Statistics & Data

Quick Stats on Women Workers, 2008

1. Of the 121 million women age 16 years and over in the U.S., 72 million, or 59.5 percent, were labor force participants—working or looking for work.
   
   
2. Women comprised 46.5 percent of the total U.S. labor force and are projected to account for 47 percent of the labor force in 2016.
   
   
3. Women are projected to account for 49 percent of the increase in total labor force growth between 2006 and 2016.
   
   
4. 68 million women were employed in the U.S.—75 percent of employed women worked on full-time jobs, while 25 percent worked on a part-time basis.
   
   
5. The largest percentage of employed women (39 percent) worked in management, professional, and related occupations; 33 percent worked in sales and office occupations; 21 percent in service occupations; 6 percent in production, transportation, and material moving occupations; and 1 percent in natural resources, construction, and maintenance occupations.
   
   
6. The largest percentage of employed Asian and white women (46 and 41 percent, respectively) worked in management, professional, and related occupations. For both black and Hispanic women, it was sales and office occupations—32 and 33 percent, respectively.
   
   
7. The 10 most prevalent occupations for employed women in 2008 were—
   
   
1. Secretaries and administrative assistants, 3,168,000
2. Registered nurses, 2,548,000
3. Elementary and middle school teachers, 2,403,000
4. Cashiers, 2,287,000
5. Retail salespersons, 1,783,000
6. Nursing, psychiatric, and home health aides, 1,675,000
7. First-line supervisors/managers of retail sales workers, 1,505,000
8. Waiters and waitresses, 1,471,000
9. Receptionists and information clerks, 1,323,000
10. Bookkeeping, accounting, and auditing clerks, 1,311,0
    
    
8. The unemployment rate for women was 5.4 percent and for men it was 6.1 percent in 2008. For Asian women, it was 3.7 percent; white women, 4.9 percent; Hispanic women, 7.7 percent; and black women, 8.9 percent.
   
   
9. The median weekly earnings of women who were full-time wage and salary workers was $638, or 80 percent of men’s $798. When comparing the median weekly earnings of persons aged 16 to 24, young women earned 91 percent of what young men earned ($420 and $461, respectively).
   
   
10. The ten occupations with the highest median weekly earnings among women who were full-time wage and salary workers were--
    
    
1. Pharmacists, $1,647
2. Chief executives, $1,603
3. Lawyers, $1,509
4. Computer software engineers, $1,351
5. Computer and information systems managers, $1,260
6. Physicians and surgeons, $1,230
7. Management analysts, $1,139
8. Human resource managers, $1,137
9. Speech-language pathologists, $1.124
10. Computer scientists and systems analysts, $1,082
    
    
11. Women accounted for 51 percent of all workers in the high-paying management, professional, and related occupations. They outnumbered men in such occupations as public relations managers; financial managers; human resource managers; education administrators; medical and health services managers; accountants and auditors; budget analysts; biological scientists; preschool, kindergarten, elementary, middle, and secondary school teachers; physical therapists; writers and authors; and registered nurses.
    
    
12. Of persons aged 25 years and older, 29 percent of women and 30 percent of men had attained a bachelor’s degree or higher; 31 percent of women and men had completed only high school, no college.
    
    
13. The higher a person’s educational attainment, the more likely they will be a labor force participant (working or looking for work) and the less likely to be unemployed.
    
    
14. For women age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma, 33 percent were labor force participants; high school diploma, no college, 53 percent; some college, but no degree, 63 percent; associate degree, 72 percent; and bachelor’s degree or higher, 73 percent.
    
    
15. For women age 25 and over with less than a high school diploma, their unemployment rate was 9.4 percent; high school diploma, no college, 5.3 percent; some college, but no degree, 5.1 percent; associate degree, 3.7 percent; and bachelor’s degree or higher, 2.7 percent.

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings, 2008 Annual Averages and the Monthly Labor Review, November 2007.

20 Leading Occupations of Employed Women: 2008

Printable Versions for: 2008

For previous years, see archives.

Nontraditional Occupations for Women: 2008

Printable Versions for: 2008

For previous years, see archives.