,495	45.0
Oct 1988	52,191	63,447	45.1
Nov 1988	52,542	63,558	45.3
Dec 1988	52,584	63,520	45.3
Jan 1989	52,889	63,819	45.3
Feb 1989	52,775	64,001	45.2
Mar 1989	52,753	64,269	45.1
Apr 1989	52,867	64,230	45.1
May 1989	52,873	64,226	45.2
Jun 1989	52,810	64,608	45.0
Jul 1989	52,923	64,549	45.1
Aug 1989	53,128	64,527	45.2
Sep 1989	53,292	64,062	45.4
Oct 1989	53,148	64,433	45.2
Nov 1989	53,535	64,377	45.4
Dec 1989	53,331	64,499	45.3
Jan 1990	53,755	65,326	45.1
Feb 1990	53,688	65,371	45.1
Mar 1990	53,787	65,416	45.1
Apr 1990	53,696	65,156	45.2
May 1990	53,840	65,311	45.2
Jun 1990	53,730	65,253	45.2
Jul 1990	53,681	65,129	45.2
Aug 1990	53,743	65,059	45.2
Sep 1990	53,676	64,848	45.3
Oct 1990	53,644	64,892	45.3
Nov 1990	53,523	64,783	45.2
Dec 1990	53,495	64,746	45.2
Jan 1991	53,387	64,553	45.3
Feb 1991	53,472	64,283	45.4
Mar 1991	53,371	64,281	45.4
Apr 1991	53,757	64,352	45.5
May 1991	53,324	64,116	45.4
Jun 1991	53,445	64,194	45.4
Jul 1991	53,388	64,180	45.4
Aug 1991	53,354	64,130	45.4
Sep 1991	53,654	64,274	45.5
Oct 1991	53,634	64,166	45.5
Nov 1991	53,615	64,155	45.5
Dec 1991	53,519	63,947	45.6
Jan 1992	53,881	64,097	45.7
Feb 1992	53,812	63,941	45.7
Mar 1992	53,932	64,212	45.6
Apr 1992	54,038	64,388	45.6
May 1992	53,960	64,415	45.6
Jun 1992	53,992	64,427	45.6
Jul 1992	54,141	64,572	45.6
Aug 1992	54,192	64,634	45.6
Sep 1992	54,077	64,643	45.6
Oct 1992	54,076	64,552	45.6
Nov 1992	54,242	64,634	45.6
Dec 1992	54,258	64,739	45.6
Jan 1993	54,234	64,841	45.5
Feb 1993	54,326	64,949	45.5
Mar 1993	54,524	65,018	45.6
Apr 1993	54,480	64,994	45.6
May 1993	54,802	65,313	45.6
Jun 1993	54,900	65,390	45.6
Jul 1993	54,954	65,513	45.6
Aug 1993	55,148	65,708	45.6
Sep 1993	55,116	65,438	45.7
Oct 1993	55,245	65,578	45.7
Nov 1993	55,433	65,736	45.7
Dec 1993	55,713	65,751	45.9
Jan 1994	56,044	65,922	46.0
Feb 1994	56,244	65,842	46.1
Mar 1994	56,062	65,868	46.0
Apr 1994	56,322	65,968	46.1
May 1994	56,657	66,207	46.1
Jun 1994	56,434	66,200	46.0
Jul 1994	56,537	66,169	46.1
Aug 1994	56,770	66,572	46.0
Sep 1994	56,906	66,781	46.0
Oct 1994	57,047	67,065	46.0
Nov 1994	57,200	67,316	45.9
Dec 1994	57,136	67,585	45.8
Jan 1995	57,204	67,459	45.9
Feb 1995	57,310	67,618	45.9
Mar 1995	57,305	67,650	45.9
Apr 1995	57,473	67,472	46.0
May 1995	57,389	67,032	46.1
Jun 1995	57,196	67,326	45.9
Jul 1995	57,533	67,283	46.1
Aug 1995	57,622	67,230	46.2
Sep 1995	57,625	67,508	46.1
Oct 1995	57,868	67,520	46.2
Nov 1995	57,973	67,215	46.3
Dec 1995	57,772	67,316	46.2
Jan 1996	57,678	67,447	46.1
Feb 1996	57,934	67,705	46.1
Mar 1996	58,094	67,768	46.2
Apr 1996	58,168	67,826	46.2
May 1996	58,201	68,043	46.1
Jun 1996	58,337	68,265	46.1
Jul 1996	58,564	68,383	46.1
Aug 1996	58,687	68,485	46.1
Sep 1996	58,990	68,546	46.3
Oct 1996	59,078	68,812	46.2
Nov 1996	59,216	68,555	46.3
Dec 1996	59,111	68,749	46.2
Jan 1997	59,270	69,028	46.2
Feb 1997	59,153	69,145	46.1
Mar 1997	59,549	69,342	46.2
Apr 1997	59,684	69,459	46.2
May 1997	59,672	69,792	46.1
Jun 1997	59,802	69,610	46.2
Jul 1997	60,063	69,759	46.3
Aug 1997	60,116	69,894	46.2
Sep 1997	60,162	69,857	46.3
Oct 1997	60,212	69,967	46.3
Nov 1997	60,326	70,327	46.2
Dec 1997	60,541	70,138	46.3
Jan 1998	60,455	70,271	46.2
Feb 1998	60,486	70,321	46.2
Mar 1998	60,579	70,235	46.3
Apr 1998	60,532	70,678	46.1
May 1998	60,658	70,667	46.2
Jun 1998	60,610	70,633	46.2
Jul 1998	60,663	70,666	46.2
Aug 1998	60,816	70,574	46.3
Sep 1998	61,130	70,856	46.3
Oct 1998	61,005	70,994	46.2
Nov 1998	61,052	71,228	46.2
Dec 1998	61,389	71,213	46.3
Jan 1999	61,737	71,290	46.4
Feb 1999	61,679	71,177	46.4
Mar 1999	61,673	71,274	46.4
Apr 1999	61,781	71,173	46.5
May 1999	61,969	71,342	46.5
Jun 1999	62,016	71,362	46.5
Jul 1999	61,987	71,427	46.5
Aug 1999	62,158	71,433	46.5
Sep 1999	62,145	71,563	46.5
Oct 1999	62,393	71,599	46.6
Nov 1999	62,528	71,781	46.6
Dec 1999	62,571	71,953	46.5
Jan 2000	63,402	73,158	46.4
Feb 2000	63,356	73,243	46.4
Mar 2000	63,425	73,276	46.4
Apr 2000	63,955	73,315	46.6
May 2000	63,473	73,157	46.5
Jun 2000	63,598	73,342	46.4
Jul 2000	63,443	73,088	46.5
Aug 2000	63,228	73,433	46.3
Sep 2000	63,604	73,288	46.5
Oct 2000	63,745	73,343	46.5
Nov 2000	63,824	73,498	46.5
Dec 2000	64,050	73,563	46.5
Jan 2001	64,084	73,694	46.5
Feb 2001	64,078	73,534	46.6
Mar 2001	64,286	73,497	46.7
Apr 2001	63,842	73,457	46.5
May 2001	63,829	73,263	46.6
Jun 2001	63,741	73,132	46.6
Jul 2001	63,797	73,274	46.5
Aug 2001	63,412	72,829	46.5
Sep 2001	63,511	73,336	46.4
Oct 2001	63,479	72,913	46.5
Nov 2001	63,536	72,702	46.6
Dec 2001	63,289	72,758	46.5
Jan 2002	63,196	72,506	46.6
Feb 2002	63,661	72,777	46.7
Mar 2002	63,474	72,703	46.6
Apr 2002	63,359	72,767	46.5
May 2002	63,333	73,207	46.4
Jun 2002	63,489	72,926	46.5
Jul 2002	63,449	72,964	46.5
Aug 2002	63,710	72,995	46.6
Sep 2002	63,887	73,415	46.5
Oct 2002	63,836	73,172	46.6
Nov 2002	63,785	72,735	46.7
Dec 2002	63,762	72,664	46.7
Jan 2003	64,491	72,925	46.9
Feb 2003	64,240	73,242	46.7
Mar 2003	64,398	73,036	46.9
Apr 2003	64,457	73,175	46.8
May 2003	64,431	73,113	46.8
Jun 2003	64,692	73,098	46.9
Jul 2003	64,413	73,061	46.9
Aug 2003	64,398	73,151	46.8
Sep 2003	64,072	73,538	46.6
Oct 2003	64,387	73,597	46.7
Nov 2003	64,549	73,875	46.6
Dec 2003	64,262	74,149	46.4
Jan 2004	64,139	74,332	46.3
Feb 2004	64,460	74,082	46.5
Mar 2004	64,461	73,991	46.6
Apr 2004	64,617	74,063	46.6
May 2004	64,770	74,082	46.6
Jun 2004	64,710	74,464	46.5
Jul 2004	64,793	74,763	46.4
Aug 2004	64,790	74,783	46.4
Sep 2004	64,805	74,682	46.5
Oct 2004	64,891	74,841	46.4
Nov 2004	65,046	75,185	46.4
Dec 2004	65,163	74,961	46.5
Jan 2005	65,274	74,971	46.5
Feb 2005	65,228	75,156	46.5
Mar 2005	65,266	75,388	46.4
Apr 2005	65,489	75,764	46.4
May 2005	65,603	76,006	46.3
Jun 2005	65,604	76,111	46.3
Jul 2005	65,788	76,239	46.3
Aug 2005	66,001	76,433	46.3

The household survey first began to estimate civilian employment of men and women in 1948, whereas the establishment survey first produced women’s employment estimates in 1964. Although long-term employment trends have been similar for both surveys, the women’s share of employment, as measured by the household survey, has not risen as steeply as it has risen when measured with the use of payroll data. (See figure 2.) In terms of employment shares, in January 1964, women accounted for 34 percent of household employment and 32 percent of payroll employment; by December 2013, these shares had grown to 47 percent and 49 percent, respectively.

Employment shares, when broken down by gender, reveal an interesting and not entirely explainable shift between the two surveys: in earlier periods, the household survey accounted for a larger share of women’s employment (relative to the payroll survey) than it does today. It is likely that this shift is partly due to the broader definition of employment adopted in the household survey. For example, civilian employment, as measured by the household survey, includes unpaid family workers in both agriculture-related and nonagricultural industries. Historically, this class of workers has been represented predominantly by women and has suffered a long-term contraction, with its share of total employment falling from 1.8 percent in 1964 to less than 0.1 percent in 2013. An additional reason for the decline in the employment share of unpaid family workers is the 1994 CPS redesign, which classified a substantially smaller proportion of women as unpaid family workers.⁵

Another possibility for the discrepancy between civilian and payroll employment estimates is the inclusion of unincorporated self-employed workers in the household measure of employment. While men have consistently maintained higher levels of self-employment, the female share among the self-employed has risen over time. In 2013, 41 percent of all self-employed people working in nonagricultural industries were women, compared with 27 percent in 1976. Despite extensive analyses of adjusted employment series and of many conceptual differences between surveys, research has been inconclusive as to why household employment series adjusted to the payroll definition remain consistently higher. Given the advantages and disadvantages of each survey, the following analysis focuses solely on establishment data. A similar analysis could be performed with the use of household data, but its conclusions may be different.

How women fared during recessions and why their experience was different in the 2007–2009 recession

During the first three recessions of the study period—those of 1969–1970, 1973–1975, and 1980—women’s employment continued to expand in terms of both net and percent change. (See table 2.) In the following three recessions, women’s job losses as a percentage of total job losses were minimal, at 7.0 percent in 1981–1982, 1.3 percent in 1990–1991, and 13.4 percent in 2001. In the 1981–1982 recession, for example, women lost 198,000 jobs, largely because of a reduction in federal aid to state and local governments and a resulting loss of 184,000 government jobs held by women.⁶ During the 1990–1991 recession, and then to a greater extent in the 2001 and 2007–2009 recessions, women began to lose jobs in retail trade and professional and business services, industries that had not been particularly affected in previous recessions.

