Opinion: Women are back: Labor force participation at new high

We know that pandemic-era job losses disproportionately impacted female workers. Some dubbed the crisis a “shecession.” But as the economy has recovered and the job market heated up, the number of female workers in the market has bounced back.

The labor force participation rate among women considered to be prime working age – in their mid-20s to mid-50s – reached an all-time high in May. At 77.6% employed, that’s the highest percentage recorded for women in this age range, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A look at the last decade shows steady increases in the labor force participation rate, from 74% at the beginning of 2013 to 77% in February 2020. After the COVID-19 pandemic’s arrival in March 2020, the rest of the year averaged a labor force participation rate of 74.7%.

This loss of workers during the COVID-19 era was an area of major concern with no precedence for knowing if or when these workers would return. Some reasons for the dip in workforce participation included women needing to care for children or other relatives and the fact that some of the industries hardest hit by the pandemic are staffed mostly by women, according to the BLS.

This steady boost in women returning to the workforce is great news as the unemployment rate somehow continues to decline. Springfield’s metro area hit a record low of 2.1% in May, according to the BLS. Area employers certainly need the talent.

For decades, women have made great strides in boosting their numbers in the workforce. Consider that since 1980, the number of women in that prime working age category has jumped by nearly 50% to roughly 64 million workers earlier this year, according to the St. Louis Federal Reserve.

Women 55 and older also make a significant impact on the workforce. The Center for American Progress reports 1 in 10 workers today is a woman aged 55 and up. A fact sheet from the policy institute says gains in this segment of the workforce reflect important demographic trends, including an increased population as well as growing educational attainment among women, which can lead to a stronger labor force attachment.

Women with children also have seen job gains. Comparing December 2022 to a year prior, roughly 993,000 more mothers were working, according to data from the Minnesota Population Center at the University of Minnesota. But still, having young children at home tends to affect women’s roles in the workforce more than men in heterosexual couples. The Minnesota Population Center finds women are five to eight times more likely to have their employment affected by caregiver responsibilities compared with men.

In an interview with the Marketplace public service newsroom, Rose Khattar from the Center for American Progress said the tight labor market impacting competition for workers and increased flexibility at work are driving recovery.

Although women have bounced back to new heights in labor force participation, the work is certainly not done to fully tap into this resource. And the work is certainly not done in addressing pay equity, increasing opportunities for advancement and tackling the barriers that keep women who want to work from doing so. This tight labor market is not going away and changes in population may heat up these challenges. As a nation and a community, innovation in these areas will be key to success.

But at least for today, the good news is women bounced back from the so-called shecession faster than the pundits and economists expected. Never underestimate the power of women.

Springfield Business Journal Executive Editor Christine Temple can be reached at ctemple@sbj.net.