Wednesday, Oct. 20, 2021
Did the COVID-19 recession reduce employment among women more than among men?
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.
This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
- Crowd Counting Consortium Real-Time Population Survey
- University of Pittsburgh Household Insurance and the Macroeconomic Impact of the Novel Corona Virus
- EconoFact Widening Socioeconomic Differences in Children’s Family Structure
- National Bureau of Economic Research The Impact of COVID-19 on Gender Equality
About fact briefs
Fact briefs are bite-sized, well-sourced explanations that offer clear "yes" or "no" answers to questions, confusions, and unsupported claims circulating online. They rely on publicly available data and documents, often from the original source. Fact briefs are written and published by Gigafact contributor publications.
See all fact briefs
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.
Learn MoreLatest Fact Briefs
Would stopping government overspending ‘end’ post-COVID inflation?
Monday, Feb. 3, 2025
Has the Pentagon failed its 7th audit in a row?
Friday, Dec. 20, 2024
Does most US aid to Ukraine go to US companies and workers?
Friday, Dec. 6, 2024