Unemployment Rates for Women
The top line numbers in today's Employment Situation news release from the BLS showed net job losses in the establishment survey (-62,000), making for a total of 438,000 net jobs (0.32%) lost since the December peak, and the unemployment rate holding steady at 5.5 percent.
With more bad news, we are likely to hear news reports about the unequal burden of the labor market contraction. I was curious in particular to see how female heads of household were faring. The BLS reports their unemployment rate on a seasonally unadjusted basis, so the following chart shows 40 years of annual data, measured in June of each year, for all persons (in the civilian noninstitutionalized population) 16 and over, all women 16 and over, and all female heads of household:
A few features of the chart stand out:
First, prior to 1980, the unemployment rate for women was always a percentage point or more higher than that for the whole population. Since 1980, it has averaged only 0.2 percentage points higher.
Second, in the few years before 1975, the unemployment rate for female heads of household was reliably below the unemployment rate for all women. Since then, it has averaged nearly two percentage points higher.
Third, this gap narrowed to about 1.5 percentage points between 1999 and 2001. It has since averaged over 2.2 percentage points and has ticked up since last June.
Unemployment
I still see a lot of high paying jobs posted on employment sites.
http://www.realmatch.com
http://www.indeed.com
http://www.simplyhired.com
Lots of jobs posted here.
They're posting, but are they hiring?
Word on the street is you put your resume in for those, and then check with the HR folks at the company after a couple weeks (and no response) and the message is, "oh, that job is on 'hold'. we're now waiting because this quarter is looking tough, expenses are up, etc., etc."
They may be posted but that doesn't mean the job will be filled.
....and those numbers are, historically, not bad......
It never ceases to amaze me how the media can look at numbers like these, and somehow slant the coverage as negative as they do......
Geographic inflexibility
Given that there is less geographic flexibility for two-income household unemployed (can't move the other spouse or you wind up in the same place you're already in), I think it's surprising that the rate is that low. There may even be some geographic stickiness for Female HH, as they often have a support network they don't want to leave or cannot/choose not to move away from an ex-spouse. This should lead to higher overall unemployment and substantial "under-employment".