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Did the COVID-19 recession reduce employment among women more than among men?

By EconoFact
YES

Before COVID-19, the most recent economic recessions in the United States have been “mancessions,” meaning that employment losses were larger for men than women. In contrast, the COVID-19 recession has led to a sharp decline in women’s employment. Women’s unemployment rate rose by 12.8 percentage points between February and April 2020 — 2.9 percentage points larger than men’s increase of 9.9 percentage points. One reason for this disparity is that women account for 74% of employment in high contact occupations (e.g. retail, personal services) that were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. An even more important factor was childcare, as many schools and daycares shut down; 21% of children in the U.S. lived with a single mother in 2017, and among married households, mothers provide more than 60% of total childcare. 

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EconoFact is a non-partisan publication designed to bring key facts and incisive analysis to the national debate on economic and social policies. Launched in January 2017, it is written by leading academic economists from across the country who belong to the EconoFact Network. It is published by the Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World at The Fletcher School at Tufts University.
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