Unemployment - Women

Unemployment - Women in United States

United States

Unemployment has both direct and indirect impacts on health. A stable and well-paying job helps make it possible for people to afford living in areas with access to healthy food, quality medical services and child care and education for their families — all vital elements in maintaining good health. Unemployment can also mean losing access to health insurance, as most people have employer-sponsored insurance.

There is a strong relationship between employment status and mental health. Unemployment may lead to lower self-esteem, higher levels of depression and strained family ties. The effects of job loss are not limited to the individual: Studies have shown a profound effect on impacted families and children. Unemployment is associated with a higher risk of all-cause mortality for those in their early and middle careers. 

High unemployment rates increase the economic burden on states due to decreased revenue from income taxes and increased demand for unemployment insurance and social welfare programs. 

The COVID-19 pandemic led to a large increase in the number of unemployed individuals in the United States, with notable impacts on women. Between February 2020 and February 2021, women disproportionately left the labor force, making up more than half of the total workforce loss despite comprising less than half of the U.S. workforce. Women are returning to work, however, and as of March 2023, women’s employment was 0.5% above the pre-pandemic level.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the prevalence of unemployment is higher among:

• Younger women ages 16-19 compared with women ages 20 and older.
• Hispanic and Black women compared with Asian and white women.
• Women with less than a high school diploma; unemployment rates decrease as educational attainment increases.

Different strategies exist to reduce the unemployment rate, especially for women. Women are disproportionately burdened with caretaking responsibilities for children and other family members, and the lack of affordable child care or supportive policies, such as paid family and medical leave, can make it difficult to maintain full-time or stable work. Decreasing the unemployment rate and increasing the number of working women requires serious investments in supportive care infrastructure, labor protections and equitable wages and benefits.

Healthy People 2030 tracks different measures of economic stability, including increasing employment among the working-age population ages 16-64.

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Nikolova, Milena, and Boris N. Nikolaev. “Family Matters: The Effects of Parental Unemployment in Early Childhood and Adolescence on Subjective Well-Being Later in Life.” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 181 (May 26, 2018): 312–31. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jebo.2018.05.005.

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