Women and Men in Recession

1. WOMEN IN RECESSION AND RECOVERYIWPR RoundtableMay 11, 2011Eileen AppelbaumCenter for Economic and Policy Research

2. Women and Men in Recession • Job losses steepest, most prolonged in 60 years • 6% of payroll jobs lost at worst point, compared with 3% in 1981 recession, less in other recessions • Down more than 8.7 million jobs from Dec. 2007 to Feb 2010 • -8.8 mil. private sector jobs, + 1 mil. public sector jobs • ‘Mancession’ – men lost 69%, women 31% of jobs • Declines almost evenly split between goods-producing and private services producing sectors

3. Women and Men in Recovery • Recovery has been slow • Since bottom in February 2010 • Employment up by less than 1.8 million –anemic for both men and women • Have regained only one in six lost jobs. • But men have fared noticeably better than women\ • 81% of new jobs have gone to men, 19% to women. • Men have recovered a fifth (21%) of lost jobs • Women have gained back a tenth (9%) of lost jobs

4. What Explains Disparities in Recession? • Despite progress in last 30 years, many men and women still work in different sectors • At onset of recession • Women held 49% of all non-farm payroll jobs • But 29% in manufacturing and 13% in construction • Industries hardest hit by the recession • Held 77% of jobs in education and health services • Before recession, this was among industries with most robust employment growth

5. What Explains Disparities in Recession? • As employment collapsed, education and health services added 844,000 jobs • Home health care, nursing homes each added 95,000 jobs • Expansion of Medicaid as workers lost jobs and health insurance supported jobs in health care • Women also held 57% of public sector jobs • sector added 97,000 jobs. • Result: overall women lost 2.7 million jobs, but losses less severe than for men

6. What Explains Disparities in Recovery? • Nearly 1.8 million new jobs since Feb. 2010 • 81% have gone to men, 19% to women • Men have gained back 263,000 jobs in mfg • 14% of the jobs they lost in this sector • Have ceased losing jobs in construction • Women still losing jobs in both sectors

7. What Explains Disparities in Recovery? • Education and health services • Men held 23% of jobs, but gained 37% of jobs created in last 14 months • Overall in the private sector • Women held 53% of the jobs but account for only a third of those gained since the labor market began to recover

8. What Explains Disparities in Recovery? • Big story is the public sector • Held up reasonably well during contraction when private sector jobs were being lost • Has defied the recovery • Employment has declined by 284,000 jobs since Feb 2010 • All of them at the state and local levels • Three-quarters due to jobs lost by women • Most lost in local government • 135,000 in local education (mainly K-12 teachers) • 122,000 lost in other local government jobs

9. Public Sector Job Declines Set to Accelerate • In 2009, federal government gave states nearly $60 billion as part of the stimulus package, another $25 billion in August 2010 • Helped local governments avoid job cuts • Funds have now been spent • Assault on govt. workers, teachers intensifying • Many governors plan cuts in public education in next fiscal year (begins in most states on July 1, 2011) • Local governments facing shortfalls • News for women will get worse as pink slips go out at end of school year

10. Recovery is Sputtering • GDP growth down significantly from 3.1% in Q4 of 2010 to just 1.8% in Q1 of this year • Despite April’s gain of 244,000 payroll jobs, labor market remains weak • Unemployment increased to 9 percent • Jobs and growth will drive the 2012 elections • Maintaining deafening silence on job creation will cost the President – and the country – dearly.