[New York = E-Daily Seong Joowon Correspondent] While U.S. employment figures for August significantly exceeded expectations, it appears that women accounted for virtually all of the new jobs created. Of the 162,000 new jobs added in August, 158,000 were held by women, accounting for 97.5% of the total. The number of jobs for men increased by only 4,000.

According to an analysis of data from the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) by CNBC on the 4th (local time), the number of jobs held by women increased by 158,000 in August compared to the previous month. During the same period, the number of jobs held by men increased by 4,000—just about one-fortieth of the increase for women.
The gap in the number of jobs held by women and men has also widened to a record high. Laura Ulrich, head of economic research at Indeed Hiring Lab, said, “We are in the midst of a transformation,” adding, “The labor market is changing right before our eyes.”
This trend is not limited to August alone. On a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of employed women has increased by more than 870,000 over the past year. In contrast, the number of employed men decreased by approximately 1.5 million during the same period.
The relatively strong growth in female employment is driven by the characteristics of the sectors currently leading U.S. job growth. The healthcare sector, which has served as the growth engine of the U.S. job market for over a year, continued to add jobs in August. More than 80 percent of healthcare workers are women.
Employment in local government and education also rose significantly in August. These sectors added 42,000 jobs, accounting for about a quarter of all new hires. Women also make up about 75% of the workforce in education, training, and library-related occupations.
The increase in female employment is not limited to industries with a high proportion of women. In this employment report, Director Ulrich explained that strong employment growth among women was also evident in traditionally male-dominated sectors, such as manufacturing.
Differences were also evident in unemployment rates. The unemployment rate for women in August was 3.9%, down 0.4 percentage points from a year ago. In contrast, the unemployment rate for men stood at 4.4%, unchanged from a year ago.

However, experts caution against interpreting these figures as evidence that labor market conditions for women have improved overall.
Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, pointed out that because monthly employment figures by gender are highly volatile, attention should be focused on long-term trends rather than a single month’s data. She explained that, in the long term, a phenomenon known as the “mom-cession”—where mothers with young children leave the labor market—is also emerging.
The quality of jobs going to women also warrants scrutiny. Director Ulrich analyzed that, given women’s wages are lower on average than men’s, the increase in women’s share of employment could signal that companies are hiring primarily for relatively low-wage jobs. Since women are relatively more likely to hold multiple jobs, some of the employment growth may stem from a single person juggling several jobs simultaneously.
Ulrich noted, “One might look at this and say, ‘This is good news for women,’” but added, “Overall, I don’t think this is necessarily a positive story for women.”