Table 2. Net change in jobs for women and men on nonfarm payrolls, in thousands and in percent change, seasonally adjusted, previous seven recessions, 1969–2009
Dates of recession	Total nonfarm employment
	Net change
	Total	Women	Men
December 1969–November 1970	-831	114	-945
November 1973–March 1975	-1,263	503	-1,766
January 1980–July 1980	-965	99	-1,064
July 1981–November 1982	-2,819	-198	-2,621
July 1990–March 1991	-1,256	-16	-1,240
March 2001–November 2001	-1,581	-212	-1,369
Average	-1,453	48	-1,501
December 2007–June 2009	-7,406	-2,082	-5,324
Dates of recession	Percent change
Dates of recession	Total	Women	Men
December 1969–November 1970	-1.2	0.5	-2.1
November 1973–March 1975	-1.6	1.8	-3.6
January 1980–July 1980	-1.1	.3	-2.0
July 1981–November 1982	-3.1	-.5	-5.0
July 1990–March 1991	-1.1	.0	-2.1
March 2001–November 2001	-1.2	-.3	-2.0
Average	-1.5	.3	-2.8
December 2007–June 2009	-5.4	-3.1	-7.5
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics for employment data.

While the long-term expansion of women’s employment cooled off modestly over the past four recessions, and notably so in the two most recent downturns, it was only in the 2007–2009 recession that women faced substantial job losses of about 2.1 million, or 3.1 percent. In December 2007, however, women held 48.9 percent of total nonfarm jobs, and their share continued to trend upward throughout the recession, reaching 50.0 percent for the first time in June 2009, the final month of the recession. Women held that percentage through April 2010, at which point their employment share edged down to 49.9 percent, as men began to add more jobs in the economic recovery than did women.

View Chart Data

Average monthly change in total nonfarm employment of women, by selected components, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, previous three recessions by selected periods, 1990–2009
Recession period	Service-providing industries	Goods-producing industries	Total nonfarm employment
July 1990–March 1991	22	-24	-2
March 2001–November 2001	29	-55	-27
December 2007–August 2008	0	-20	-20
September 2008–June 2009	-135	-58	-192
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. To show comparable periods, the December 2007–June 2009 recession has been split into two periods of 8 months (December 2007–August 2008) and 10 months (September 2008–June 2009), respectively. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.

Over the 18 months from December 2007 to June 2009, monthly job losses averaged 411,000 and resulted in a total employment decline of 7.4 million, or 5.4 percent. (See tables 2 and 3.) The duration and depth of these losses far surpassed those of the previous six recessions, which lasted an average of 11 months and saw average monthly declines of 141,000 jobs. In the first 8 months of the recession, from December 2007 to August 2008, women averaged monthly employment losses of 20,000 jobs, lower than the monthly declines of 192,000 jobs seen in each of the following 10 months. (See figure 3.) The 1990–1991 and 2001 recessions each lasted 8 months, and monthly job losses for women averaged 2,000 and 27,000, respectively; by comparison, the women’s monthly job losses during the first 8 months of the 2007–2009 recession averaged 20,000. In addition, large job losses occurred in the service-providing industries, primarily in the latter 10 months of the 2007–2009 recession, and in industries that had posted net job gains for women in the previous two recessions.

Table 3. Net change in nonfarm payroll employment, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, previous seven recessions, 1969–2009
Dates of recession	Length (months)	Net change	Average monthly change
December 1969–November 1970	11	-831	-76
November 1973–March 1975	16	-1,263	-79
January 1980–July 1980	6	-965	-161
July 1981–November 1982	16	-2,819	-176
July 1990–March 1991	8	-1,256	-157
March 2001–November 2001	8	-1,581	-198
Average	11	-1,453	-141
December 2007–June 2009	18	-7,406	-411
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics for employment data.

Which industries lose more jobs during recessions

In order to understand why women have lost fewer jobs than men have in each of the last seven recessions, it is necessary first to analyze which industries experience the majority of job losses during downturns. (See table 4.) Historically, the goods-producing industries—manufacturing, construction, and mining and logging—have accounted for the overwhelming majority of job losses.⁷ Their share of total nonfarm employment has suffered a long-term decline, dropping from 32 percent in 1969 to only 14 percent in 2013. By contrast, the service-providing industries, which represent the majority of payroll employment and whose share of total nonfarm employment has risen from 68 percent in 1969 to 86 percent in 2013, have historically accounted for a much smaller percentage of recessionary job losses and, in some cases, contributed to net job gains during recessions.⁸

Table 4. Net change in jobs for women and men on nonfarm payrolls, in thousands and in percent change, seasonally adjusted, previous seven recessions, 1969–2009
Dates of recession	Goods-producing industries			Service-providing industries
	Net change			Net change
	Total	Women	Men	Total	Women	Men
December 1969–November 1970	-1,539	-374	-1,165	708	488	220
November 1973–March 1975	-2,445	-722	-1,723	1,185	1,226	-43
January 1980–July 1980	-1,251	-296	-955	286	395	-109
July 1981–November 1982	-2,566	-553	-2,013	-253	355	-608
July 1990–March 1991	-966	-190	-776	-290	174	-464
March 2001–November 2001	-1,198	-442	-756	-383	230	-613
Average	-1,661	-430	-1,231	209	478	-270
December 2007–June 2009	-3,554	-737	-2,817	-3,852	-1,345	-2,507
Dates of recession	Percent change			Percent change
Dates of recession	Total	Women	Men	Total	Women	Men
December 1969–November 1970	-6.7	-7.0	-6.6	1.5	2.5	0.8
November 1973–March 1975	-10.3	-12.6	-9.6	2.2	5.3	-.1
January 1980–July 1980	-5.0	-4.6	-5.1	.4	1.3	-.3
July 1981–November 1982	-10.6	-8.7	-11.2	-.4	1.1	-1.7
July 1990–March 1991	-4.1	-2.9	-4.5	-.3	.4	-1.1
March 2001–November 2001	-4.9	-7.2	-4.1	-.4	.4	-1.2
Average	-6.9	-7.2	-6.9	.5	1.8	-.6
December 2007–June 2009	-16.2	-14.7	-16.6	-3.3	-2.1	-4.7
Note: Service-providing industries include government. Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics for employment data.

