One Year After Brunt of Pandemic Hit, 2 Million Women Remain Missing from U.S. Workforce

Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that the job outlook for men and women in America remains disappointing as a whole, especially for women. While about 355,000 men returned to the workforce in April 2021, the BLS found that about 165,000 women were left behind and stopped looking for work entirely.

“Chabeli Carrazana of nonprofit newsroom The 19th has reported that “one year from the worst economic slump for women in American history, women workers are still struggling to return back to pre-pandemic employment levels as the economic recovery continues to sputter.”

In an interview with Carrazana, Lauren Bauer, a fellow in economic studies at the Brookings Institution, said women as a whole are still struggling as a result of COVID-19.

“They are being held back,” Bauer said. “It is not the case that women are holding back the economy.”

Bauer explained that the problem began in April 2020 when nearly 2.8 million women left the labor force — what is now considered the worst loss of employment for women in a single month since the U.S. started tracking the figures in the 1940s.

“The losses continued after that, and though 1.6 million have since rejoined the workforce, the U.S. economy is still short about 2 million women workers compared with February 2020,” Carrazana reported. ”

One Year After Brunt of Pandemic Hit, 2 Million Women Remain Missing from U.S. Workforce