(Are women who have lucrative hobbies being counted?)
After decades of the growth of women in the workforce, the trend is shifting, says the Dallas Morning News. More women are opting out of the workforce, according to a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas.
Since the 1950s, demographic changes, including women marrying later and having fewer children, and time saving household inventions, such as the dishwasher, have propelled women into the workforce.
Economist Pia Orrenius of the Dallas Fed notes that the economic boom of the 1990s probably caused the peak in womens participation to occur earlier than it otherwise would have. But some economists worry that the decline in women’s participation could weaken the economy, since economic growth relies on raising productivity or adding workers.
However, older workers are remaining in the workforce in greater numbers in response to longer life spans, increasing health care costs and shrinking pension plans.
Source: Sudeep Reddy, Women Dropping Out of Workforce, Dallas Morning News, December 21, 2005. Opting Out of Work: What’s Behind the Decline in Labor Force Participation? Southwest Economy, Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas, November/December 2005.
For text (registration required): http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/bus/stories/DN-workforce_21bus.ART0.State.Edition1.b0e03fc.html
For Fed report: http://www.dallasfed.org/research/swe/2005/swe0506a.html
For more on Economy: http://www.ncpa.org/iss/eco/
FMF Policy Bulletin/ 03 January 2006