View Chart Data

Employment in the goods-producing and service-providing industries, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, 1964–2013
Month and year	Employment in goods-producing industries	Employment in service-providing industries
Jan 1964	19,406	38,081
Feb 1964	19,570	38,181
Mar 1964	19,587	38,311
Apr 1964	19,593	38,329
May 1964	19,630	38,459
Jun 1964	19,682	38,539
Jul 1964	19,740	38,673
Aug 1964	19,810	38,809
Sep 1964	19,943	38,960
Oct 1964	19,723	39,071
Nov 1964	20,026	39,191
Dec 1964	20,111	39,310
Jan 1965	20,173	39,410
Feb 1965	20,216	39,584
Mar 1965	20,292	39,711
Apr 1965	20,317	39,942
May 1965	20,444	40,048
Jun 1965	20,522	40,168
Jul 1965	20,611	40,352
Aug 1965	20,726	40,502
Sep 1965	20,808	40,682
Oct 1965	20,895	40,823
Nov 1965	21,021	40,976
Dec 1965	21,151	41,170
Jan 1966	21,214	41,314
Feb 1966	21,315	41,481
Mar 1966	21,515	41,677
Apr 1966	21,568	41,868
May 1966	21,675	42,036
Jun 1966	21,846	42,264
Jul 1966	21,872	42,429
Aug 1966	21,972	42,535
Sep 1966	21,948	42,696
Oct 1966	21,991	42,863
Nov 1966	21,988	43,031
Dec 1966	22,008	43,192
Jan 1967	22,057	43,350
Feb 1967	21,987	43,441
Mar 1967	21,919	43,611
Apr 1967	21,842	43,625
May 1967	21,779	43,840
Jun 1967	21,761	43,989
Jul 1967	21,772	44,115
Aug 1967	21,887	44,255
Sep 1967	21,775	44,389
Oct 1967	21,779	44,446
Nov 1967	21,996	44,707
Dec 1967	22,037	44,863
Jan 1968	21,917	44,888
Feb 1968	22,117	45,098
Mar 1968	22,119	45,176
Apr 1968	22,207	45,348
May 1968	22,255	45,398
Jun 1968	22,264	45,640
Jul 1968	22,329	45,796
Aug 1968	22,350	45,978
Sep 1968	22,390	46,097
Oct 1968	22,419	46,301
Nov 1968	22,512	46,473
Dec 1968	22,617	46,629
Jan 1969	22,644	46,794
Feb 1969	22,755	46,945
Mar 1969	22,813	47,092
Apr 1969	22,815	47,257
May 1969	22,899	47,429
Jun 1969	22,981	47,655
Jul 1969	22,990	47,739
Aug 1969	23,111	47,895
Sep 1969	22,988	47,929
Oct 1969	22,976	48,144
Nov 1969	22,840	48,247
Dec 1969	22,884	48,356
Jan 1970	22,726	48,450
Feb 1970	22,747	48,557
Mar 1970	22,738	48,714
Apr 1970	22,552	48,796
May 1970	22,336	48,787
Jun 1970	22,241	48,788
Jul 1970	22,195	48,858
Aug 1970	22,105	48,828
Sep 1970	21,988	48,960
Oct 1970	21,477	49,042
Nov 1970	21,345	49,064
Dec 1970	21,673	49,117
Jan 1971	21,594	49,272
Feb 1971	21,514	49,292
Mar 1971	21,491	49,368
Apr 1971	21,552	49,485
May 1971	21,645	49,602
Jun 1971	21,568	49,685
Jul 1971	21,564	49,751
Aug 1971	21,570	49,800
Sep 1971	21,650	49,967
Oct 1971	21,604	50,038
Nov 1971	21,684	50,162
Dec 1971	21,741	50,367
Jan 1972	21,865	50,580
Feb 1972	21,915	50,737
Mar 1972	22,036	50,909
Apr 1972	22,099	51,064
May 1972	22,222	51,245
Jun 1972	22,282	51,478
Jul 1972	22,162	51,546
Aug 1972	22,400	51,738
Sep 1972	22,456	51,807
Oct 1972	22,613	52,060
Nov 1972	22,688	52,279
Dec 1972	22,772	52,498
Jan 1973	22,955	52,666
Feb 1973	23,160	52,857
Mar 1973	23,262	53,023
Apr 1973	23,316	53,139
May 1973	23,382	53,264
Jun 1973	23,485	53,402
Jul 1973	23,522	53,389
Aug 1973	23,559	53,607
Sep 1973	23,548	53,728
Oct 1973	23,641	53,965
Nov 1973	23,719	54,193
Dec 1973	23,779	54,256
Jan 1974	23,709	54,395
Feb 1974	23,718	54,536
Mar 1974	23,687	54,609
Apr 1974	23,670	54,712
May 1974	23,635	54,912
Jun 1974	23,591	55,011
Jul 1974	23,462	55,173
Aug 1974	23,396	55,223
Sep 1974	23,274	55,337
Oct 1974	23,118	55,511
Nov 1974	22,773	55,488
Dec 1974	22,303	55,354
Jan 1975	21,974	55,323
Feb 1975	21,512	55,407
Mar 1975	21,274	55,375
Apr 1975	21,109	55,352
May 1975	21,097	55,526
Jun 1975	21,018	55,502
Jul 1975	20,981	55,788
Aug 1975	21,176	55,979
Sep 1975	21,284	55,946
Oct 1975	21,384	56,151
Nov 1975	21,442	56,238
Dec 1975	21,602	56,416
Jan 1976	21,799	56,707
Feb 1976	21,893	56,924
Mar 1976	21,980	57,069
Apr 1976	22,050	57,242
May 1976	21,988	57,323
Jun 1976	21,982	57,394
Jul 1976	21,988	57,559
Aug 1976	22,038	57,666
Sep 1976	22,142	57,750
Oct 1976	22,037	57,868
Nov 1976	22,207	58,030
Dec 1976	22,261	58,187
Jan 1977	22,320	58,372
Feb 1977	22,478	58,510
Mar 1977	22,672	58,719
Apr 1977	22,807	58,922
May 1977	22,919	59,170
Jun 1977	23,046	59,442
Jul 1977	23,106	59,730
Aug 1977	23,124	59,950
Sep 1977	23,244	60,288
Oct 1977	23,279	60,515
Nov 1977	23,371	60,802
Dec 1977	23,371	61,037
Jan 1978	23,374	61,221
Feb 1978	23,453	61,495
Mar 1978	23,649	61,812
Apr 1978	24,008	62,155
May 1978	24,082	62,427
Jun 1978	24,238	62,713
Jul 1978	24,300	62,905
Aug 1978	24,374	63,107
Sep 1978	24,444	63,174
Oct 1978	24,548	63,406
Nov 1978	24,678	63,713
Dec 1978	24,758	63,915
Jan 1979	24,740	64,070
Feb 1979	24,784	64,270
Mar 1979	24,998	64,482
Apr 1979	24,958	64,460
May 1979	25,071	64,720
Jun 1979	25,161	64,948
Jul 1979	25,163	65,052
Aug 1979	25,059	65,238
Sep 1979	25,088	65,237
Oct 1979	25,038	65,444
Nov 1979	24,947	65,629
Dec 1979	24,970	65,703
Jan 1980	24,949	65,853
Feb 1980	24,874	66,008
Mar 1980	24,818	66,176
Apr 1980	24,507	66,343
May 1980	24,234	66,185
Jun 1980	23,968	66,131
Jul 1980	23,698	66,139
Aug 1980	23,860	66,237
Sep 1980	23,931	66,279
Oct 1980	24,012	66,479
Nov 1980	24,123	66,625
Dec 1980	24,182	66,761
Jan 1981	24,152	66,885
Feb 1981	24,118	66,987
Mar 1981	24,203	67,007
Apr 1981	24,151	67,132
May 1981	24,148	67,145
Jun 1981	24,290	67,200
Jul 1981	24,302	67,300
Aug 1981	24,258	67,308
Sep 1981	24,210	67,269
Oct 1981	24,051	67,329
Nov 1981	23,875	67,296
Dec 1981	23,656	67,237
Jan 1982	23,362	67,205
Feb 1982	23,361	67,201
Mar 1982	23,214	67,218
Apr 1982	22,996	67,156
May 1982	22,884	67,223
Jun 1982	22,643	67,221
Jul 1982	22,434	67,088
Aug 1982	22,268	67,096
Sep 1982	22,146	67,037
Oct 1982	21,879	67,027
Nov 1982	21,736	67,047
Dec 1982	21,688	67,081
Jan 1983	21,757	67,236
Feb 1983	21,676	67,242
Mar 1983	21,649	67,441
Apr 1983	21,729	67,637
May 1983	21,829	67,814
Jun 1983	21,949	68,073
Jul 1983	22,103	68,337
Aug 1983	22,207	67,925
Sep 1983	22,381	68,866
Oct 1983	22,546	68,972
Nov 1983	22,698	69,173
Dec 1983	22,803	69,424
Jan 1984	22,942	69,731
Feb 1984	23,146	70,008
Mar 1984	23,209	70,220
Apr 1984	23,305	70,487
May 1984	23,389	70,711
Jun 1984	23,497	70,982
Jul 1984	23,571	71,221
Aug 1984	23,608	71,426
Sep 1984	23,617	71,727
Oct 1984	23,626	72,004
Nov 1984	23,639	72,340
Dec 1984	23,673	72,434
Jan 1985	23,672	72,701
Feb 1985	23,621	72,876
Mar 1985	23,661	73,182
Apr 1985	23,644	73,395
May 1985	23,632	73,681
Jun 1985	23,592	73,867
Jul 1985	23,549	74,100
Aug 1985	23,546	74,296
Sep 1985	23,528	74,517
Oct 1985	23,529	74,704
Nov 1985	23,520	74,922
Dec 1985	23,518	75,091
Jan 1986	23,530	75,204
Feb 1986	23,485	75,356
Mar 1986	23,428	75,507
Apr 1986	23,427	75,695
May 1986	23,349	75,900
Jun 1986	23,263	75,892
Jul 1986	23,235	76,238
Aug 1986	23,225	76,362
Sep 1986	23,216	76,718
Oct 1986	23,208	76,912
Nov 1986	23,204	77,102
Dec 1986	23,237	77,274
Jan 1987	23,232	77,451
Feb 1987	23,296	77,619
Mar 1987	23,307	77,857
Apr 1987	23,342	78,160
May 1987	23,390	78,338
Jun 1987	23,390	78,510
Jul 1987	23,455	78,792
Aug 1987	23,506	78,912
Sep 1987	23,566	79,080
Oct 1987	23,655	79,483
Nov 1987	23,711	79,659
Dec 1987	23,772	79,892
Jan 1988	23,668	80,090
Feb 1988	23,769	80,442
Mar 1988	23,824	80,663
Apr 1988	23,880	80,852
May 1988	23,896	81,065
Jun 1988	23,951	81,373
Jul 1988	23,966	81,580
Aug 1988	23,926	81,744
Sep 1988	23,942	82,067
Oct 1988	23,987	82,290
Nov 1988	24,030	82,586
Dec 1988	24,054	82,852
Jan 1989	24,097	83,071
Feb 1989	24,080	83,346
Mar 1989	24,069	83,550
Apr 1989	24,100	83,692
May 1989	24,089	83,821
Jun 1989	24,052	83,974
Jul 1989	24,027	84,039
Aug 1989	24,048	84,067
Sep 1989	24,000	84,365
Oct 1989	23,997	84,479
Nov 1989	24,009	84,744
Dec 1989	23,949	84,900
Jan 1990	23,981	85,202
Feb 1990	24,071	85,361
Mar 1990	24,023	85,624
Apr 1990	23,967	85,721
May 1990	23,887	85,951
Jun 1990	23,850	86,013
Jul 1990	23,745	86,088
Aug 1990	23,648	85,965
Sep 1990	23,571	85,954
Oct 1990	23,473	85,893
Nov 1990	23,283	85,933
Dec 1990	23,203	85,957
Jan 1991	23,060	85,979
Feb 1991	22,900	85,835
Mar 1991	22,779	85,798
Apr 1991	22,688	85,679
May 1991	22,617	85,623
Jun 1991	22,571	85,767
Jul 1991	22,507	85,795
Aug 1991	22,493	85,815
Sep 1991	22,466	85,874
Oct 1991	22,418	85,938
Nov 1991	22,316	85,983
Dec 1991	22,274	86,050
Jan 1992	22,214	86,164
Feb 1992	22,141	86,172
Mar 1992	22,127	86,241
Apr 1992	22,132	86,395
May 1992	22,135	86,519
Jun 1992	22,097	86,624
Jul 1992	22,075	86,715
Aug 1992	22,045	86,885
Sep 1992	22,020	86,946
Oct 1992	22,028	87,117
Nov 1992	22,042	87,242
Dec 1992	22,075	87,419
Jan 1993	22,133	87,672
Feb 1993	22,188	87,859
Mar 1993	22,142	87,856
Apr 1993	22,131	88,175
May 1993	22,189	88,384
Jun 1993	22,165	88,589
Jul 1993	22,184	88,869
Aug 1993	22,203	89,009
Sep 1993	22,252	89,199
Oct 1993	22,306	89,431
Nov 1993	22,347	89,652
Dec 1993	22,413	89,898
Jan 1994	22,465	90,118
Feb 1994	22,451	90,332
Mar 1994	22,550	90,698
Apr 1994	22,641	90,956
May 1994	22,704	91,227
Jun 1994	22,764	91,483
Jul 1994	22,806	91,818
Aug 1994	22,876	92,026
Sep 1994	22,947	92,306
Oct 1994	22,975	92,493
Nov 1994	23,050	92,837
Dec 1994	23,095	93,067
Jan 1995	23,146	93,341
Feb 1995	23,103	93,588
Mar 1995	23,151	93,762
Apr 1995	23,174	93,901
May 1995	23,120	93,939
Jun 1995	23,137	94,157
Jul 1995	23,118	94,277
Aug 1995	23,164	94,480
Sep 1995	23,207	94,678
Oct 1995	23,207	94,834
Nov 1995	23,200	94,989
Dec 1995	23,208	95,113
Jan 1996	23,196	95,107
Feb 1996	23,281	95,454
Mar 1996	23,276	95,725
Apr 1996	23,316	95,849
May 1996	23,357	96,128
Jun 1996	23,399	96,375
Jul 1996	23,417	96,612
Aug 1996	23,479	96,723
Sep 1996	23,497	96,930
Oct 1996	23,546	97,131
Nov 1996	23,585	97,391
Dec 1996	23,598	97,548
Jan 1997	23,619	97,763
Feb 1997	23,686	97,998
Mar 1997	23,739	98,261
Apr 1997	23,766	98,527
May 1997	23,809	98,742
Jun 1997	23,834	98,984
Jul 1997	23,862	99,269
Aug 1997	23,952	99,140
Sep 1997	23,996	99,608
Oct 1997	24,053	99,892
Nov 1997	24,112	100,139
Dec 1997	24,184	100,370
Jan 1998	24,262	100,568
Feb 1998	24,283	100,743
Mar 1998	24,264	100,913
Apr 1998	24,340	101,116
May 1998	24,361	101,501
Jun 1998	24,387	101,693
Jul 1998	24,238	101,966
Aug 1998	24,420	102,131
Sep 1998	24,420	102,355
Oct 1998	24,405	102,566
Nov 1998	24,394	102,860
Dec 1998	24,454	103,147
Jan 1999	24,401	103,325
Feb 1999	24,434	103,703
Mar 1999	24,378	103,866
Apr 1999	24,424	104,195
May 1999	24,445	104,386
Jun 1999	24,434	104,658
Jul 1999	24,474	104,937
Aug 1999	24,468	105,110
Sep 1999	24,485	105,306
Oct 1999	24,506	105,686
Nov 1999	24,561	105,922
Dec 1999	24,582	106,196
Jan 2000	24,627	106,381
Feb 2000	24,608	106,530
Mar 2000	24,705	106,901
Apr 2000	24,688	107,205
May 2000	24,647	107,472
Jun 2000	24,674	107,400
Jul 2000	24,717	107,534
Aug 2000	24,684	107,553
Sep 2000	24,642	107,729
Oct 2000	24,639	107,718
Nov 2000	24,624	107,958
Dec 2000	24,576	108,148
Jan 2001	24,531	108,163
Feb 2001	24,473	108,293
Mar 2001	24,408	108,333
Apr 2001	24,254	108,206
May 2001	24,119	108,303
Jun 2001	23,967	108,326
Jul 2001	23,836	108,342
Aug 2001	23,668	108,352
Sep 2001	23,537	108,241
Oct 2001	23,379	108,075
Nov 2001	23,210	107,950
Dec 2001	23,095	107,894
Jan 2002	22,959	107,888
Feb 2002	22,875	107,839
Mar 2002	22,786	107,909
Apr 2002	22,689	107,926
May 2002	22,604	108,003
Jun 2002	22,579	108,085
Jul 2002	22,521	108,058
Aug 2002	22,450	108,114
Sep 2002	22,398	108,106
Oct 2002	22,326	108,303
Nov 2002	22,283	108,356
Dec 2002	22,189	108,292
Jan 2003	22,149	108,426
Feb 2003	22,024	108,398
Mar 2003	21,946	108,266
Apr 2003	21,864	108,303
May 2003	21,831	108,325
Jun 2003	21,788	108,378
Jul 2003	21,707	108,482
Aug 2003	21,707	108,441
Sep 2003	21,700	108,550
Oct 2003	21,691	108,755
Nov 2003	21,687	108,775
Dec 2003	21,703	108,883
Jan 2004	21,716	109,031
Feb 2004	21,692	109,099
Mar 2004	21,758	109,365
Apr 2004	21,803	109,569
May 2004	21,881	109,798
Jun 2004	21,885	109,868
Jul 2004	21,899	109,886
Aug 2004	21,943	109,974
Sep 2004	21,956	110,123
Oct 2004	22,004	110,421
Nov 2004	21,998	110,492
Dec 2004	22,006	110,613
Jan 2005	21,959	110,794
Feb 2005	22,037	110,955
Mar 2005	22,066	111,060
Apr 2005	22,136	111,353
May 2005	22,171	111,493
Jun 2005	22,186	111,723
Jul 2005	22,204	112,078
Aug 2005	22,227	112,251

Because the nature of employment in the goods-producing industries is more cyclical, these industries have seen periods of job expansion and contraction. This pattern contrasts with that in the service-providing industries, which have experienced relatively consistent long-term job growth. (See figure 4.) In addition, the nature of cyclical movement in the goods-producing industries has changed over time, as employers have recalled fewer employees after the last two recessions than they have in the previous five downturns; as a result, employment in these industries has seen a long-term contraction. Yet, in a sharp reversal from the pattern established in the previous six recessions, the service-providing industries shed more jobs in the 2007–2009 downturn than did the goods-producing industries; employment declines in these industries were 3.9 million and 3.6 million, respectively. In percentage terms, however, the goods-producing industries suffered the lion’s share of job losses—a share of 16 percent, which is substantially larger than the 3-percent share for the service-providing industries. Finally, both men and women lost more jobs in both goods-producing and service-providing industries during the 2007–2009 downturn than they did in each of the previous recessions.

