The Hour

Women’s jobs are at greater risk, according to the TUC. And the current economic strategy is making things worse.

The warning was issued at the annual TUC women’s conference that starts today.

While more men have lost their jobs and there are more men currently unemployed, male employment is beginning to recover. Meanwhile, female employment is falling significantly.

During the past 12 months overall male unemployment has fallen by 31,000 while female unemployment has risen by 71,000.

TUC analysis of official Labour Force Survey figures from July-September 2010 shows that in some parts of the country as many as one in five young women (20 per cent) aged between 16-24 are currently unemployed.

Scotland is among the worst hit areas with a 9 per cent increase in unemployment among young women.

This rise in female unemployment comes at a time when the number of jobs in sectors where may women work is still far lower than was the case at the start of the recession.

With redundancies in the public sector - where more than a third of women in work are employed - set to increase as a result of government spending cuts, and slow economic growth likely to mean that vacancy levels remain low across 'female' sectors like retail and admin, the TUC believes women are in for a tough few years.

TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber said: 'While the government focuses all its energy on cuts, our unemployment crisis continues to grow.”

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