The pandemic caused shifts in the American economy, with 3.1 million people leaving the labor force since January 2020. But men and women didn’t leave the labor force at equal rates.
Labor force participation is the number of Americans who are 16 years and older and currently working or looking for work. It is a sum of the unemployed and currently employed population.
About 1.9 million fewer women participated in the labor force in September compared to January 2020, the equivalent of 1.2% of the current labor force. In comparison, about 1.1 million men dropped out of the labor force during that time.
