Industries Where Women Lost the Most Jobs Last Year

The pandemic hit women workers hard.

By Jordan Rosenfeld Apr 17, 2021 Boost Your Career

2020 was a rough year for the economy all around due to the pandemic. Shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders significantly crimped many industries, leading to significant job losses. These losses hit women especially hard.

Read: COVID’s Financial Impact After 1 Year: See All Our Coverage

In order to find the industries where women lost the most jobs in 2020, GOBankingRates looked at the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted.” This revealed that such industries as leisure and hospitality, information, government and education and health services were heavily hit. Many of those industries are still struggling to recover. All data was collected on and up to date as of March 29, 2021. Read on to see where women lost the most jobs last year.

Last updated: April 13, 2021

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Construction

Total women employees, January 2020: 990,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 983,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -7,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -0.71%

Construction sector jobs include building and engineering projects ranging from homes and office buildings to highways and utility systems, among many others.

See: High-Paying Jobs Where Women Outnumber Men

Financial Activities

Total women employees, January 2020: 5,006,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 4,961,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -45,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -0.90%

Jobs in this industry refer to finance and insurance positions (helping consumers raise, manage, grow and invest funds), as well as jobs in real estate and leasing, where people earn income through renting, leasing or selling properties and other assets.

More: COVID-19 Has Totally Undone Decades of Progress for Women Workers

Transportation and Warehousing

Total women employees, January 2020: 1,508,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 1,452,800
Total change in women employees, 2020: -55,200
% change in women employees, 2020: -3.66%

This sector includes jobs that provide transportation of both passengers and cargo, the warehousing and storage of goods and supported activities related to transportation.

Read: The S&P 500’s Top 10 Companies for Women

Professional and Business Services

Total women employees, January 2020: 9,830,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 9,451,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -379,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -3.86%

Professional and business services covers three service areas: professional, scientific and technical services are those that require expertise and significant training, including legal advice, bookkeeping, architectural design, engineering and a variety of consulting services. It also includes jobs in management and enterprise sectors and administrative and waste management and remediation services, such as: office administration, hiring and placing of personnel, document preparation and similar clerical services, solicitation, collection, security and surveillance services, cleaning and waste disposal services.

See: Here’s How Much Men vs. Women Earn at Every Age

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Nondurable Goods Manufacturing

Total women employees, January 2020: 1,723,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 1,653,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -70,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -4.06%

In this industry, people sell nondurable goods to other businesses. Nondurable goods are those that have a life expectancy of fewer than three years, such as paper products, chemicals and chemical products, textiles, apparel, footwear, groceries, farm products, petroleum and tobacco, to name a few.

Discover: 16 Bizarre Careers for Women That No Longer Exist

Retail Trade

Total women employees, January 2020: 7,725,800
Total women employees, December 2020: 7,325,900
Total change in women employees, 2020: -399,900
% change in women employees, 2020: -5.18%

This sector consists of jobs where retailers sell merchandise in small quantities to the general public. These are both in-store and non-store retailers.

More: How Women in the Workplace are Faring Due to the Pandemic

Education and Health Services

Total women employees, January 2020: 18,970,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 17,978,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -992,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -5.23%

The educational services sector is composed of jobs providing instruction and training in any number of subjects, through a variety of settings, from educational institutions to distance-learning methods. The healthcare and social assistance sector is composed of jobs where employees provide healthcare and social assistance to individuals.

See: What The First Year of The Pandemic Looked Like for The Working Mom

Wholesale Trade

Total women employees, January 2020: 1,775,300
Total women employees, December 2020: 1,678,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -97,300
% change in women employees, 2020: -5.48%

Wholesalers are an intermediary in the distribution of merchandise. They sell products to retailers for resale to consumers.

Find Out: The Richest Women in Sports

Government

Total women employees, January 2020: 13,162,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 12,332,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -830,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -6.31%

These are jobs within any level of government, be they city, county, state or federal.

More: Gender Pay Equity Is More at Risk Than Ever During the Pandemic

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Mining and Logging

Total women employees, January 2020: 91,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 84,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -7,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -7.69%

These jobs are those located within the agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting sector, as well as the mining, quarrying and oil, and gas extraction sector.

Read: Jobs That Didn’t Exist Before COVID

Information

Total women employees, January 2020: 1,152,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 1,062,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -90,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -7.81%

Jobs in the information section revolve around the production and distribution of information and cultural products and transmitting and distributing these products and data. It includes such industries as publishing, the motion picture and sound recording industries, broadcasting and telecommunications.

See: Cash and 21 Other Everyday Things Wiped Out by COVID-19

Other Services

Total women employees, January 2020: 3,170,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 2,898,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -272,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -8.58%

The other services sector refers to all other industries that don’t fall under an easy classification system. This includes such fields as equipment and machinery repairing, religious activities, grant making, advocacy, providing dry cleaning and laundry services, personal care services, death care services and many more.

Check Out: 15 of Your Favorite Companies That Have Gone Out of Business

Leisure and Hospitality

Total women employees, January 2020: 8,979,000
Total women employees, December 2020: 6,972,000
Total change in women employees, 2020: -2,007,000
% change in women employees, 2020: -22.35%

Leisure and hospitality comprise of two sectors. The first is the arts, entertainment and recreation sector, which includes establishments that operate facilities or provide services that provide entertainment, recreation or culture to patrons, such as museums, amusement parks, nightclubs and related facilities.

Additionally, it includes the accommodation and food services sector, which comprises those establishments that provide lodging and/or meals, snacks and beverages.

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Methodology: In order to find the industries where women lost the most jobs in 2020, GOBankingRates looked at the US Bureau of Labor Statistics’ “Table B-5. Employment of women on nonfarm payrolls by industry sector, seasonally adjusted.” With this data in hand, GOBankingRates then found for each industry: (1) January 2020 total women employees in that industry; (2) December 2020 total women employees in that industry; (3) total change in women employees for each industry in 2020; and (4) the percent change in women employees for each industry. All data was collected on and up to date as of March 29, 2021.

About the Author

Jordan Rosenfeld

Jordan Rosenfeld is a freelance writer and author of nine books. She holds a B.A. from Sonoma State University and an MFA from Bennington College. Her articles and essays about finances and other topics has appeared in a wide range of publications and clients, including The Atlantic, The Billfold, Good Magazine, GoBanking Rates, Daily Worth, Quartz, Medical Economics, The New York Times, Ozy, Paypal, The Washington Post and for numerous business clients. As someone who had to learn many of her lessons about money the hard way, she enjoys writing about personal finance to empower and educate people on how to make the most of what they have and live a better quality of life.