MSMU RSWG 2023 final - Flipbook - Page 15
EMPLOYMENT
In 2022, monthly unemployment rates have generally trended downward. By December 2022, the
monthly unemployment rate for California women and men was 4%, after reaching a high of 16% in May
2020 early in the pandemic.24
Simultaneously, more California women have decided to stop working since the onset of COVID-19.
From 2019 to 2021, the percentage of non-working women in California rose from 29% to 31%.
FIGURE 1
LABOR FORCE PARTICIPATION AND UNEMPLOYMENT RATES OF CALIFORNIA WOMEN25
WOMEN IN LABOR FORCE
72%
72%
Note: These figures
are for the population
20–64 years of age.
Source: U.S. Census
Bureau, 2019 and 2021
American Community
Survey 1-Year Estimates
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
5%
8%
For working Californians, the pandemic and its ongoing effects have dramatically altered the work
experience and, in some cases, incomes.
One positive outcome of the pandemic: greater work flexibility. In 2019, for example, 7% of women
(and 6% of men) working in California did their jobs remotely.26 In 2020 and 2021, one-third of women
reported working from home. On the other hand, many California women faced the harsh realities of job
loss and reduced work hours, especially in the first couple years of the pandemic.
FIGURE 2
WORK STATUS OF CALIFORNIA WOMEN: PRE-PANDEMIC VS. POST-PANDEMIC27
WOMEN WHO WORKED FULL-TIME
42%
40%
WOMEN WHO WORKED PART-TIME
Note: Each year considers
any work in the preceding 12
months. These figures are for
women 16–64 years of age.
Source: U.S. Census Bureau,
2019 and 2021 American
Community Survey 1-Year
Estimates
29%
29%
WOMEN WHO WERE UNEMPLOYED
29%
31%
For some women, the reduction in income from job loss or reduced work hours was significant; for
others, the experience of working from home brought concerns of division of labor involving housework
and childcare when schools were closed. For women who remained on the job as essential workers —
especially women with families — concerns over coronavirus exposures piled on top of concerns over
childcare and caregiving duties for other family members.
As is often the case in times of crisis, the more financially vulnerable have endured the greatest
impacts of the pandemic. For instance, self-employed Latinas have faced daunting financial stress since
the novel coronavirus arrived. In year one of the pandemic, 76% of self-employed Latinas experienced a
loss of employment income, compared to 61% of White women and 52% of White men.28
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