Why men lose more jobs during recessions

View Chart Data

Employment of women and men in the goods-producing and service-providing industries, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, 1964–2013
Month and year	Goods-producing industries	Service-providing industries
Jan 1964	4,203	15,203	13,991	24,090
Feb 1964	4,221	15,349	14,073	24,108
Mar 1964	4,216	15,371	14,167	24,144
Apr 1964	4,229	15,364	14,156	24,173
May 1964	4,233	15,397	14,210	24,249
Jun 1964	4,244	15,438	14,265	24,274
Jul 1964	4,258	15,482	14,427	24,246
Aug 1964	4,267	15,543	14,561	24,248
Sep 1964	4,298	15,645	14,481	24,479
Oct 1964	4,280	15,443	14,511	24,560
Nov 1964	4,312	15,714	14,564	24,627
Dec 1964	4,331	15,780	14,642	24,668
Jan 1965	4,350	15,823	14,672	24,738
Feb 1965	4,364	15,852	14,731	24,853
Mar 1965	4,386	15,906	14,779	24,932
Apr 1965	4,403	15,914	14,929	25,013
May 1965	4,424	16,020	14,950	25,098
Jun 1965	4,445	16,077	15,021	25,147
Jul 1965	4,474	16,137	15,271	25,081
Aug 1965	4,499	16,227	15,393	25,109
Sep 1965	4,528	16,280	15,359	25,323
Oct 1965	4,557	16,338	15,448	25,375
Nov 1965	4,605	16,416	15,504	25,472
Dec 1965	4,642	16,509	15,630	25,540
Jan 1966	4,656	16,558	15,707	25,607
Feb 1966	4,726	16,589	15,790	25,691
Mar 1966	4,775	16,740	15,894	25,783
Apr 1966	4,821	16,747	16,038	25,830
May 1966	4,867	16,808	16,113	25,923
Jun 1966	4,905	16,941	16,243	26,021
Jul 1966	4,907	16,965	16,435	25,994
Aug 1966	4,954	17,018	16,550	25,985
Sep 1966	4,978	16,970	16,537	26,159
Oct 1966	5,019	16,972	16,621	26,242
Nov 1966	5,044	16,944	16,715	26,316
Dec 1966	5,047	16,961	16,831	26,361
Jan 1967	5,064	16,993	16,896	26,454
Feb 1967	5,045	16,942	16,959	26,482
Mar 1967	5,021	16,898	17,061	26,550
Apr 1967	5,005	16,837	17,079	26,546
May 1967	4,988	16,791	17,166	26,674
Jun 1967	4,968	16,793	17,249	26,740
Jul 1967	4,991	16,781	17,206	26,909
Aug 1967	5,001	16,886	17,245	27,010
Sep 1967	5,034	16,741	17,546	26,843
Oct 1967	5,053	16,726	17,610	26,836
Nov 1967	5,059	16,937	17,734	26,973
Dec 1967	5,073	16,964	17,844	27,019
Jan 1968	5,066	16,851	17,879	27,009
Feb 1968	5,082	17,035	17,977	27,121
Mar 1968	5,085	17,034	18,041	27,135
Apr 1968	5,114	17,093	18,164	27,184
May 1968	5,142	17,113	18,183	27,215
Jun 1968	5,162	17,102	18,293	27,347
Jul 1968	5,166	17,163	18,224	27,572
Aug 1968	5,185	17,165	18,331	27,647
Sep 1968	5,198	17,192	18,519	27,578
Oct 1968	5,223	17,196	18,641	27,660
Nov 1968	5,244	17,268	18,740	27,733
Dec 1968	5,257	17,360	18,839	27,790
Jan 1969	5,276	17,368	18,934	27,860
Feb 1969	5,296	17,459	19,023	27,922
Mar 1969	5,312	17,501	19,080	28,012
Apr 1969	5,331	17,484	19,202	28,055
May 1969	5,355	17,544	19,310	28,119
Jun 1969	5,357	17,624	19,417	28,238
Jul 1969	5,373	17,617	19,306	28,433
Aug 1969	5,374	17,737	19,368	28,527
Sep 1969	5,367	17,621	19,566	28,363
Oct 1969	5,385	17,591	19,704	28,440
Nov 1969	5,336	17,504	19,757	28,490
Dec 1969	5,340	17,544	19,821	28,535
Jan 1970	5,327	17,399	19,873	28,577
Feb 1970	5,318	17,429	19,940	28,617
Mar 1970	5,293	17,445	20,032	28,682
Apr 1970	5,254	17,298	20,073	28,723
May 1970	5,195	17,141	20,089	28,698
Jun 1970	5,166	17,075	20,084	28,704
Jul 1970	5,169	17,026	20,111	28,747
Aug 1970	5,121	16,984	20,120	28,708
Sep 1970	5,100	16,888	20,221	28,739
Oct 1970	5,015	16,462	20,258	28,784
Nov 1970	4,966	16,379	20,309	28,755
Dec 1970	4,980	16,693	20,355	28,762
Jan 1971	4,974	16,620	20,407	28,865
Feb 1971	4,950	16,564	20,420	28,872
Mar 1971	4,945	16,546	20,479	28,889
Apr 1971	4,948	16,604	20,540	28,945
May 1971	4,978	16,667	20,621	28,981
Jun 1971	4,959	16,609	20,659	29,026
Jul 1971	4,960	16,604	20,621	29,130
Aug 1971	4,965	16,605	20,682	29,118
Sep 1971	4,988	16,662	20,792	29,175
Oct 1971	4,982	16,622	20,797	29,241
Nov 1971	5,004	16,680	20,846	29,316
Dec 1971	5,025	16,716	20,947	29,420
Jan 1972	5,072	16,793	21,035	29,545
Feb 1972	5,097	16,818	21,095	29,642
Mar 1972	5,122	16,914	21,193	29,716
Apr 1972	5,150	16,949	21,249	29,815
May 1972	5,177	17,045	21,316	29,929
Jun 1972	5,205	17,077	21,417	30,061
Jul 1972	5,194	16,968	21,501	30,045
Aug 1972	5,233	17,167	21,612	30,126
Sep 1972	5,260	17,196	21,655	30,152
Oct 1972	5,309	17,304	21,808	30,252
Nov 1972	5,367	17,321	21,925	30,354
Dec 1972	5,417	17,355	22,055	30,443
Jan 1973	5,460	17,495	22,101	30,565
Feb 1973	5,514	17,646	22,206	30,651
Mar 1973	5,553	17,709	22,271	30,752
Apr 1973	5,582	17,734	22,370	30,769
May 1973	5,593	17,789	22,456	30,808
Jun 1973	5,611	17,874	22,553	30,849
Jul 1973	5,598	17,924	22,544	30,845
Aug 1973	5,630	17,929	22,674	30,933
Sep 1973	5,641	17,907	22,772	30,956
Oct 1973	5,691	17,950	22,914	31,051
Nov 1973	5,719	18,000	23,014	31,179
Dec 1973	5,738	18,041	23,175	31,081
Jan 1974	5,743	17,966	23,203	31,192
Feb 1974	5,728	17,990	23,290	31,246
Mar 1974	5,718	17,969	23,405	31,204
Apr 1974	5,708	17,962	23,493	31,219
May 1974	5,715	17,920	23,624	31,288
Jun 1974	5,706	17,885	23,684	31,327
Jul 1974	5,689	17,773	23,837	31,336
Aug 1974	5,637	17,759	23,908	31,315
Sep 1974	5,623	17,651	24,066	31,271
Oct 1974	5,562	17,556	24,144	31,367
Nov 1974	5,440	17,333	24,163	31,325
Dec 1974	5,295	17,008	24,168	31,186
Jan 1975	5,175	16,799	24,152	31,171
Feb 1975	5,065	16,447	24,226	31,181
Mar 1975	4,997	16,277	24,239	31,136
Apr 1975	4,987	16,122	24,136	31,216
May 1975	4,987	16,110	24,236	31,290
Jun 1975	4,989	16,029	24,251	31,251
Jul 1975	5,022	15,959	24,289	31,499
Aug 1975	5,075	16,101	24,432	31,547
Sep 1975	5,122	16,162	24,475	31,471
Oct 1975	5,178	16,206	24,581	31,570
Nov 1975	5,205	16,237	24,627	31,611
Dec 1975	5,257	16,345	24,726	31,690
Jan 1976	5,322	16,477	24,876	31,831
Feb 1976	5,363	16,530	24,979	31,945
Mar 1976	5,400	16,580	25,070	31,999
Apr 1976	5,431	16,619	25,374	31,868
May 1976	5,443	16,545	25,404	31,919
Jun 1976	5,450	16,532	25,527	31,867
Jul 1976	5,459	16,529	25,681	31,878
Aug 1976	5,469	16,569	25,756	31,910
Sep 1976	5,479	16,663	25,708	32,042
Oct 1976	5,473	16,564	25,768	32,100
Nov 1976	5,489	16,718	25,914	32,116
Dec 1976	5,509	16,752	26,083	32,104
Jan 1977	5,550	16,770	26,217	32,155
Feb 1977	5,595	16,883	26,341	32,169
Mar 1977	5,627	17,045	26,483	32,236
Apr 1977	5,663	17,144	26,569	32,353
May 1977	5,694	17,225	26,736	32,434
Jun 1977	5,728	17,318	26,920	32,522
Jul 1977	5,751	17,355	27,066	32,664
Aug 1977	5,761	17,363	27,212	32,738
Sep 1977	5,795	17,449	27,431	32,857
Oct 1977	5,825	17,454	27,548	32,967
Nov 1977	5,863	17,508	27,683	33,119
Dec 1977	5,893	17,478	27,834	33,203
Jan 1978	5,927	17,447	27,947	33,274
Feb 1978	5,956	17,497	28,082	33,413
Mar 1978	5,989	17,660	28,243	33,569
Apr 1978	6,034	17,974	28,453	33,702
May 1978	6,064	18,018	28,631	33,796
Jun 1978	6,104	18,134	28,808	33,905
Jul 1978	6,110	18,190	28,875	34,030
Aug 1978	6,146	18,228	28,984	34,123
Sep 1978	6,175	18,269	29,115	34,059
Oct 1978	6,216	18,332	29,249	34,157
Nov 1978	6,255	18,423	29,424	34,289
Dec 1978	6,280	18,478	29,552	34,363
Jan 1979	6,298	18,442	29,673	34,397
Feb 1979	6,309	18,475	29,769	34,501
Mar 1979	6,329	18,669	29,901	34,581
Apr 1979	6,336	18,622	30,000	34,460
May 1979	6,362	18,709	30,103	34,617
Jun 1979	6,392	18,769	30,243	34,705
Jul 1979	6,396	18,767	30,389	34,663
Aug 1979	6,371	18,688	30,615	34,623
Sep 1979	6,375	18,713	30,536	34,701
Oct 1979	6,401	18,637	30,730	34,714
Nov 1979	6,394	18,553	30,920	34,709
Dec 1979	6,399	18,571	30,987	34,716
Jan 1980	6,405	18,544	31,097	34,756
Feb 1980	6,408	18,466	31,255	34,753
Mar 1980	6,410	18,408	31,329	34,847
Apr 1980	6,354	18,153	31,452	34,891
May 1980	6,246	17,988	31,434	34,751
Jun 1980	6,163	17,805	31,473	34,658
Jul 1980	6,109	17,589	31,492	34,647
Aug 1980	6,157	17,703	31,605	34,632
Sep 1980	6,167	17,764	31,742	34,537
Oct 1980	6,192	17,820	31,848	34,631
Nov 1980	6,224	17,899	31,953	34,672
Dec 1980	6,248	17,934	32,039	34,722
Jan 1981	6,248	17,904	32,140	34,745
Feb 1981	6,259	17,859	32,218	34,769
Mar 1981	6,271	17,932	32,237	34,770
Apr 1981	6,289	17,862	32,309	34,823
May 1981	6,314	17,834	32,338	34,807
Jun 1981	6,348	17,942	32,411	34,789
Jul 1981	6,371	17,931	32,473	34,827
Aug 1981	6,366	17,892	32,535	34,773
Sep 1981	6,360	17,850	32,485	34,784
Oct 1981	6,330	17,721	32,566	34,763
Nov 1981	6,286	17,589	32,561	34,735
Dec 1981	6,236	17,420	32,587	34,650
Jan 1982	6,173	17,189	32,626	34,579
Feb 1982	6,163	17,198	32,695	34,506
Mar 1982	6,120	17,094	32,715	34,503
Apr 1982	6,073	16,923	32,734	34,422
May 1982	6,048	16,836	32,804	34,419
Jun 1982	6,002	16,641	32,819	34,402
Jul 1982	5,954	16,480	32,690	34,398
Aug 1982	5,943	16,325	32,783	34,313
Sep 1982	5,909	16,237	32,800	34,237
Oct 1982	5,859	16,020	32,828	34,199
Nov 1982	5,818	15,918	32,828	34,219
Dec 1982	5,802	15,886	32,884	34,197
Jan 1983	5,823	15,934	32,977	34,259
Feb 1983	5,827	15,849	33,019	34,223
Mar 1983	5,831	15,818	33,135	34,306
Apr 1983	5,864	15,865	33,246	34,391
May 1983	5,893	15,936	33,347	34,467
Jun 1983	5,929	16,020	33,503	34,570
Jul 1983	5,972	16,131	33,717	34,620
Aug 1983	5,987	16,220	33,610	34,315
Sep 1983	6,045	16,336	33,964	34,902
Oct 1983	6,086	16,460	34,035	34,937
Nov 1983	6,130	16,568	34,132	35,041
Dec 1983	6,154	16,649	34,328	35,096
Jan 1984	6,190	16,752	34,505	35,226
Feb 1984	6,239	16,907	34,682	35,326
Mar 1984	6,279	16,930	34,812	35,408
Apr 1984	6,298	17,007	35,001	35,486
May 1984	6,319	17,070	35,139	35,572
Jun 1984	6,341	17,156	35,324	35,658
