Women Return to U.S. Workforce as Economy Strengthens

"For most of the last two decades, the share of women participating in the U.S. labor force was in decline," states MarketWatch , "puzzling demographers and economists since female participation was rising in many other developed economies." That long-running decline is showing signs of reversing thanks to a strengthening economy. Labor-force participation among U.S. females aged 25 to 54 years old has increased from 73.3 percent three years ago to 75.2 percent. In that time span, their unemployment rate has dipped to its lowest level since the 1950s. A plenitude of jobs coupled with a gradual increase in wages is drawing females back into the workforce, including those at the low end of the skill spectrum.