The Labor Department reported Friday that the unemployment rate rose to 4.4%, with 92,000 jobs lost in February.
The unemployment rate for women remained flat at 4.1% in the first two months of this year, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Still, the spike in unemployment among Hispanic or Latina women and black women has been significant, with their unemployment rates rising to 5% and 7.1%, experts say.
Significant wage disparities for women, particularly women of color, also contribute to the widening gap between high-income earners and low- and middle-income earners in the so-called “K-shaped” economy.
“The pay gap for women is 81 cents for every dollar earned by men, but the gap is particularly large for women of color: 65 cents for Black women, 58 cents for Latina women, and 58 cents for Native American women,” said Vasu Reddy, national policy director for workplace justice at the National Women’s Law Center, a nonprofit organization that advocates for women’s legal rights.
As a result, “women’s purchasing power decreases,” she says. “How much you can pay is directly determined by your wages.”
Wage increases for women have fallen
Women will enter the U.S. labor market in 2025, increasing employment at nearly three times the rate of men last year, reversing the trend of the past three years, according to a new report from the Bank of America Research Institute. The analysis showed that this increase was driven by an increase in jobs in private education and health care, with 77% of these jobs held by women.
But experts say these job increases haven’t translated into higher salaries.
“This is a phenomenon called occupational segregation,” Reddy said. “Women are disproportionately in the lowest-paying jobs, so you know, they’re pushed into those careers and pushed out of male-dominated careers, which in turn leads to lower wages in female-dominated occupations.”
Wage growth rates for men and women also declined as the number of vacant positions decreased. An analysis by the Bank of America Research Institute shows that the so-called “job change premium,” or the extra pay that workers typically receive when changing jobs, is decreasing. Women’s pay increases are less than half of what they were in 2019.
Gloria Garcia Cisneros, a certified financial planner and wealth manager at Lord Murray in Los Angeles, said it’s important for women to be assertive in salary negotiations and to review compensation regularly.
“Salary negotiations are an important driver, especially if you’re considering changing jobs or companies, and that’s when you can have the most impact,” said Cisneros, who is also a member of the CNBC Financial Advisor Council. “Even if you stay in-house, you should be on Indeed or LinkedIn. You need to see what the market price is for your work.”
Women’s consumption is starting to slow down
Experts say strong income growth will boost economic security for women, but weak employment and wages will weigh on spending. Researchers at the Bank of America Research Institute analyzed nearly 70 million consumer and business accounts and found that women’s spending has begun to slow.
“Women are driving prices down even more, especially when it comes to shopping for clothing,” said Taylor Bowley, an economist at the Bank of America Research Institute. “This is one area where we’ve seen them become even more selective as income constraints become a little bit tighter.”
Affordability pressures and wage pressures also mean more women than men are looking for value when buying groceries, eating out and traveling, she said.
Women are often responsible for raising children and caring for the elderly, which may further exacerbate the disparity in salaries and expenses with men.
“That spending disproportionately influences women, not only in the budgets they are allocated, but also in their decisions about whether to participate in the workforce,” Bowley said. “Given all these pressures are really increasing, it certainly influences women’s decisions.”
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