Jul 1984	6,357	17,214	35,549	35,672
Aug 1984	6,366	17,242	35,731	35,695
Sep 1984	6,356	17,261	35,890	35,837
Oct 1984	6,359	17,267	36,088	35,916
Nov 1984	6,357	17,282	36,302	36,038
Dec 1984	6,362	17,311	36,380	36,054
Jan 1985	6,359	17,313	36,537	36,164
Feb 1985	6,342	17,279	36,664	36,212
Mar 1985	6,337	17,324	36,845	36,337
Apr 1985	6,323	17,321	36,952	36,443
May 1985	6,308	17,324	37,162	36,519
Jun 1985	6,302	17,290	37,268	36,599
Jul 1985	6,291	17,258	37,404	36,696
Aug 1985	6,293	17,253	37,535	36,761
Sep 1985	6,284	17,244	37,656	36,861
Oct 1985	6,283	17,246	37,780	36,924
Nov 1985	6,287	17,233	37,938	36,984
Dec 1985	6,296	17,222	38,067	37,024
Jan 1986	6,302	17,228	38,172	37,032
Feb 1986	6,300	17,185	38,322	37,034
Mar 1986	6,300	17,128	38,449	37,058
Apr 1986	6,292	17,135	38,618	37,077
May 1986	6,293	17,056	38,777	37,123
Jun 1986	6,278	16,985	38,838	37,054
Jul 1986	6,281	16,954	39,037	37,201
Aug 1986	6,279	16,946	39,198	37,164
Sep 1986	6,286	16,930	39,382	37,336
Oct 1986	6,297	16,911	39,536	37,376
Nov 1986	6,300	16,904	39,655	37,447
Dec 1986	6,319	16,918	39,762	37,512
Jan 1987	6,305	16,927	39,875	37,576
Feb 1987	6,318	16,978	39,997	37,622
Mar 1987	6,322	16,985	40,140	37,717
Apr 1987	6,334	17,008	40,315	37,845
May 1987	6,341	17,049	40,414	37,924
Jun 1987	6,347	17,043	40,545	37,965
Jul 1987	6,386	17,069	40,730	38,062
Aug 1987	6,385	17,121	40,831	38,081
Sep 1987	6,410	17,156	40,926	38,154
Oct 1987	6,437	17,218	41,199	38,284
Nov 1987	6,452	17,259	41,293	38,366
Dec 1987	6,466	17,306	41,424	38,468
Jan 1988	6,444	17,224	41,630	38,460
Feb 1988	6,452	17,317	41,831	38,611
Mar 1988	6,472	17,352	41,957	38,706
Apr 1988	6,484	17,396	42,068	38,784
May 1988	6,493	17,403	42,181	38,884
Jun 1988	6,508	17,443	42,370	39,003
Jul 1988	6,509	17,457	42,465	39,115
Aug 1988	6,500	17,426	42,569	39,175
Sep 1988	6,507	17,435	42,753	39,314
Oct 1988	6,520	17,467	42,885	39,405
Nov 1988	6,536	17,494	43,085	39,501
Dec 1988	6,546	17,508	43,237	39,615
Jan 1989	6,559	17,538	43,393	39,678
Feb 1989	6,562	17,518	43,537	39,809
Mar 1989	6,569	17,500	43,658	39,892
Apr 1989	6,570	17,530	43,764	39,928
May 1989	6,565	17,524	43,857	39,964
Jun 1989	6,562	17,490	43,976	39,998
Jul 1989	6,560	17,467	44,023	40,016
Aug 1989	6,559	17,489	44,079	39,988
Sep 1989	6,540	17,460	44,253	40,112
Oct 1989	6,533	17,464	44,315	40,164
Nov 1989	6,531	17,478	44,469	40,275
Dec 1989	6,524	17,425	44,550	40,350
Jan 1990	6,528	17,453	44,723	40,479
Feb 1990	6,541	17,530	44,794	40,567
Mar 1990	6,530	17,493	44,927	40,697
Apr 1990	6,518	17,449	45,022	40,699
May 1990	6,504	17,383	45,170	40,781
Jun 1990	6,495	17,355	45,206	40,807
Jul 1990	6,468	17,277	45,269	40,819
Aug 1990	6,457	17,191	45,228	40,737
Sep 1990	6,443	17,128	45,321	40,633
Oct 1990	6,421	17,052	45,339	40,554
Nov 1990	6,382	16,901	45,394	40,539
Dec 1990	6,360	16,843	45,414	40,543
Jan 1991	6,342	16,718	45,470	40,509
Feb 1991	6,311	16,589	45,429	40,406
Mar 1991	6,278	16,501	45,443	40,355
Apr 1991	6,254	16,434	45,384	40,295
May 1991	6,237	16,380	45,381	40,242
Jun 1991	6,231	16,340	45,443	40,324
Jul 1991	6,221	16,286	45,469	40,326
Aug 1991	6,233	16,260	45,466	40,349
Sep 1991	6,220	16,246	45,513	40,361
Oct 1991	6,211	16,207	45,569	40,369
Nov 1991	6,203	16,113	45,610	40,373
Dec 1991	6,185	16,089	45,654	40,396
Jan 1992	6,158	16,056	45,726	40,438
Feb 1992	6,144	15,997	45,764	40,408
Mar 1992	6,132	15,995	45,810	40,431
Apr 1992	6,135	15,997	45,898	40,497
May 1992	6,134	16,001	45,972	40,547
Jun 1992	6,123	15,974	46,025	40,599
Jul 1992	6,124	15,951	46,090	40,625
Aug 1992	6,099	15,946	46,195	40,690
Sep 1992	6,094	15,926	46,220	40,726
Oct 1992	6,091	15,937	46,287	40,830
Nov 1992	6,093	15,949	46,370	40,872
Dec 1992	6,097	15,978	46,438	40,981
Jan 1993	6,102	16,031	46,568	41,104
Feb 1993	6,112	16,076	46,690	41,169
Mar 1993	6,107	16,035	46,694	41,162
Apr 1993	6,098	16,033	46,866	41,309
May 1993	6,095	16,094	46,988	41,396
Jun 1993	6,082	16,083	47,103	41,486
Jul 1993	6,078	16,106	47,204	41,665
Aug 1993	6,072	16,131	47,298	41,711
Sep 1993	6,075	16,177	47,414	41,785
Oct 1993	6,082	16,224	47,549	41,882
Nov 1993	6,084	16,263	47,646	42,006
Dec 1993	6,087	16,326	47,790	42,108
Jan 1994	6,092	16,373	47,885	42,233
Feb 1994	6,097	16,354	47,991	42,341
Mar 1994	6,116	16,434	48,187	42,511
Apr 1994	6,133	16,508	48,349	42,607
May 1994	6,146	16,558	48,507	42,720
Jun 1994	6,165	16,599	48,595	42,888
Jul 1994	6,174	16,632	48,734	43,084
Aug 1994	6,199	16,677	48,863	43,163
Sep 1994	6,212	16,735	49,020	43,286
Oct 1994	6,221	16,754	49,108	43,385
Nov 1994	6,230	16,820	49,298	43,539
Dec 1994	6,234	16,861	49,421	43,646
Jan 1995	6,244	16,902	49,573	43,768
Feb 1995	6,245	16,858	49,691	43,897
Mar 1995	6,244	16,907	49,761	44,001
Apr 1995	6,244	16,930	49,855	44,046
May 1995	6,234	16,886	49,898	44,041
Jun 1995	6,228	16,909	50,012	44,145
Jul 1995	6,211	16,907	50,075	44,202
Aug 1995	6,220	16,944	50,213	44,267
Sep 1995	6,223	16,984	50,339	44,339
Oct 1995	6,208	16,999	50,416	44,418
Nov 1995	6,209	16,991	50,486	44,503
Dec 1995	6,202	17,006	50,553	44,560
Jan 1996	6,192	17,004	50,528	44,579
Feb 1996	6,208	17,073	50,738	44,716
Mar 1996	6,201	17,075	50,873	44,852
Apr 1996	6,194	17,122	50,957	44,892
May 1996	6,202	17,155	51,120	45,008
Jun 1996	6,203	17,196	51,230	45,145
Jul 1996	6,211	17,206	51,360	45,252
Aug 1996	6,221	17,258	51,485	45,238
Sep 1996	6,221	17,276	51,579	45,351
Oct 1996	6,230	17,316	51,729	45,402
Nov 1996	6,244	17,341	51,875	45,516
Dec 1996	6,241	17,357	51,974	45,574
Jan 1997	6,245	17,374	52,057	45,706
Feb 1997	6,253	17,433	52,169	45,829
Mar 1997	6,264	17,475	52,306	45,955
Apr 1997	6,270	17,496	52,467	46,060
May 1997	6,275	17,534	52,584	46,158
Jun 1997	6,284	17,550	52,706	46,278
Jul 1997	6,284	17,578	52,847	46,422
Aug 1997	6,304	17,648	52,903	46,237
Sep 1997	6,313	17,683	53,008	46,600
Oct 1997	6,336	17,717	53,168	46,724
Nov 1997	6,348	17,764	53,309	46,830
Dec 1997	6,358	17,826	53,456	46,914
Jan 1998	6,368	17,894	53,497	47,071
Feb 1998	6,372	17,911	53,596	47,147
Mar 1998	6,376	17,888	53,671	47,242
Apr 1998	6,370	17,970	53,755	47,361
May 1998	6,371	17,990	53,949	47,552
Jun 1998	6,366	18,021	54,053	47,640
Jul 1998	6,319	17,919	54,127	47,839
Aug 1998	6,355	18,065	54,282	47,849
Sep 1998	6,363	18,057	54,402	47,953
Oct 1998	6,332	18,073	54,512	48,054
Nov 1998	6,323	18,071	54,651	48,209
Dec 1998	6,315	18,139	54,850	48,297
Jan 1999	6,317	18,084	54,930	48,395
Feb 1999	6,302	18,132	55,148	48,555
Mar 1999	6,293	18,085	55,234	48,632
Apr 1999	6,294	18,130	55,377	48,818
May 1999	6,296	18,149	55,465	48,921
Jun 1999	6,297	18,137	55,625	49,033
Jul 1999	6,296	18,178	55,775	49,162
Aug 1999	6,295	18,173	55,869	49,241
Sep 1999	6,293	18,192	55,979	49,327
Oct 1999	6,297	18,209	56,181	49,505
Nov 1999	6,300	18,261	56,307	49,615
Dec 1999	6,305	18,277	56,443	49,753
Jan 2000	6,309	18,318	56,544	49,837
Feb 2000	6,318	18,290	56,620	49,910
Mar 2000	6,310	18,395	56,773	50,128
Apr 2000	6,311	18,377	56,967	50,238
May 2000	6,307	18,340	57,191	50,281
Jun 2000	6,308	18,366	57,144	50,256
Jul 2000	6,326	18,391	57,118	50,416
Aug 2000	6,306	18,378	57,219	50,334
Sep 2000	6,287	18,355	57,346	50,383
Oct 2000	6,280	18,359	57,340	50,378
Nov 2000	6,269	18,355	57,480	50,478
Dec 2000	6,244	18,332	57,543	50,605
Jan 2001	6,215	18,316	57,630	50,533
Feb 2001	6,189	18,284	57,720	50,573
Mar 2001	6,159	18,249	57,721	50,612
Apr 2001	6,106	18,148	57,838	50,368
May 2001	6,052	18,067	57,936	50,367
Jun 2001	5,992	17,975	57,951	50,375
Jul 2001	5,945	17,891	58,064	50,278
Aug 2001	5,882	17,786	58,071	50,281
Sep 2001	5,833	17,704	58,112	50,129
Oct 2001	5,774	17,605	58,012	50,063
Nov 2001	5,717	17,493	57,951	49,999
Dec 2001	5,678	17,417	57,933	49,961
Jan 2002	5,631	17,328	57,988	49,900
Feb 2002	5,599	17,276	58,002	49,837
Mar 2002	5,568	17,218	58,033	49,876
Apr 2002	5,538	17,151	58,033	49,893
May 2002	5,515	17,089	58,025	49,978
Jun 2002	5,494	17,085	58,074	50,011
Jul 2002	5,472	17,049	58,083	49,975
Aug 2002	5,452	16,998	58,129	49,985
Sep 2002	5,427	16,971	58,125	49,981
Oct 2002	5,404	16,922	58,185	50,118
Nov 2002	5,380	16,903	58,237	50,119
Dec 2002	5,353	16,836	58,211	50,081
Jan 2003	5,325	16,824	58,258	50,168
Feb 2003	5,299	16,725	58,279	50,119
Mar 2003	5,281	16,665	58,185	50,081
Apr 2003	5,237	16,627	58,246	50,057
May 2003	5,211	16,620	58,226	50,099
Jun 2003	5,185	16,603	58,218	50,160
Jul 2003	5,158	16,549	58,236	50,246
Aug 2003	5,138	16,569	58,149	50,292
Sep 2003	5,124	16,576	58,325	50,225
Oct 2003	5,118	16,573	58,381	50,374
Nov 2003	5,111	16,576	58,401	50,374
Dec 2003	5,105	16,598	58,464	50,419
Jan 2004	5,097	16,619	58,522	50,509
Feb 2004	5,102	16,590	58,521	50,578
Mar 2004	5,106	16,652	58,641	50,724
Apr 2004	5,115	16,688	58,735	50,834
May 2004	5,127	16,754	58,851	50,947
Jun 2004	5,124	16,761	58,880	50,988
Jul 2004	5,128	16,771	58,860	51,026
Aug 2004	5,131	16,812	58,845	51,129
Sep 2004	5,124	16,832	58,982	51,141
Oct 2004	5,120	16,884	59,137	51,284
Nov 2004	5,114	16,884	59,176	51,316
Dec 2004	5,106	16,900	59,269	51,344
Jan 2005	5,095	16,864	59,383	51,411
Feb 2005	5,097	16,940	59,469	51,486
Mar 2005	5,102	16,964	59,530	51,530
Apr 2005	5,105	17,031	59,696	51,657
May 2005	5,111	17,060	59,757	51,736
Jun 2005	5,111	17,075	59,882	51,841
Jul 2005	5,116	17,088	59,968	52,110
Aug 2005	5,107	17,120	60,029	52,222

