The Unemployment Gender Gap During the 2007 Recession

7 Pages Posted: 31 Mar 2010

See all articles by Aysegul Sahin

Aysegul Sahin

Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Joseph Song

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of New York

Bart Hobijn

ASU

Date Written: February 1, 2010

Abstract

Women fared decidedly better than men during the most recent recession. By August 2009, the unemployment rate for men had hit 11.0 percent, while that for women held at 8.3 percent. This 2.7 percentage point unemployment gender gap - the largest in the postwar era - appears to reflect two factors: First, men were much more heavily represented in the industries that suffered the most during the downturn. Second, there was a much sharper increase in the percentage of men who - prompted, perhaps, by a decline in household liquidity - rejoined the labor force but failed to find a job.

Keywords: Labor Market, Gender Differences

JEL Classification: E24, J22

Suggested Citation

Sahin, Aysegul and Song, Joseph and Hobijn, Bart, The Unemployment Gender Gap During the 2007 Recession (February 1, 2010). Current Issues in Economics and Finance, Vol. 16, No. 2, February 2010, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1582525 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1582525

Aysegul Sahin (Contact Author)

Federal Reserve Bank of New York ( email )

33 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10045
United States

Joseph Song

Federal Reserve Banks - Federal Reserve Bank of New York ( email )

33 Liberty Street
New York, NY 10045
United States

Bart Hobijn

ASU ( email )

501 E. Orange Street
Tempe, AZ 85287-9801
United States
(480)-965-0215 (Phone)

HOME PAGE: http://www.barthobijn.net

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