Jobs Report Has a Remarkable Stat About Women

Women were almost solely responsible for August's unexpectedly strong jobs numbers, reports CNBC. Women filled 158,000 of the 162,000 positions added last month—roughly 98% of the total, according to an analysis of data by the outlet. Gains were concentrated in sectors where women already dominate, like health care and education, but they also showed up in traditionally male-heavy fields such as manufacturing. The jobless rate for women ticked down to 3.9%, while men's rose to 4.4%.

"We are in the midst of a shift," says Laura Ullrich, director of economic research at the Indeed Hiring Lab. "It is changing right before our eyes." Fortune notes that women overtook men in the US workforce earlier this year for only the third time in history, with the first two times being during the pandemic and the Great Recession. The difference now is that the shift "looks less crisis-driven and more structural," given the types of jobs surging.