The U.S. jobs report for September showed a net increase of only 29,000 jobs, falling short of the expected 84,000. Notably, women have outnumbered men in the workforce for eight consecutive months, the longest streak since 2010, as analyzed by Indeed.
Cory Stahle, a senior economist at Indeed, noted that this trend differs from past occurrences where men lost jobs; currently, it is due to women gaining employment. While men accounted for just over half of the net job growth in September, their overall employment has decreased by approximately 1.2 million compared to the previous year.
In contrast, women's employment rose by over 650,000 during the same period. The disparity in job growth can be attributed to the industries that are expanding, particularly health care, where women constitute nearly 80% of the workforce. However, health care hiring slowed in September, which may have limited the job gains for women compared to previous months.
Additionally, job losses in female-dominated sectors like government further diluted the overall gains for women in the labor market