6 Facts: American Women Aren’t Going Back to Work (Yet)
Women left the workforce in droves after the last U.S. recession. So far, they haven’t come back.
January 6, 2015
1. During World War II, the percentage of women in the United States who worked outside the home increased from about 25% to over a third.
2. By 1970, the labor force participation rate for U.S. women between the ages of 25 and 54 had risen above 50% for the first time.
3. Almost three decades later, in 1999, the female labor force participation rate peaked at 77%.
4. Between 1999 and 2013, the rate would fall in 12 of 14 years.
5. Since the end of the last recession in 2009, the labor force participation rate from U.S. women has fallen by two percentage points (from 75.7% in 2009 to 73.8% in mid-2014).
6. Meanwhile, the labor force participation rate for U.S. men has actually risen — albeit a very modest 0.2 percentage points (from 88.2% in 2009 to 88.4% in mid-2014).
Data source: OECD, with analysis by The Globalist Research Center.
Takeaways
Women left the workforce in droves after the last U.S. recession. So far, they haven't come back.
During WWII, the percentage of women in the US who worked outside the home increased from 25% to over a third.
Since 2009, the labor force participation rate from U.S. women has fallen by two percentage points.
