Female Unemployment At 25-Year High

Fawcett Society found men are benefitting more from newly-created jobs

Business woman looking depressed
Business woman looking depressed
(Image credit: REX)

Fawcett Society found men are benefitting more from newly-created jobs

Women’s unemployment is rising to a 25-year peak, while the number of unemployed men is decreasing, leading to a 'female unfriendly' labour market.

The Fawcett Society, who campaign for gender equality on pay, pensions, poverty, justice and politics, found there are almost three times as many women as men who have become long-term unemployed since 2010 - 103,000 women and 37,000 men.

Women have already suffered the most from cuts to the public-sector workforce, but with more yet to come, improvements seem unlikely in the near future. If the government’s plans for job growth continue, almost 1.5 million women could be unemployed by 2018.

Ceri Goddard, the Fawcett Society’s chief executive, said: 'The labour market is in the midst of enormous change. Almost a million jobs are being cut from the public sector but the government's various plans for growth continue to leave many women behind, with the majority of new jobs being created in the private sector going to men.

'At the same time, those women who do find work in this sector are likely to face lower wages and a wider gender pay gap', she added.

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