WOMEN IN RECESSION AND RECOVERY IWPR Roundtable May 11, 2011 Eileen Appelbaum Center for Economic and Policy Research

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 to Feb 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

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

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

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

What Explains Disparities in Recovery? Nearly 1.8 million new jobs since Feb –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

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

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

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

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.