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Friday, October 9, 2009 2:33 PM
Why there are more jobs for women than men
Chaya Cooperberg
September was a good month for women looking for jobs, according to the latest Statistics Canada report. For men, not so much. Last month’s overall employment gains were among women aged 25 and over (up 41,000 jobs) while employment fell for men aged 25 to 54 (down 17,000 jobs).
Since last October, when the recession set in, the majority of employment losses have been among men. The decline can easily be attributed to weakness in the manufacturing and resource sectors, traditional bastions of male employment. But one economist believes there is more to the story.
“When a man loses a $30 per hour job and what’s on offer is a temporary or contract job at $15 an hour, he may hold out,” says Armine Yalnizyan, senior economist at the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. “A woman is much more likely to roll up her sleeves and just take the job.”
According to Ms. Yalnizyan, this is a trend that has held true in every recession. “Men typically have higher-paying jobs and it's harder to replace those wages. Women are picking up their pace. They’re willing to protect the household budget no matter what it takes.”
To be fair, much of the recent job creation is in areas of the public service sector such as education and health care, where women tend to dominate. Public sector employment grew by 36,000 positions while work in the private sector fell in September.
Still, the numbers behind the Statscan report show that women are taking on a lot of contract and casual work. Many women, especially those over age 55, are turning to self-employment. These jobs are temporary or unpredictable, leaving families with less control over their finances. To Ms. Yalnizyan, the shift in the workforce combined with Canadians’ debt loads is ominous.
“People are overly bridged on home ownership and it’s based on a household budget of two incomes,” she says. With home ownership at record levels, a growing portion of Canadians are wondering whether they can afford to stay in their house. “There is an economic dislocation waiting in the wings,” Ms. Yalnizyan predicts.
Until the private sector recovers and creates new jobs, women are likely to continue to drive employment gains, to support their families’ budgets and hold onto their homes. As long as this trend holds, we’re in for a ‘he-cession’ and a ‘she-covery’.
