The US jobs recovery finally picked up steam again in October, but not everyone is benefiting: Many women who were forced to drop out of the labor force during the pandemic are still on the sidelines.
How to get them back could be a question on lawmakers' minds for years to come.As of October, the labor force participation rate for women was still nearly 2 percentage points below its pre-pandemic level. The number of women not in the labor force was nearly 3 million higher than before the pandemic.
Economists were hopeful there would be a reversal of the trend this September as many schools reopened and vaccinations helped the nation return to a modicum of normalcy. But there was no rush of women back into the job market this fall.How will we get the women back?While many workers on the sidelines are there because of care responsibilities, the pandemic has also led many people to rethink their job choices. The record-high quits rate in August was proof of that.