United States: women now hold more jobs than men

In the United States, women now hold more jobs than men. For the first time, this shift could represent a point of no return for the economy.

The US labour market has just reached a historic milestone. Women now account for a greater overall number of jobs than men, wiping out an employment gap of several million that had been recorded since the 1990s. Of the 1.2 million jobs created between 2024 and 2026, two-thirds went to women workers.

This has happened twice before: briefly during the Great Recession of 2009–2010, and again just before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2019. On both occasions, however, the recovery quickly reversed the trend. This time, the pattern appears different.

Economists believe this is not merely a temporary, crisis-related development, but a lasting structural trend. The change is primarily being driven by a long-term fall in men’s participation in the labour market. Men’s labour-force participation rate has fallen from 86.7% in 1948 to 67.2% today.

58% of graduates are women

At the same time in the United States, women now make up nearly 58% of students in higher education and earn a substantial majority of bachelor’s and master’s degrees.

The strongest job growth is also concentrated in particular sectors, including healthcare, social care and education. These fast-growing fields require qualifications that women are obtaining in large numbers.

By contrast, traditionally male-dominated industries such as manufacturing, technology and finance are stagnating or contracting. Young men are therefore less well prepared, in educational terms, for the real needs of today’s labour market.

Fewer men are choosing to enter the labour market

With each passing decade, fewer men are choosing to join or remain in the labour market, with younger generations particularly affected by the decline. A number of factors help explain the shift. Extended financial support from families, the influence of digital leisure activities such as video games, and alternative lifestyles are all profoundly changing the make-up of households.

According to economists, the current situation is coming close to a point of no return.

What about France?

According to figures from France’s National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies (Insee), the overall labour force comprises around 31.4 million people: 15.3 million women and 16.1 million men. Of these, around 14.2 million women are in employment, compared with 14.9 million men.

The employment rate among 15–64-year-olds stands at roughly 72% for men, versus about 67% for women. While women’s participation in the labour market continues to rise steadily, the historic reversal seen in the United States has not occurred in France.