Employment Rates
For the White, Black, and Hispanic populations, the employment rate is about 1 percentage point lower than the pre-pandemic Feb 2020 level.
Employment rate by race/ethnicity, U.S.
Jan 2008 - Sep 2022
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: The employment rate is officially known as the “employment-population ratio.” Here it is calculated for the population 16 years and older. Data is seasonally adjusted.
At 60.1%, the September employment rate is hovering about 1 percentage point below the pre-pandemic February 2020 level. Among people 16 years of age and older, the employment rate is down 0.9 points for the Black population, 1.3 points for the White population, and 1.5 points for the Hispanic population. It is up 0.8 points for the Asian population.
The U.S. economy is rapidly growing jobs, yet not all adults are able to work. Among other barriers, experts estimate that as many as 4 million workers are sidelined each month because of Long Covid symptoms (Long Covid Estimates).1 Even for those with employment, annual wage growth in September (5%) has not kept up with inflation (8.2%) — but corporate profits have not been squeezed.2,3 Instead, profits have grown from $3.2 trillion in Q3 2021 to $3.5 trillion in Q2 2022 — indicating that corporations have capacity to pay higher wages without contributing to inflation.4,5 Meanwhile, many families are struggling to pay for food and housing (Likelihood of Eviction or Foreclosure, Food Insecurity).
Employment rate by sex, U.S.
Jan 2008 - Sep 2022
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics. Note: The employment rate is officially known as the “employment-population ratio.” Here it is calculated for the population 20 years and older. Data is seasonally adjusted.
The employment rate is down 1.1 points for men and 1.2 percentage points for women compared to the pre-pandemic February 2020 level. The female employment rate remains about 12 percentage points below the male employment rate.
Child care and elder care remain significant impediments to women’s ability to return to work. From late July through early August, over 1 million parents didn’t look for work due to lack of child care (Child Care Disruptions). Women are twice as likely as men to point to child care responsibilities as their barrier to seeking work.1
But child and elder care are in short supply in the U.S. Together, these industries have 500,000 fewer jobs than in February 2020.2,3 Yet, without sufficient child care and elder care, many women will remain unable to work. The U.S. federal government invests significantly less in child care than other wealthy nations: only $500 per child 0-2 years old in the U.S. compared to an average of $14,000 annually.4,5,6 It is not surprising then, that, in other developed countries, women have higher labor force participation rates.7
“New data shows long Covid is keeping as many as 4 million people out of work”. Bach. Brookings. August, 2022. https://www.brookings.edu/research/new-data-shows-long-covid-is-keeping-as-many-as-4-million-people
“United States Core Inflation Rates (1957-2022)”. U.S. Inflation Calculator. https://www.usinflationcalculator.com/inflation/united-states-core-inflation-rates/
“Average Hourly Earnings of All Employees, Total Private”. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES0500000003
“National income: Corporate profits before tax (without IVA and CCAdj)”. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/A053RC1Q027SBEA
“Concentrated Power, Concentrated Harm”. Brumfield, Tesfaselassie, Geary, and Aneja. Georgetown Law Center on Poverty and Inequality. March, 2022. https://www.georgetownpoverty.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/ConcentratedPowerConcentratedHarm-March2022.pdf
"Childcare Weighs on Job Search For Unemployed Women”. Konkel. Hiring Lab. March, 2022. https://www.hiringlab.org/2022/03/08/job-search-gender-survey-childcare/
“All Employees, Child Day Services”. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES6562440001
“All Employees, Nursing and Residential Care Facilities”. FRED. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/CES6562300001
“How Other Nations Pay for Child Care. The U.S. Is an Outlier”. Miller. The New York Times. October, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/06/upshot/child-care-biden.html
“How do early childhood education systems differ around the world?” OECD Library. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/sites/b35a14e5-en/1/3/3/2/index.html?itemId=/content/publication/b35a14e5-en&_csp_=9689b83a12cab1f95b32a46f4225d1a5&itemIGO=oecd&itemContentType=book#tablegrp-d1e13905
“Increasing Federal Investment in Children’s Early Care and Education to Raise Quality, Access, and Affordability”. Davis, Sojourner. The Hamilton Project. May, 2021. https://www.hamiltonproject.org/assets/files/Child_Care_PP_final.pdf
“LFS by sex and age”. OECD. https://stats.oecd.org/viewhtml.aspx?datasetcode=LFS_SEXAGE_I_R&lang=en#