Men hold the overwhelming share of jobs in a group of goods-producing industries that are considerably more sensitive to changes in the business cycle, while women hold the majority of positions in the less cyclical service-proving industries. Typically, as demand declines for goods such as automobiles, furniture, and new homes, employment in the related industries that supply those goods falls. In 2013, 78 percent of all jobs in the goods-producing industries were held by men, whereas 54 percent of all jobs in the service-providing industries were held by women. The share of female employees in the service-providing industries has expanded over time, as women have increased their presence in a growing group of such industries. (See figure 5.) Because the widespread growth within the service-providing industries has historically been resistant to changing business cycles, women have experienced smaller job losses relative to men in each of the last seven recessions. In addition, on net, women have lost fewer jobs than men have in the goods-producing industries in each of the past recessions.

View Chart Data

Net and percent change in jobs for men and women on nonfarm payrolls, by selected industry, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, 2007–2009 recession
Industry	Net change	Percent change
Health care and social assistance (S)	444	117	561	3.5	3.8
Government (S)	157	43	200	1.2	0.4
Educational services (S)	92	24	116	5.1	2.0
Financial activities (S)	-280	-181	-461	-5.7	-5.4
Leisure and hospitality (S)	-250	-224	-474	-3.5	-3.5
Retail trade (S)	-468	-567	-1,034	-6.0	-7.3
Professional and business services (S)	-644	-971	-1,615	-8.0	-9.7
Construction (G)	-136	-1,344	-1,480	-14.5	-20.5
Manufacturing (G)	-601	-1,419	-2,020	-15.2	-14.5
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. G denotes goods-producing industries and S denotes service-providing industries. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.

Goods-producing industries. Within the goods-producing industries, construction and manufacturing—two male-dominated industries whose shares of men’s employment in 2013 were 87 percent and 73 percent, respectively—faced the most severe employment contractions in the 2007–2009 recession. (See figure 6.) Between these two industries, job losses among men accounted for more than one-third of the total 7.4 million jobs lost during the downturn. The 2007–2009 recession was closely tied to the 2006 collapse of the housing market, a market that served as “one of the key drivers of growth throughout much of the decade.”⁹ The housing credit market deteriorated over the course of 2007, as delinquency rates rose and home foreclosures reached historically high levels. The construction industry was severely affected by these developments and, consequently, so was the employment of men. Employment in construction fell by 1.5 million, or 20 percent, and men held more than 9 out of every 10 jobs lost.

Likewise, the manufacturing industry suffered substantial job losses during the 2007–2009 recession; employment in the industry declined by 2.0 million, and 70 percent of these losses were among men. Because many detailed manufacturing industries provide inputs for the construction industry, the severe job losses within construction fueled further job losses within construction-related manufacturing industries. As one source puts it, “Wood products and furniture and related products, together, accounted for 14 percent of the total job losses in manufacturing. . . . Machinery manufacturing supports the efforts of other industries—including construction and mining—and was affected by their recession-related declines. The machinery industry accounted for more than 8 percent of manufacturing job losses during the recession.”¹⁰ Overall, the goods-producing industries shed 3.6 million jobs in the 2007–2009 downturn, and nearly 8 out of every 10 jobs lost had been held by men.

Service-providing industries. During the 2007–2009 recession, several service-providing industries managed to see small job gains or at least maintain their prerecession levels of employment. Even during economic downturns, society still requires services such as health care and education. In addition, during economic recessions, the industries that provide those services may benefit from increases in government funding. Examples of such increases include the expansion of Medicaid subsidies and other stimulus funds to cover increased hospital emergency room usage,¹¹ as well as increased stimulus for programs such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, which can be used to fund workforce and educational programs.¹² Because the health care and education industries employ more women than men, their continued growth throughout the past four recessions resulted in continued job gains for women in both industries. For example, in 2013, women held 80 percent of all jobs in the health care and social assistance industry, 61 percent in educational services, 58 percent in financial activities, and 57 percent in government.

View Chart Data

Net change in jobs for women on nonfarm payrolls, by selected industry, in thousands, seasonally adjusted, previous four recessions, 1981–2009
Industry	Women	Men
Professional and business services	89	-103	-283	-644	-42	-101	-359	-971
Retail trade	38	-71	-167	-468	-81	-158	-34	-567
Financial activities	44	-6	34	-280	6	-22	21	-181
Leisure and hospitality	60	-25	59	-250	-35	-2	-74	-224
Government	-184	59	339	157	-14	-131	42	43
Educational services	188	44	57	92	109	3	23	24
Health care and social assistance	230	270	324	444	51	51	3	117
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. For health care services, data for the 1981–1982 recession reflect not seasonally adjusted Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system estimates; see https://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics.htm for details. Intermittent census workers have not been excluded from estimates for government, because data are not available by gender. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.

Employment in the health care and social assistance industry has benefited from a long-term growth trend that has persisted even through changing business cycles.¹³ As evidenced by its strong job gains in each of the past four recessions, the industry has been fairly immune to fluctuations in the business cycle. (See figure 7.) As one source explains it, “Job gains in the industry are highly correlated with the aging baby boomer population as well as advancements in medical technologies, which can drive up demand for new procedures.”¹⁴ While total nonfarm employment contracted by 5 percent during the 2007–2009 recession, employment in the health care and social assistance industry expanded by 4 percent over the same period. Hospital employment, for example, has an extremely high proportion of female employees and has shown exceptionally robust growth during both economic expansions and recessions.¹⁵ Further, throughout the 2007–2009 recession, employers in the health care and social assistance industry hired nearly four female employees for each male employee; of the 561,000 jobs added by the industry during the recession, 444,000 jobs went to women.

Government is the largest sector of the economy in terms of employment, employing nearly 22 million workers at the federal, state, and local levels, and comprising 16 percent of total nonfarm employment in 2013. A large majority, 57 percent, of government workers in that year were women, with their share of employment trending up from 53 percent in January 1990. This long-term trend is primarily due to local government employment, which accounted for nearly two-thirds of government employment and the highest share of female employees (61 percent in 2013) among the three major components (federal, state, and local). Within the local component, local government education had an even higher share of female employees (73 percent in 2013) and accounted for 55 percent of local government employment.

