WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
  • Women outnumbered men in the workforce for eight straight months through September, the longest such stretch since 2010.
  • U.S. payrolls grew by 29,000 jobs in September, far below economists’ consensus forecast of 84,000.
  • Employed men declined by about 1.2 million from a year earlier, while women’s employment increased by more than 650,000.
  • Health care growth favored women, though slower hiring and government contraction limited their September gains.

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Friday’s weaker than expected jobs report landed with an especially bleak message for men. September payroll growth missed economists’ consensus forecast, while broader employment figures showed men losing substantial ground compared with a year earlier.

Women outnumbered men in the workforce for eight straight months as of September, according to Indeed’s analysis of government data. The job search platform said that was the longest continuous stretch since 2010.

“Back then, the gap emerged because men were losing jobs,” said Cory Stahle, senior economist at Indeed. “This time, it’s because women are gaining them.”

That distinction matters because the current divide does not simply reflect men shedding positions in the same pattern Indeed identified in 2010. Instead, Stahle pointed to employment gains among women as the force behind the latest eight month run.

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Across the labor market, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday that U.S. payrolls grew by a net 29,000 jobs in September. That fell well short of the consensus forecast from economists for an increase of 84,000.

The September expansion therefore amounted to just over one third of the expected gain. Within that limited growth, however, men performed better than they had during the previous month.

Men accounted for slightly more than half of net job growth in September, according to a CNBC analysis of Friday’s Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That represented a sharp monthly improvement in their share of new positions.

One month earlier, men represented only 2% of payroll growth. The September figure gave men a larger piece of the month’s employment increase, but it did not reverse the much weaker annual picture.

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The seasonally adjusted number of employed men in the United States was about 1.2 million lower in September than it had been one year earlier. That decline persisted despite men capturing slightly more than half of September’s net job gains.

Women moved in the opposite direction during the same annual period. Their employment increased by more than 650,000, widening the contrast between the two groups and helping explain why women continued to outnumber men in the workforce.

The industries generating jobs offer part of the explanation for the divide, according to Stahle. Employment growth has been concentrated in areas where women represent a particularly large share of the workforce.

Health care has served as a key driver of the U.S. job market for the last several years. In September alone, the sector accounted for more than half of the overall expansion in payrolls.

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Women make up nearly four of every five workers in health care. Growth in that sector has therefore provided a significant source of employment opportunities in a field where women already hold the overwhelming majority of positions.

Even so, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said health care hiring slowed in September compared with its average pace over the previous year. That deceleration limited the sector’s contribution during an already weak month for overall payroll growth.

Because health care added jobs more slowly, women may not have received as large a lift from the sector as they did in earlier months. The slowdown helps explain why men still captured slightly more than half of September’s modest net increase.

Government employment also contracted during the month, according to the report. Stahle said the decline in industries with largely female workforces, including government, reduced women’s overall employment gains for September.

The monthly figures thus offered men a somewhat larger share of a weak payroll increase, but the annual comparison remained stark. Men were down about 1.2 million employed workers, while women had gained more than 650,000 over the same period.

DISCLAIMER: GoldInvestors.news is not a registered investment, legal or tax advisor or broker/dealer. All investment/financial opinions expressed by GoldInvestors.news are from the personal research and experience of the owner of the site and are intended as educational material. Although best efforts are made to ensure that all information is accurate and up to date, occasionally unintended errors and misprints may occur.