Does unemployment affect males and females differently? The economic downturn has been called a “mancession.” Are we now in the midst of a “he-covery?” According to the Pew Research Center, men lost more than twice as many jobs than women during the Great Recession, but the recovery has reversed that trend. Between June 2009 and May 2011, men gained jobs while women continued to lose them. What accounts for the unemployment gender gap, and will the trend continue? Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, tells us how women have been affected by public sector cuts and private sector lay-offs. Judy Loux was recently laid off from her administrative position at a bank in Wilmington, Delaware. Of the 14 employees laid off at her company only one was a man.
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