The rate of women’s participation in the workforce has been rising steadily in recent years and is expected to exceed 50 percent for the first time next year, the Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD) said yesterday.
However, as the total number of jobs has not substantially increased, the growing number of women joining the workforce could squeeze employment opportunities for men, with men older than 40 being most vulnerable, council officials said.
The participation rate is the percentage of working-age persons — those aged 16 to 64 — who are employed or are unemployed but looking for a job.
Council statistics show men’s labor participation rate has fallen in the past seven years, from 68.22 percent in 2002 to 67 percent last year.
Women’s participation, by contrast, has been on the rise. In the past, the rate tended to hover around 46 percent, as many women could not seek work outside the home because of household and child-rearing responsibilities.
However, the situation has changed since 2002 when the rate began its rise, moving from 46.59 percent that year to 49.67 percent last year.
Globally, women generally lag behind men in terms of labor force participation, the officials said.Women’s participation in the workforce in most advanced economies tends to be more than 50 percent.
In the US and many European countries, the rate is more than 70 percent. In Japan, it is 67 percent, while South Korea’s is 59 percent.
Marriage has been one of the most important factors affecting women’s labor participation, officials said.
Council statistics show that labor participation rates are almost the same among unmarried men and women, approaching 60 percent. But the rate falls below 50 percent for married women.
Participation by single women was 9 percentage points higher than that of married women last year, the council tallies show.
Over the past seven years, married women’s labor participation has risen more than 3 percent, the officials said.
One factor might be that married women have been forced to enter the job market because their husbands are earning less than before. Another factor might be the influx of single young women into the job market, the official said, adding that higher levels of education has made it easier for women to land jobs.
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