Women and the Economy

This being the middle of June, we got the numbers for the May housing market. They weren’t bad. We saw a larger number of residential sales than the month before – the third straight month of increases. The median price was up a bit, from 205,000 dollars to 210,000. That’s still about 13% less than a year ago, but at least the market seems to be out of free fall.

To demographer Peter Francese, these numbers are another sign that the economy is healthier than a lot of people think. Francese is optimistic that the country is well positioned for recovery and one reason for his optimism is women.

FRANCESE: Women drive the American economy

Women in the workforce, according to Francese, give the country an edge.

FRANCESE: Two thirds of married women are in the workforce which creates two-income households which creates a lot of wealth and a lot of spending

No argument from Rachel Rouillard that women are essential to the economy. Rouillard heads up the New Hampshire Women’s Policy Institute and says the picture is a little more complicated. It helps the household budget when both people work but Rouillard says you want to look at the jobs women get. Two thirds of the minimum wage jobs in the state are held by women over the age of 25. Rouillard says the labor market doesn’t always give women the best opportunities.

ROUILLARD: Are they being hired to innovate or are they being hired because they are an existing labor pool which is cheap and accessible. Which means minimum wage jobs.

Rouillard says it will be very important to watch how women fare as this economy moves along. She points to recent studies that say as women begin to do better, so do entire countries.

With this weekly economic round-up, I’m Jon Greenberg.