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Raw data: Men and women after the pandemic

Enough time has now passed that we can take a good look at how men and women responded to getting back to work after the pandemic:

In 2016 women began entering the workforce at a higher rate than men. At the start of the pandemic, however, they lost more than men: a 4.6 point drop in labor participation compared to a 3.2 point drop for men.

After the pandemic they more than made this up. As of now, women have returned to their pre-pandemic participation rate (77% of women are currently in the labor force) while men are still at their 2013 rate (88%).

In 1960, women participated in the labor force at 43% of the rate of men (42% vs. 97%). Today it's an 87% ratio (77% vs. 88%). This is due to a steady decline in work among men and a steady increase among women.¹

¹Until 2000, anyway, when women's participation flattened out.

1 thought on “Raw data: Men and women after the pandemic

  1. ddoubleday

    That's Rate of Change in Rate, not a Rate. I quickly glanced at that and thought that women had a higher participation rate than men, until I read your text.

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