WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that 678,000 jobs were added in February. The overall unemployment rate edged down to 0.2 percentage points to 3.8%. The unemployment rate for women held steady at 3.6%. Overall, labor force participation edged up slightly to 62.3% while women’s labor force participation ticked down slightly to 58%.
According to revisions, the U.S. economy added 92,000 jobs in December and January – still 2.1 million jobs (1.4%) below pre-pandemic levels.
Patrice Onwuka, director of the Center for Economic Opportunity (CEO) at Independent Women’s Forum, issued the following statement:
“This is a great jobs report and credit is due to a resilient economy emerging from the pandemic and the heavy-handed government responses to it.
“Women’s employment is accelerating thanks to common-sense policies such as returning to in-person learning. Half a million more women have been employed since November 2021. Hiring in the leisure and hospitality industries is booming and, because women are concentrated in these industries, they can find ample opportunities likely at higher pay than before they left the workforce.
“In addition, Americans are spending down all of the economic stimulus payments and benefits that Washington flooded their homes with over the past two years–regardless of their actual need. Giving cash with no strings attached and then wondering why people choose not to work is not leadership, but irresponsibility. An economy that works for everyone means everyone, who can, should work.”
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