This story was published in partnership with The 19th, a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom reporting on gender, politics and policy.
The nation’s first female recession deepened in September: More women left the labor force than the total number of jobs the country added last month.
About 865,000 women dropped out of the workforce, compared to 216,000 men. Overall, the United States job market added 661,000 jobs between August and September, according to the latest jobs report released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics Friday.
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The figure captures the enduring challenges faced by women who make up the majority of the workforce in fields that have been hardest hit by social distancing and COVID-19 – particularly retail and hospitality – and the ongoing dissolution of the child care industry that has left many working mothers without