More women are working than ever, but the story is more complicated than that

Women’s labor force participation has rebounded to record levels, but job quality and pay still lags. The National Partnership for Women & Families says 78.5% of women between the ages of 25 to 54 are either working or looking for work, slightly above the all-time high in the summer of 2024. It also notes, however, that women’s unemployment is 3.9%, higher than it was two years ago, while those who are changing jobs are taking pay cuts. Women have gained 600,000 jobs since August 2024, but almost a quarter of those are in leisure and hospitality, the lowest-paid sector of the economy. The organization notes that women in a recent University of Michigan survey gave historically low ratings to President Trump’s economic policies.