In May, 75.7% of all women age 25-54 were working — a record high

Unusual Whales

Jun 21, 2024 • 1 min read

In May, 75.7% of all women age 25-54 were working — a record high, per Axios.

: In May, 75.7% of all women age 25-54 were working — a record high.

There was also another increase in employment in the childcare sector, which has enabled more women to work, says Julia Pollak, chief economist at ZipRecruiter.
"People are actually able to drop their kids off," she says, adding that for a while some centers would turn away parents on days when they were understaffed.

The big picture: Working-age men's employment rate is hovering around pre-pandemic levels — it was 86.4% in February 2020 and 86% in May 2024.

Reality check: It seems like women have come a long way. But the employment number in May 2024 is only a smidge higher than nearly a quarter-century ago when 74.9% of working-age women were employed.

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