In the past, women have been less attached to the labor force and had higher turnover rates than men. Women were more likely to be new entrants or reentrants to the labor force.

1

• In the past, women have been less attached to the
  labor force and had higher turnover rates than
  men. Women were more likely to be new entrants
  or reentrants to the labor force.
• They were, therefore, more likely to be
  frictionally unemployed as they searched for jobs.

2

• On the other hand, unemployed women are more
  likely to drop out of the labor force than men,
  especially during recessions. (So the
  unemployment rate of women rises less than that
  of men during recessions.)
• They are then counted as out of the labor force
  instead of unemployed.

3

• Women are more likely to be employed in the
  service sector, which has a higher unemployment
  rate than some sectors.
• Men, however, are more likely to be employed in
  blue-collar jobs and in durable manufacturing,
  where there are more layoffs and also high
  unemployment rates.
• There is greater cyclical variation in employment
  in blue-collar jobs and in durable manufacturing,
  with employment increasing more in economic
  upswings and declining more in downturns.
• On balance, the occupational distribution appears
  to lower the female unemployment rate relative to
  the male rate.

4

• Prior to 1980, the net effect of these opposing
  forces was that womens unemployment rates were
  higher than mens.
• Beginning in the 1980s, womens unemploy-ment
  rates have been about the same as mens and,
  during recessions, even lower.

5
Some Possible Reasons for this Change

• There has been an increase in womens labor force
  attachment, which has reduced their turnover rate
  relative to mens.
• The disproportionately female service sector has
  expanded relative to the disproportionately male
  manufacturing sector.
• A smaller cohort of young people has reduced the
  number of individuals competing with women for
  entry-level jobs.

6

• Regarding part-time for economic reasons, a
  larger proportion of women than men are
  involuntary part-time workers.
• The reasons here are not clear and may be either
  supply or demand based.