Unemployment for women: what are the facts?

The number of women seeking Job Seeker's Allowance has continuously risen and last month was no exception but what are the facts and what do the figures show?

The number of females claiming Job Seeker's Allowance has seen a continuous rise in the UK. Photograph: Andy Rain/EPA

The latest figures published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) today show that the number of women seeking Job Seeker's Allowance has risen once again - the twelfth month in a row.
So why are women in the news for unemployment? Well as Heather Stewart has written previously:

Women make up almost two-thirds of the public sector workforce, so it's hardly surprising they've been hit hard by the wave of job losses since the government announced its austerity programme last autumn.

This is a major factor that has affected women and employment although there are many factors that affect unemployment rates, claimant count and the availability of jobs. Although these might not be simple to pinpoint we do have, thanks to the ONS, some detailed figures of unemployment broken down by gender. So what are the facts?
Here are the figures fresh from the ONS for you to draw your own conclusions.

Employment:

Rate: 65.5% of women are in employment
The latest figures showed that 13,566 women were in employment during the March-May 2011 quarter compared with 15,713 men. There has been only a slight rise on the year whereas for men the change on the previous year was 1.5%. The number of women unemployed though interestingly is lower than men with women recording a rate of 7% whilst the male rate is 8.3%

Inactivity:

Inactivity Rate: 29.4%
Women record much higher than men for inactivity with a current rate of 29.4% over the quarter. There are also more women then men that are economically inactive with 5,933 women compared with 3,396 men. The highest reason for inactivity for females is looking after the family and/or home, which has risen by 0.7% on the quarter - for male counterparts this has dropped by -1.4%. Men, apart from reasons of studying, they are most likely to be inactive due to long-term sickness 1,145 out of work due to this reason. Men also were more likely to use discouraged as a reason than women.

Claimant count:

Rate: 3.3% is the rate for the female claimants in the UK
Female's claiming Job Seeker's Allowance has risen month after month and is now at the highest level since August 1999. Looking at our detailed but not seasonally adjusted claimant count by constituency it shows that Birmingham Ladywood records the highest rate of female claimants at 6.8%. Hackney South and Shoreditch and Tottenham also have rates of over 6%.

Part-time workers

Total: 5,907 females are in part-time work
The number of women working part-time jobs has slightly decreased this year but with a total of 5,907 part-time working females this is still much higher than the amount of men. Males in part-time work over the quarter totalled at 2,817. However men were more likely to state that the reason they were working part-time was due to not being able to find a job with 28.1% whereas only 12% of women claimed this reason.

Public Sector:

Although we do not rates for public sector workers broken down by women, as stated above, it is believed that two thirds of the public sector work force is made up of women. With the job cuts in the public sector this will inevitably affect their biggest percentage of the workforce. Heather Stewart has written:

Part of the shift results from a push – begun by Labour but stepped up by the government – to nudge single mums into the workforce. Mothers are now shifted off long-term benefits such as income support, and on to jobseekers' allowance when their youngest child is seven. That means they have to attend regular interviews and show that they are actively looking for work.

The above are just some of the facts and figures taken from the latest statistical bulletin by the ONS - you can download it here.