Hundreds of Thousands of Women Are Leaving the Labor Force—Report

Newsweek

07-07-2025

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
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A new labor market analysis based on June 2025 data revealed that a significant number of women have left the U.S. labor force this year.
According to the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) review of monthly releases from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), 103,000 women aged 20 and over exited the labor force in June, while 163,000 men in the same age group entered.
The data indicate that since January, a net 338,000 women have left the labor force, compared to a net gain of 183,000 men joining it during the same period.
These trends unfolded as the national unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 percent, with job gains primarily noted in the state government and healthcare sectors, and continued losses in federal government positions.
Why It Matters
The exodus of women from the labor force carries significant economic and societal implications, particularly as U.S. workforce participation rates have long served as key indicators of the nation's financial health.
The NWLC pointed out that the June labor force changes were entirely attributable to male workers entering the job market, even as women continued to opt out. Compounding these gender disparities, Black men and women experienced heightened volatility in employment figures.
While the unemployment rate for Black men aged 20 and over surged from 5.2 percent in May to 6.9 percent in June, the rate for Black women declined from 6.2 percent to 5.8 percent, yet remained markedly elevated compared to their white counterparts.
The upward trend in Black women's unemployment since March 2023, following a post-pandemic low of 4.2 percent, signals deeper systemic challenges. Federal sector job cuts and broader labor market pressures appear to be accelerating the disparities.
File photo of a woman working in an office.
File photo of a woman working in an office.
ROBYN BECK/AFP via Getty Images
What To Know
The BLS data showed that all labor force gains in June were among men over the age of 20, with 163,000 joining compared to the 103,000 women who left.
The overall labor force participation rate stood little changed at 62.3 percent. Since January, men have gained 183,000 positions in the labor force while 338,000 women have collectively left their jobs.
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, attributed the exodus of female workers to the broader child care crisis in America.
"It's about economic structures failing, not gender roles," Ryan told Newsweek. "I'd argue we're seeing the real cost of treating child care as a luxury rather than infrastructure. The economy's basically telling half its talent to stay home."
Racial disparities were also visible in the June report. The unemployment rate for Black adults rose to 6.8 percent overall, driven in part by a dramatic increase for Black men, whose rate jumped from 5.2 percent to 6.9 percent in one month.
Black women experienced a slight decline in the unemployment rate, falling from 6.2 percent in May to 5.8 percent in June; however, this remains notably higher than the rates for white women (3.1 percent) and white men (3.4 percent). Despite this drop, the unemployment trend for Black women has moved upward since spring 2023, exceeding pre-pandemic lows.
Roughly 7,000 federal government jobs were lost in June, amounting to a cumulative 69,000 positions eliminated in the federal workforce since January.
Notably, BLS labor force data does not count people on administrative leave or those receiving severance pay as unemployed, so the real impact of layoffs, particularly those reportedly initiated by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), may be underestimated in the official numbers.
The October 2020 analysis by the National Women's Law Center highlighted that at the pandemic's peak, women departed the workforce at four times the rate of men, a phenomenon largely attributed to caregiving burdens and heightened uncertainty in female-dominated sectors, such as hospitality, education and health care.
In just one month in 2020, over 800,000 women aged 20 and over exited the workforce, compared to 216,000 men. This longstanding dynamic continues to influence today's labor trends.
"There's been a renewed push, particularly from the current administration, toward traditional family values. This includes the idea that men should be the primary breadwinners while women stay home to raise children," Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek.
"But there's also a practical, economic factor: the cost of child care. For many families, especially those with multiple children, it's actually more cost-effective for one parent—typically the mother—to stay home rather than pay for expensive child care services."
The 2025 data suggest that, even as traditionally women-populated sectors, such as health care, continue to post job gains, these have not offset broader structural barriers and job losses, particularly in the federal sector.
Deep cuts in departments with historically higher employment of Black women, such as Education, Health and Human Services, and Housing and Urban Development, have eliminated positions that once provided job security and pay equity.
What People Are Saying
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and the founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, told Newsweek: "The numbers don't lie. It's about child care costs and impossible choices. Just look at the countries that have subsidized child care. They all have high levels of female labor force participation.
"The system's forcing women out, not pulling them. In my view, we're watching educated, skilled women get priced out of working because nobody's solved the childcare equation."
Jasmine Tucker, vice president for research at the National Women's Law Center, told Newsweek: "Costs are continuing to rise and the possibility of an upcoming recession is looming on the horizon. Couple that with rising child care prices, with the average family needing to make $180k/year to reasonably afford infant care, and the administration's attacks on the federal child care program Head Start, it's no surprise that women are leaving the labor force."
Keith Spencer, a career expert at FlexJobs, told Newsweek: "Many women are still navigating job markets that lack the flexibility, wages, or caregiving support needed to remain consistently employed long term. The increase in men joining the labor force could reflect growth in male-dominated sectors like construction or manufacturing. Over time, without broader workplace shifts and more flexible work options, we risk reinforcing gender gaps in labor force participation."
Kevin Thompson, the CEO of 9i Capital Group and the host of the 9innings podcast, told Newsweek: "When families are financially penalized for both parents working, it discourages labor force participation. At the same time, we're seeing an increase in male labor force participation, driven in part by the deportation of migrant labor. Many of these roles, especially in physical labor and agriculture, are now being filled by domestic workers, often young men."
What Happens Next
The next Employment Situation report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics is scheduled for release on August 1 at 8:30 a.m. EST, which may provide additional clarity on the trajectory of women's labor force participation and ongoing trends in unemployment.
However, if child care does not become more readily accessible to everyday families, the trends could persist in the coming months.
"We're not just talking about fairness anymore; we're talking about economic suicide," Ryan said. "In my opinion, we're voluntarily shrinking our labor pool during a worker shortage, which is about as economically sensible as burning money for heat."