The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) monthly jobs report shows that 321,000 women ages 20 and over joined the labor force in December, meaning they are newly working or looking for work. 105,000 men ages 20 and over left the labor force last month. Even with women joining the labor force in December, women’s labor force participation was still just 57.8% last month, up from 57.5% in November 2021. This remains well below their pre-pandemic labor force participation rate of 59.3% in February 2020. Before the pandemic started, women’s labor force participation rate had not been as low as 57.8% since 1991.
Note: NWLC’s monthly jobs day analyses are generally not updated after publication and are provided for archival purposes. Please visit our main jobs day page for the most up-to-date analyses.