Rising Female Employment in the U.S., Driven by Growth in Healthcare Jobs

Female employment is increasing rapidly in the U.S. labor market. In particular, the rise in jobs in the healthcare sector, where women make up a large share of workers, is cited as a major factor. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, as of August, female employment in the nonfarm sector reached 79.75 million, surpassing male employment at 79.33 million. The trend of female employment overtaking male employment has continued for seven months since February, and the gap appears to be widening. The Wall Street Journal reported that as healthcare jobs have increased sharply in recent years, changes are also being seen in women’s economic status. Of the 760,000 jobs added in the U.S. from the end of 2024 through August of this year, 80% were in the healthcare sector. A study was also introduced showing that the use of obesity medications has affected women’s employment. According to a paper by Harvard professor Rebecca Diamond, the employment rate of nonworking women who took GLP1 obesity medications for more than 18 months was 27 percentage points higher than that of a comparison group that did not take them.