Historically known for providing substantial job security to employees, government accounted for the largest share of jobs added during the 2001 recession and the second-largest share during the 1990–1991 and 2007–2009 recessions, trailing only the health care and social assistance industry in this regard. Although government employment is generally affected by recessions, its contractions usually occur with a lag, as declines in state and local tax revenues reduce future fiscal year budgets. Employment in government rose by 191,000 during the 2007–2009 recession, after removing the temporary hiring effects of intermittent 2010 Census workers.¹⁶ In the postrecessionary period, between June 2009 and December 2013, the government sector shed 722,000 jobs; of those, 74 percent were at the local level and 16 percent at the state level.

Why men have added more jobs in the economic recovery

View Chart Data

Net change in jobs for women and men on nonfarm payrolls during the 2007–2009 recession and 2009–2013 postrecession period, in thousands, seasonally adjusted
Gender	2007–2009 recession	Postrecession period
Women	-2,082	2,462
Men	-5,324	3,989
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.

While job losses among men outnumbered those among women by 2.6 to 1 during the 2007–2009 recession, that trend reversed itself in the economic recovery of June 2009–December 2013. (See figure 8.) In numerical terms, men lost 5.3 million jobs during the recession and regained 4.0 million of those jobs in the recovery period. Over the same timeframe, women lost 2.1 million jobs and then added 2.5 million jobs. By December 2013, men’s employment had recovered 75 percent of recessionary job losses and women’s employment had more than fully recovered. Nevertheless, women have experienced weaker job growth after the end of the 2007–2009 downturn than they had experienced in the previous three recessions. (See figure 9.) During each of the past four recessions, the ratio of women’s to men’s employment shares has expanded. After the 2001 downturn, and then to a greater extent following the 2007–2009 recession, the ratio exhibited a long-term decline.

View Chart Data

Index of women's to men's employment share ratios, seasonally adjusted, previous four recessions, 1981–2013
Number of months after beginning of recession	Beginning of recession
-4	0.992	0.993	0.998	0.995
-3	0.995	0.995	0.997	0.996
-2	0.997	0.998	1.000	0.997
-1	0.998	0.998	1.001	0.998
0	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
1	1.003	1.002	1.006	1.000
2	1.002	1.006	1.008	1.002
3	1.007	1.009	1.008	1.004
4	1.008	1.012	1.012	1.007
5	1.013	1.013	1.013	1.009
6	1.018	1.017	1.016	1.009
7	1.021	1.019	1.016	1.013
8	1.022	1.021	1.017	1.012
9	1.027	1.022	1.018	1.015
10	1.030	1.024	1.020	1.017
11	1.033	1.024	1.022	1.023
12	1.032	1.025	1.022	1.027
13	1.039	1.026	1.022	1.031
14	1.042	1.026	1.021	1.035
15	1.046	1.028	1.021	1.040
16	1.047	1.030	1.022	1.043
17	1.049	1.031	1.023	1.045
18	1.050	1.031	1.023	1.048
19	1.054	1.033	1.022	1.049
20	1.056	1.034	1.023	1.050
21	1.057	1.034	1.024	1.050
22	1.057	1.035	1.023	1.051
23	1.059	1.035	1.025	1.049
24	1.062	1.036	1.025	1.051
25	1.064	1.037	1.026	1.051
26	1.061	1.037	1.025	1.051
27	1.060	1.036	1.024	1.050
28	1.060	1.037	1.023	1.046
29	1.063	1.036	1.020	1.045
30	1.063	1.035	1.024	1.044
31	1.064	1.036	1.022	1.043
32	1.066	1.037	1.023	1.041
33	1.069	1.037	1.023	1.039
34	1.070	1.037	1.022	1.038
35	1.071	1.037	1.021	1.037
36	1.076	1.036	1.020	1.037
37	1.080	1.036	1.019	1.036
38	1.081	1.036	1.019	1.034
39	1.084	1.036	1.018	1.033
40	1.087	1.035	1.017	1.033
41	1.088	1.035	1.015	1.031
42	1.089	1.034	1.017	1.029
43	1.092	1.035	1.016	1.027
44	1.093	1.034	1.016	1.028
45	1.093	1.035	1.017	1.028
46	1.097	1.035	1.018	1.027
47	1.098	1.034	1.017	1.026
48	1.100	1.032	1.017	1.026
49	1.102	1.033	1.017	1.025
50	1.103	1.033	1.016	1.025
51	1.105	1.033	1.017	1.024
52	1.108	1.033	1.014	1.024
53	1.111	1.033	1.013	1.025
54	1.113	1.033	1.015	1.024
55	1.118	1.034	1.011	1.023
56	1.122	1.033	1.009	1.024
57	1.125	1.033	1.008	1.024
58	1.130	1.035	1.006	1.025
59	1.134	1.034	1.003	1.024
60	1.137	1.034	1.002	1.024
61	1.142	1.035	1.000	1.023
62	1.143	1.036	0.999	1.023
63	1.147	1.035	0.999	1.023
64	1.148	1.035	1.002	1.024
65	1.150	1.035	1.004	1.024
66	1.151	1.034	1.005	1.024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.

In the economic recovery, which began in June 2009 and is reported through December 2013 in this analysis, the job gains among men (4.0 million) largely exceeded those among women (2.5 million). (See table 5.) Although women’s employment has fully recovered from the job losses of the 2007–2009 recession, men’s employment has performed better in industries that have historically employed more women. For example, in (1) leisure and hospitality and (2) financial activities—two industries that have traditionally employed more women than men—men’s employment gains have outpaced women’s in the economic recovery. Indeed, within the financial activities industry, in which the women’s share of employment stood at 58 percent in 2013, men’s employment has fully recovered the jobs lost during the recession, whereas women’s employment has continued to contract. In addition, while both men and women have regained the jobs lost in the service-providing industries, women have continued to lose jobs in the goods-producing industries, while men have recovered 18 percent of their losses in those industries. In the manufacturing industry, for example, men’s employment has recovered 30 percent of the 1.4 million jobs lost during the recession, while women’s employment has continued to decline.

Table 5. Net change in jobs for women and men on nonfarm payrolls, by selected industry, in thousands and percent of jobs recovered, seasonally adjusted, 2007–2009 recession and 2009–2013 postrecession period
Industry	Women			Men
	Recession (Dec 2007–Jun 2009)	Recovery (Jun 2009–Dec 2013)	Jobs recovered	Recession (Dec 2007–Jun 2009)	Recovery (Jun 2009–Dec 2013)	Jobs recovered
	Net change		Percent	Net change		Percent
Total nonfarm	-2,082	2,462	118	-5,324	3,989	75
Total private	-2,239	2,892	129	-5,367	4,281	80
Goods-producing	-737	-130	–	-2,817	519	18
Service-providing	-1,345	2,592	193	-2,507	3,470	138
Mining and logging	0	20	–	-54	176	326
Construction	-136	-55	–	-1,344	-79	–
Construction of buildings	-55	-17	–	-319	-25	–
Residential building	-48	-5	–	-214	2	1
Nonresidential building	-7	-12	–	-105	-27	–
Heavy and civil engineering construction	-15	-16	–	-146	51	35
Specialty trade contractors	-66	-22	–	-879	-105	–
Manufacturing	-601	-95	–	-1,419	422	30
Durable goods	-395	-39	–	-1,130	438	39
Wood products	-25	-2	–	-118	5	4
Nonmetallic mineral products	-17	-9	–	-80	-4	–
Primary metals	-15	1	7	-87	47	55
Fabricated metal products	-50	3	5	-212	147	69
Machinery	-32	9	28	-138	82	60
Computer and electronic products	-58	-40	–	-70	-30	-
Semiconductors and electronic components	-31	-9	–	-36	7	19
Electrical equipment and appliances	-19	-14	–	-37	18	49
Transportation equipment	-114	35	31	-266	174	65
Motor vehicles and parts	-101	39	39	-233	176	76
Furniture and related products	-36	-14	–	-98	-2	–
Miscellaneous durable goods manufacturing	-30	-8	–	-25	2	6
Nondurable goods	-206	-56	–	-289	-16	–
Printing and related support activities	-47	-24	–	-47	-53	–
Chemicals	-8	-23	–	-46	15	32
Plastics and rubber products	-54	10	18	-80	33	42
Trade, transportation, and utilities	-717	393	55	-1,089	855	79
Wholesale trade	-142	20	14	-318	199	63
Durable goods	-81	2	2	-236	91	38
Nondurable goods	-41	-27	–	-65	56	86
Retail trade	-468	332	71	-567	393	69
Motor vehicle and parts dealers	-68	37	54	-203	157	77
Automobile dealers	-55	32	57	-175	116	66
Furniture and home furnishings stores	-61	-11	–	-61	15	25
Electronics and appliance stores	-14	16	121	-57	-16	–
Building material and garden supply stores	-46	62	135	-79	5	6
Clothing and clothing accessories stores	-99	32	32	-52	6	12
General merchandise stores	-36	75	210	-47	45	96
Miscellaneous store retailers	-31	-9	–	-47	16	35
Transportation and warehousing	-95	49	52	-219	264	120
Truck transportation	-21	14	63	-135	111	82
Information	-115	-95	–	-113	-27	–
Publishing industries, except Internet	-46	-33	–	-55	-30	–
Telecommunications	-32	-75	–	-33	-33	–
Financial activities	-280	-103	–	-181	183	101
Credit intermediation and related activities	-103	-53	–	-99	61	62
Depository credit intermediation	-45	-63	–	-28	25	90
Securities, commodity contracts, investments, and funds and trusts	-15	-3	–	-39	15	39
Real estate	-71	-15	–	-10	73	702
Rental and leasing services	-53	-15	–	-35	-5	–
Professional and business services	-644	981	152	-971	1,425	147
Professional and technical services	-129	242	188	-196	481	245
Accounting and bookkeeping services	-14	-12	–	-40	15	37
Architectural and engineering services	-42	10	24	-90	48	53
Administrative and waste services	-490	651	133	-752	779	104
Administrative and support services	-491	649	132	-741	755	102
Employment services	-405	496	122	-610	561	92
Temporary help services	-335	484	145	-466	538	115
Services to buildings and dwellings	-29	61	207	-86	102	118
Education and health services	536	1,164	–	140	541	–
Educational services	92	131	–	24	142	–
Health care and social assistance	444	1,032	–	117	399	–
Health care	335	739	–	97	331	–
Ambulatory health care services	195	574	–	39	204	–
Home health care services	80	193	–	17	40	–
Hospitals	68	44	–	34	83	–
Nursing and residential care facilities	70	120	–	25	45	–
Social assistance	115	298	–	15	64	–
Leisure and hospitality	-250	650	260	-224	709	317
Arts, entertainment, and recreation	-54	72	135	-48	118	248
Amusements, gambling, and recreation	-47	69	148	-32	75	234
Accommodation and food services	-197	578	193	-176	591	337
Accommodation	-69	95	137	-64	20	32
Food services and drinking places	-120	480	401	-120	574	479
Other services	-32	32	100	-112	76	68
Repair and maintenance	-17	-1	–	-81	63	78
Government	157	-430	–	43	-292	–
Federal	41	-31	–	17	-47	–
Federal, except U.S. Postal Service	70	4	–	65	28	–
U.S. Postal Service	-37	-37	–	-39	-74	–
State government	-38	35	92	75	-147	–
State government education	-18	65	374	56	-21	–
State government, excluding education	-18	-34	–	16	-124	–
Local government	154	-434	–	-49	-98	–
Local government education	147	-277	–	-94	-58	–
Local government, excluding education	0	-152	–	52	-46	–
Note: Total private employment in selected industries increased or declined by greater than 50,000 during the 2007–2009 recession. Dashes indicate industries that did not contract during the 2007–2009 recession, or have continued to contract during the recovery. Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics for employment data.

