Yahoo Finance Record numbers of women are working - but they won't all be cheering
The number of women in work in Britain is at a record high, official figures show.
A record 71.8% of working-age women were in employment between January and March this year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
It is the joint-highest proportion of women in work since records began in 1971, while the unemployment rate also dropped to a record low.
The gap between male and female employment rates has been narrowing for years, with 15.4m women now in work compared to 17.3m men.
The number of women in work rose by 114,000 in the first quarter of this year, while the number of men in work actually dropped by 15,000.
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Women forced to work for longer
Rising employment levels are normally viewed as positive for the economy, with the ONS saying it suggests the UK labour market “continues to perform well.”
But for the past few years at least, analysis by the ONS also suggests many older women in particular may not see it that way.
The ONS highlights the increase in the state pension age for women as one of the key factors behind the recent rise in the female employment rate.
Its figures show fewer women are now retiring between the ages of 60 and 65.
That suggests financial pressures mean some women are working longer into their 60s than they would like, because they cannot afford to retire until they get their state pension.
Part-time work and the risk to retail jobs
The latest ONS statistics also show significant differences between male and female employment.
Women are far more likely to work fewer hours. A majority of female workers (53%) working part-time, probably because, as the ONS puts it, of childcare and the fact “in general fewer men than women engage in caring activities in the home.”
The ONS warns that women could be hit particularly hard too by the decline of bricks-and-mortar retail on British high streets, as the sector is “dominated by women.”
It says: “The closure of stores may disproportionately affect female workers.”
