Federal Reserve Economic Data

Women have increased their representation in the labor force over time. In this post, we discuss how this process has differed by age group.

The FRED graph above tracks women’s share among the employed for two age groups: 20-24 years old and 35-44 years old. Women in both age groups have increased their share of employment since 1950, although growth slowed considerably after 1990.

In the younger group, women account for about 50% of total employment today, implying that young women are just as likely to work as young men. In the older group, which includes a greater representation of the married population, women account for about 46% of total employment. This smaller share reflects the fact that, within marriages, mothers are still more likely than fathers to specialize in childcare. Still, this share has increased dramatically from its 1950 level of 30%, when it was much more common for women to completely exit the labor force while raising children.

A couple of observations about women in the younger group:

First, their overall increase in employment share was smaller compared with the older group’s, given that younger women are less likely to have children and therefore more likely to be working, even back in the 1950s.

Second, their share declined in the 1950s, which may seem puzzling given the overall upward trend in women’s employment share. This decline was driven by falling labor force participation among younger women. Doepke, Hazan, and Maoz (2015) argue that these young women faced increased labor market competition, prompting them to forgo entry into the workforce in favor of marriage and childrearing, fueling the US baby boom. They explain that this increased competition came from higher labor force participation rates of women that had entered the workforce during World War II.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Employment Level – 35-44 Yrs., Women.” From the “Edit Graph” panel, use the “Edit Line 1” tab’s “Customize Data” option: Use the “Select…” bar to search for and select “Employment Level – 35-44 Yrs., Men” and add the series. In the “Formula” field, type (a/(a+b)) and select “Apply” to create the share of the employed that are females. Under the “Modify Frequency” tab, select “Semiannual” to smooth the timeseries. Now, from the “Add Line” tab, search for and select “Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Women” and repeat the previous steps to add “Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Women/(Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Women + Employment Level – 20-24 Yrs., Men)” to the graph. Last, use the “Format” tab to customize the line colors.

Suggested by Oksana Leukhina and Mickenzie Bass.

The FRED Blog has discussed the impact that shortages in childcare services had on women’s employment during and immediately after the COVID-19 induced recession. Today we discuss the potential role that either remote or hybrid work might play in boosting the participation of women in the labor force.

The FRED graph above shows the labor force participation rate of three groups of women: White women (the solid blue line); Black or African American women (the solid red line); and Hispanic or Latino women (the solid green line). The data are reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and currently do not include information on any other racial or ethnic groups. We limited the date range of the data between Q1 2014 and Q1 2024 and added custom (dotted) lines anchored at the pre-recession peak of Q4 2019 to make the analysis easier.

The bounce-back in the labor force participation rates of women was gradual and, in the case of Black or African American women and Hispanic or Latino women, it exceeded its 2019 peak value. Recent research by Maria Tito at the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System may provide a potential explanation.

Her analysis suggests that women between the ages of 25 and 54 have been capitalizing on the ability to work remotely some or all of the time. Their flows in and out of the labor force and from unemployed to employed status changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. However, the recent rise in the overall labor force participation rate of women mostly reflects gains in occupations that cannot be performed remotely. Thus, even though labor markets are likely to be permanently influenced by remote and hybrid work options, more research into the impact of those options is needed.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for and select “Labor Force Participation Rate – 20 Yrs. & over, White Women” Click on the orange button “Edit Graph.” Select the tab “Add Line” and search for “Labor Force Participation Rate – 20 Yrs. & over, Black or African American Women.” Click on “Add data series” and repeat the previous step to add “Labor Force Participation Rate – 20 Yrs. & over, Hispanic or Latino Women” to the graph. Next, use the “Create user-define line” option to add the horizontal lines. Last, use “Format” tab to customize the line styles.

Suggested by Christina Charie and Diego Mendez-Carbajo.

Today, we compare the labor force participation rate of two groups of women. The FRED graph above shows that the rate for Black women is much more variable than the rate for White women, in both the short term and long term. Here, we’ll concentrate on the latter.

Before the 1990s, the labor force participation rate for White women was increasing at a faster rate than it was for Black women. Around the mid-1990s, the rate for White women began to flatten out; it began to fall after the Great Recession and dropped sharply during the COVID-19 recession. The rate for Black women has had a slightly different pattern after the 1990s, with substantial drops during and after recessions.

Now let’s look at the gap between these participation rates, which was at its lowest in the mid-1990s. Since then, the gap has tended to decrease when the labor force participation rate of Black women has fallen and increase when the rate has risen. Another way to put it is that the participation rate of White women is so stable that it doesn’t influence the gap. An exception is in the mid-2010s, when the rate for Black women flattened but the rate for White women decreased slightly.

How this graph was created: Search FRED for the series “Labor Force Participation Rate – 20 Yrs. & over, Black or African American Women.” Click “Edit Graph” and use the “Add Line” tab to search for and select the data series “Labor Force Participation Rate – 20 Yrs. & over, White Women.” Change the time frame to January 1, 1975, to the present.

Suggested by Victoria Gregory and Kevin Bloodworth.