Men Have Gained Essentially No Jobs Since Trump Took Office, With Nearly All of About 760,000 New Jobs Going to Women, per Payroll Data
Men have gained essentially no jobs since President Donald Trump took office, per government payroll data.
Since December 2024, the United States has added about 760,000 jobs, and nearly all of them went to women.
The figures come from an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics Current Employment Statistics data by Mike Konczal, director of policy and research at the Economic Security Project.
The Numbers Behind the Split
In December 2024, there were 79,332,000 men employed in the Current Employment Statistics survey, and in August 2026 there were 79,326,000, a decline of 6,000.
Over the same period, overall employment rose by 759,000, and women's payroll employment rose by roughly 765,000.
That means women accounted for more than 100% of net job growth over the stretch, and 82% of it over the past 12 months alone in the same analysis of the August employment report.
The most recent month reinforced the pattern. The economy added a surprise 162,000 jobs in August, and 158,000 of them went to women.
By contrast, the gender split across 2023 and 2024 was much more balanced, at 53% women, per Konczal.
One Sector Explains Most of It
This is overwhelmingly a story about which industries grew, not about women taking a larger share inside every industry.
Since Trump took office, private education and health services added 1,029,000 jobs, against an economy-wide gain of 759,000. That sector is 77% female, so it more than accounts for all net job growth on its own, per Konczal.
Konczal's shift-share analysis found 84% or more of women's gains came from the between-industries effect: industries that employ more women growing faster. Only a small share came from women gaining ground within industries, and at a deeper industry cut that within effect was slightly negative.
Job growth was essentially flat in 2025, with health care hiring canceling out losses in federal employment after DOGE, in trade, transportation and manufacturing after the tariffs, and in professional and business services, per the analysis.
In August alone, restaurants and bars added 59,000 jobs and local government education added 42,000, together nearly two-thirds of the month's total gain, and both are sectors with heavily female workforces, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics report cited in the analysis.
Trump Highlighted the Headline Himself
The statistic has already entered the political fight.
President Trump posted "No wonder they like me!!! President DJT" on Truth Social in response to a headline about the figures, per Konczal, and the Daily Wire and the Daily Beast have both covered the trend.
Konczal's point is the opposite spin: an administration that promised a revival of male-coded industries has not delivered job growth in them, while health care and education carried the entire net gain.
Even starting the clock later does not change the picture much. Starting last November, men got only 11% of the jobs, and starting in March, only 9%, per the analysis.
What It Means for Markets
For traders, the composition of job growth matters as much as the headline number, because it tells you where consumer income is actually being created.
A labor market carried by health care and education is steadier but slower-growing than one led by manufacturing and construction, and it points to defensive rather than cyclical strength. Watch SPY flow around each monthly Employment Situation report for how the market prices that mix.
Tech and growth exposure is the other side of the trade when professional and business services hiring stays soft. QQQ options activity tends to react first when a jobs report changes rate expectations.
Labor-sensitive consumer names are also in focus. If payroll growth is concentrated in lower-turnover service sectors while trade, transportation and manufacturing shed jobs, discretionary spending breadth stays narrow, a pattern traders can track in retail and restaurant flow into the holidays.
The Bottom Line
About 759,000 net jobs since December 2024, roughly 765,000 of them to women, and men's employment down 6,000: the entire net gain in the U.S. labor market under Trump has come from women, and mostly from one 77% female sector, health care and education.
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