According to Bureau of Labor Statistics data compiled by the Wall Street Journal, women are driving the labor-force comeback. Since 2016, the labor-force participation rate (the percentage of adults active in the workforce) has made a bit of a turn-around. The data shows that women, especially those 25 to 34 years old, have made the largest gains. The labor-force participation rate for women in Q4 of 2018 was 75.8%, up two points from 73.8% in 2016. The labor-force participation rate for men is virtually the same today as it was in 2016 (89%), varying less than a percentage point over the last two years.
The Wall Street Journal explains that rising wages and increased availability of jobs that usually attract women, such as nursing, education, and service-related, explains why more women are entering the workforce. Much of that was likely possible thanks to the president’s tax cuts that went into effect in 2018. While there were more women than men outside the labor-force and thus, more gains to be had among women, the point remains that on President Trump’s watch, women have seen substantial economic gains.
As Democrats daily call the president and other Republicans sexist and bad for women, the economic gains benefiting women alone are powerful counter-points. Republicans running all down the ballot would benefit greatly by embracing and highlighting positive stories of more jobs for women. While Democratic politicians hurl insults, Republicans can be the ones with success stories to tell.