For both genders, the trend in government employment established during the 2007–2009 recession saw a major reversal in the recovery period. Government added 200,000 employees to its payrolls during the recession and lost 722,000 jobs between the recession’s end and 2013.¹⁷ Throughout the economic recovery, job losses have been widespread at the local government level; as tax revenues declined and federal stimulus funding expired in the wake of the prolonged recession, municipalities struggled to balance budget deficits and avoid laying off school teachers. As one economist explains the environment, “Tax revenues are sensitive to the business cycle, and severe declines in tax revenues following the most recent recession took a heavy toll on local governments. Some local governments cut employment after exhausting measures such as furloughs, pay freezes, cuts in service, and larger classroom sizes.”¹⁸ More than three out of every four government jobs added during the recession were positions held by women; however, a reversal of this trend occurred during the recovery through 2013, with women accounting for 60 percent of total job losses, virtually all of which were at the local level. Women’s employment in local government continued to decline each year since the recession ended, for a total drop of 434,000, before leveling off in 2013; by contrast, over the same period, men’s employment experienced less than one-quarter of those job losses. At the state level, women’s employment declined by 38,000 during the recession, while men’s employment increased by 75,000. In the recovery period, women regained 35,000 jobs, while men lost 147,000 jobs. In total, women’s employment in government expanded by 157,000 during the 2007–2009 recession and has since lost nearly three times as many jobs.

WHILE RECESSIONS HAVE A PROFOUND EFFECT on both women’s and men’s employment, they tend to have a more severe employment effect on men. One of the main causes of this differential effect is that the goods-producing industries, which predominantly employ men, are more cyclical in nature and more sensitive to changes in the business cycle. Since reaching a peak in April 2006, employment in the goods-producing industries has fallen by 3.8 million, or 17 percent. Conversely, employment in the service-providing industries has expanded by 2.2 million since these industries’ most recent employment peak in January 2008. Throughout the 2007–2009 recession, the female share of total employment increased in percentage terms because of women’s employment dominance in service-providing industries and these industries’ historical employment inelasticity during downturns.

Women’s employment has made some notable strides over the past several decades—strides that have been particularly noteworthy during recent recessions. Women held an unprecedented 50.0 percent of nonfarm jobs during the 2007–2009 recession—a considerable gain from January 1964, when the CES survey first estimated that women held 32 percent of payroll jobs. This long-term trend reflects the employment growth in service-providing industries that employ more women than men and contrasts with the trend in the goods-producing industries, which are dominated by men and more severely impacted by recessions and changing business cycles.

As employment in the construction and manufacturing industries plunged during the 2007–2009 recession, men accounted for roughly 8 out of every 10 jobs lost in those two industries—2.8 million jobs in total. Over the same period, the health care and social assistance and government sectors, both of which employ more women than men, continued to expand at a modest rate. Although the job losses experienced by both women and men during the most recent recession were severe, the resilience of women’s employment and its long-term growth are historic.

Suggested citation:

Catherine A. Wood, "The rise in women’s share of nonfarm employment during the 2007–2009 recession: a historical perspective," Monthly Labor Review, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 2014, https://doi.org/10.21916/mlr.2014.12

Notes

¹ Recessions in the United States are identified by the National Bureau of Economic Research, according to which the most recent recession began in December 2007 and ended in June 2009. The previous three recessions were from March 2001 to November 2001, from July 1990 to March 1991, and from July 1981 to November 1982, respectively. For a complete list of business cycle dates, see “U.S. business cycle expansions and contractions” (Cambridge, MA: National Bureau of Economic Research, September 20, 2010), http://www.nber.org/cycles/cyclesmain.html.

² The CES program is a monthly survey of about 144,000 nonfarm businesses and government agencies, representing approximately 554,000 individual worksites. The CES program produces employment estimates for all employees and for female employees. In this article, employment estimates for men are calculated as the difference between estimates for all employees and estimates for women. For more information on the survey’s concepts and methodology, see “Technical notes to establishment survey data published in Employment and Earnings” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 1, 2013), https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cestn.htm. To access CES data, see “Current Employment Statistics—CES (national)” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, April 1, 2013), https://www.bls.gov/ces. Unless otherwise noted, the CES data used in this article are seasonally adjusted.

³ The labor force data used in this section of the article are from the CPS, a monthly survey of approximately 60,000 households conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau for the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The CPS program produces comprehensive data on the labor force, employment, unemployment, and people not in the labor force. Studies based on the CPS cover a broad range of topics, including the nation’s overall labor market situation as well as that of special worker groups, such as minorities, women, foreign-born workers, school-age youth, older workers, the disabled, veterans, contingent workers, and displaced workers. To access CPS data, see https://www.bls.gov/cps.

⁴ For additional information on the distinct survey concepts, definitions, and methodologies used in the CES and CPS surveys, see https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/ces_cps_trends.htm.

⁵ Anne E. Polivka and Stephen M. Miller, “The CPS after the redesign: refocusing the economic lens” (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, March 1995), pp. 1–48 (especially p. 36), https://www.bls.gov/osmr/research-papers/1995/pdf/ec950090.pdf.

⁶ William Goodman, Stephen Antczak, and Laura Freeman, “Women and jobs in recessions: 1969–92,” Monthly Labor Review, July 1993, pp. 26–35 (especially p. 26), https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/1993/07/art3full.pdf.

⁷ For definitions of goods-producing industries, see https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag06.htm.

⁸ The service-providing industries include wholesale trade, retail trade, transportation and warehousing, utilities, information, financial activities, professional and business services, education and health services, leisure and hospitality, other services, and government. For definitions of service-providing industries, see https://www.bls.gov/iag/tgs/iag07.htm.

⁹ Christopher J. Goodman and Steven M. Mance, “Employment loss and the 2007–09 recession: an overview,” Monthly Labor Review, April 2011, p. 4, https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/04/art1full.pdf.

¹⁰ Megan M. Barker, “Manufacturing employment hard hit during the 2007–09 recession,” Monthly Labor Review, April 2011, pp. 28–33 (especially p. 30), https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/04/art5full.pdf. (Data in the referenced article have been revised and updated.)

¹¹ Renee M. Gindi, Robin A. Cohen, and Whitney K. Kirzinger, “Emergency room use among adults aged 18–64: early release of estimates from the National Health Interview Survey, January–June 2011,” National Center for Health Statistics, May 2012, http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/emergency_room_use_january-june_2011.pdf.

¹² See, for example, Dottie Rosenbaum, “SNAP is effective and efficient,” Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, March 11, 2013, http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3239.

¹³ With the release of data in the January 2014 Employment Situation on February 7, 2014, the Bureau of Labor Statistics introduced its annual benchmark revision, and historical estimates were revised. This year’s benchmark was substantially affected by the inclusion of employment that was previously in Private households and considered out of scope by the establishment survey. Specifically, historical data for services for the elderly and the disabled were reconstructed and incorporated into the CES survey back to 1979. For more information, see https://www.bls.gov/web/empsit/cesbmart.htm.

¹⁴ Sutton E. Puglia and Parth A. Tikiwala, “Slow and steady: payroll employment grew moderately in 2012,” Monthly Labor Review, March 2013, pp. 22–30 (especially p. 27), https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2013/03/art2full.pdf.

¹⁵ Catherine A. Wood, “Employment in health care: a crutch for the ailing economy during the 2007–09 recession,” Monthly Labor Review, April 2011, pp. 13–18 (especially p. 13), https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/04/art2full.pdf.

¹⁶ “Census 2010 temporary and intermittent workers and federal government employment,” from CES survey, last modified on June 8, 2012, https://www.bls.gov/ces/tables/census-temporary-intermittent-workers-government-employment.htm.

¹⁷ Intermittent census workers have not been excluded from these estimates because their impact on employment was minimal.

¹⁸ John P. Eddlemon, “Payroll employment turns the corner in 2010,” Monthly Labor Review, May 2010, pp. 23–32 (especially pp. 30–31), https://www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2011/03/art2full.pdf.

About the Author

Catherine A. Wood
wood.catherine@bls.gov

Catherine A. Wood is an economist in the Office of Employment and Unemployment Statistics, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

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Industry	Women				Men
Industry	1981–1982 recession	1990–1991 recession	2001 recession	2007–2009 recession	1981–1982 recession	1990–1991 recession	2001 recession	2007–2009 recession
Professional and business services	89	-103	-283	-644	-42	-101	-359	-971
Retail trade	38	-71	-167	-468	-81	-158	-34	-567
Financial activities	44	-6	34	-280	6	-22	21	-181
Leisure and hospitality	60	-25	59	-250	-35	-2	-74	-224
Government	-184	59	339	157	-14	-131	42	43
Educational services	188	44	57	92	109	3	23	24
Health care and social assistance	230	270	324	444	51	51	3	117
Note: Beginning and ending months of recessions are determined by the National Bureau of Economic Research. For health care services, data for the 1981–1982 recession reflect not seasonally adjusted Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) system estimates; see https://www.bls.gov/ces/cesnaics.htm for details. Intermittent census workers have not been excluded from estimates for government, because data are not available by gender. Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.

Number of months after beginning of recession	Beginning of recession
Number of months after beginning of recession	July 1981	July 1990	March 2001	December 2007
-4	0.992	0.993	0.998	0.995
-3	0.995	0.995	0.997	0.996
-2	0.997	0.998	1.000	0.997
-1	0.998	0.998	1.001	0.998
0	1.000	1.000	1.000	1.000
1	1.003	1.002	1.006	1.000
2	1.002	1.006	1.008	1.002
3	1.007	1.009	1.008	1.004
4	1.008	1.012	1.012	1.007
5	1.013	1.013	1.013	1.009
6	1.018	1.017	1.016	1.009
7	1.021	1.019	1.016	1.013
8	1.022	1.021	1.017	1.012
9	1.027	1.022	1.018	1.015
10	1.030	1.024	1.020	1.017
11	1.033	1.024	1.022	1.023
12	1.032	1.025	1.022	1.027
13	1.039	1.026	1.022	1.031
14	1.042	1.026	1.021	1.035
15	1.046	1.028	1.021	1.040
16	1.047	1.030	1.022	1.043
17	1.049	1.031	1.023	1.045
18	1.050	1.031	1.023	1.048
19	1.054	1.033	1.022	1.049
20	1.056	1.034	1.023	1.050
21	1.057	1.034	1.024	1.050
22	1.057	1.035	1.023	1.051
23	1.059	1.035	1.025	1.049
24	1.062	1.036	1.025	1.051
25	1.064	1.037	1.026	1.051
26	1.061	1.037	1.025	1.051
27	1.060	1.036	1.024	1.050
28	1.060	1.037	1.023	1.046
29	1.063	1.036	1.020	1.045
30	1.063	1.035	1.024	1.044
31	1.064	1.036	1.022	1.043
32	1.066	1.037	1.023	1.041
33	1.069	1.037	1.023	1.039
34	1.070	1.037	1.022	1.038
35	1.071	1.037	1.021	1.037
36	1.076	1.036	1.020	1.037
37	1.080	1.036	1.019	1.036
38	1.081	1.036	1.019	1.034
39	1.084	1.036	1.018	1.033
40	1.087	1.035	1.017	1.033
41	1.088	1.035	1.015	1.031
42	1.089	1.034	1.017	1.029
43	1.092	1.035	1.016	1.027
44	1.093	1.034	1.016	1.028
45	1.093	1.035	1.017	1.028
46	1.097	1.035	1.018	1.027
47	1.098	1.034	1.017	1.026
48	1.100	1.032	1.017	1.026
49	1.102	1.033	1.017	1.025
50	1.103	1.033	1.016	1.025
51	1.105	1.033	1.017	1.024
52	1.108	1.033	1.014	1.024
53	1.111	1.033	1.013	1.025
54	1.113	1.033	1.015	1.024
55	1.118	1.034	1.011	1.023
56	1.122	1.033	1.009	1.024
57	1.125	1.033	1.008	1.024
58	1.130	1.035	1.006	1.025
59	1.134	1.034	1.003	1.024
60	1.137	1.034	1.002	1.024
61	1.142	1.035	1.000	1.023
62	1.143	1.036	0.999	1.023
63	1.147	1.035	0.999	1.023
64	1.148	1.035	1.002	1.024
65	1.150	1.035	1.004	1.024
66	1.151	1.034	1.005	1.024
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Employment Statistics.