Labor Stats Provide More Info on Women

March 26, 2010

As Kyla Bender-Baird writes at the National Council for Research on Women, the Bureau of Labor Statistics has expanded its monthly employment situation releases to include greater gender disaggregation, which provides loads more insight into the state of women's employment. BLS has also added more comprehensive information on veterans, people with disabilities, and foreign-born workers. Newly available information includes:

Foreign born women have an unemployment rate of 10.6% compared to 8.2% for native born women.
Single women with children have an unemployment rate of 12.3% compared to 5.8% for married women.
Women veterans experience higher unemployment rates than veteran men. In January 2010, the unemployment rate for women veterans was 11.2% compared to 9.4% for veteran men. Furthermore, the unemployment rate for women veterans has risen faster in the past year. From January 2009 to January 2010, veteran men’s unemployment rose from 7.5% to 9.4% while women veteran’s rate rose from 6.6% to 11.2%.
Women are slightly more likely to hold multiple jobs than men. 5.4% of employed women hold multiple jobs compared to 4.5% of employed men.

These new numbers are invaluable – the ability to track labor so meticulously, and include gender-specific data, helps provide the comprehensive information needed for comprehensive change. One of the greatest change-makers of the day is Progressive Women's Voices alumna Latifa Lyles, the Deputy Director of the Women's Bureau at the U.S. Department of Labor; the only part of the Federal government specifically tasked with improving the lives of working women. And in the spirit of accurate information, fill out your Census form, folks!

Tags: Economy