A startling new statistic revealed in late June, shows that a significant number of women have exited the U.S. labor force in 2025.
Based on data from the National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) reviews of the monthly reports coming from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), women are leaving their jobs at almost triple the rate that men are starting work.
In June, 103,000 women aged 20 and over left their jobs, while 163,000 men in the same age group entered. If the data is taken back to last January, a net loss of 338,000 women have exited the labor force, while a net gain of 183,000 men joined it over the same period. As of this report, the national unemployment rate remains steady at 4.1 percent. The overall labor force participation rate also remains unchanged at 62.3 percent.
Even with cuts made by DOGE, job gains can be seen in the state government sector, with notable gains also seen in healthcare. Federal government positions have not seen the same reversal, as the same job data shows continuing losses.
The exodus of women from the labor force carries significant societal implications as well as economic, particularly as U.S. workforce participation rates serve a large part as a key indicator of the nation’s financial health.
According to the website digitaldefynd.com, there are multiple reasons women are leaving the workforce. Their article even has a name for the lessening numbers of women choosing to leave the employment battleground: “the female exodus.”
In their report, impacting factors include the age old gender pay gap, limited career advancement opportunities, workplace discrimination and bias, inadequate support for parental leave, burnout and mental health concerns, and lack of diversity and inclusion.
Michael Ryan, a finance expert and founder of MichaelRyanMoney.com, attributes the loss of female workers as a result of a child care crisis taking place in America.
“It’s about economic structures failing, not gender roles,” Ryan told Newsweek. “I’d argue we’re seeing the real cost of treating childcare as a luxury rather than infrastructure. The economy’s basically telling half its talent to stay home.”
Jasmine Tucker, vice president for research at the National Women’s Law Center, gave a similar answer while exploring some of the financial numbers. “Costs are continuing to rise and the possibility of an upcoming recession is looming on the horizon,” Tucker reasoned.
“Couple that with rising childcare prices, with the average family needing to make $180k a year to reasonably afford infant care, and the administration’s attacks on the federal childcare program Head Start, it’s no surprise that women are leaving the labor force.”