New labor data reveals a dramatic shift in the composition of the American workforce, particularly regarding job creation since President Donald Trump's second inauguration in January 2025. Women have claimed the vast majority of new positions added to the U.S. economy, securing 86% of all payroll jobs created during this period. This trend highlights a broader economic transformation decades in the making.
"This is a central story of what happens when a country gets richer, more productive, and yes — older." Justin Wolfers, Economist
Economist Justin Wolfers compiled an analysis of these employment trends, publishing his findings in a newsletter tracking various American industries. His data indicates that out of 468,000 total payroll jobs generated, women secured 403,000 of them. In contrast, men acquired only 65,000 positions over the same timeframe. This significant imbalance has led to women now outnumbering men on the nation’s non-farm payrolls, a statistical occurrence that has been recorded only twice before in history. Non-farm payroll numbers specifically exclude agricultural work.
The current labor landscape stands in stark contrast to that of 56 years ago. In 1970, men held non-farm jobs at nearly double the rate of women, reflecting a different industrial and societal structure. Today's shift is primarily fueled by two rapidly expanding sectors: healthcare and education. Both fields have historically employed a disproportionately higher number of women, a trend that continues to accelerate. Wolfers elaborated on this breakdown, noting, “The mainly female category added 828,000, the mainly male category lost 218,000, and the roughly equal group lost 142,000 jobs since the start of President Trump’s second term.” The private education and health services sector, already more than 75% female when President Trump returned to office, absorbed a substantial portion of these newly created jobs.
Wolfers argues that comparing today’s job market to the labor force of the 1970s misses the bigger picture entirely. He contends that the American economy of 2026 bears little resemblance to the industrial and agricultural landscape that shaped decades-old political narratives about work. To illustrate this point, he drew a comparison to American agriculture in the 19th century, when farming employed the majority of the population. Today, that figure has collapsed to roughly 1%, a transformation Wolfers attributes to technology, not a decline in the importance of food. “This shift didn’t occur because food became any less important. Rather, agricultural productivity improved so dramatically that we no longer need tens of millions of people to grow all the food we want,” he stated.
A similar transformation is now unfolding within American factories. Despite the U.S. continuing to produce vast quantities of industrial goods, technological advances allow for significantly more output with far fewer human workers. Wolfers explained, “America continues to produce vast quantities of industrial goods — but technological advances allow us to manufacture far more with far fewer workers than before. Modern factories, like modern farms, are often more machines than people.”
This increase in productivity pushes workers towards less labor-intensive fields, while rising household incomes create fresh demand for services. This demand is increasingly directed at sectors such as healthcare, childcare, education, and elder care. Wolfers links these shifts to a broader demographic reality facing the country, summarizing it as “a central story of what happens when a country gets richer, more productive, and yes — older.” Industries built around care work have long relied heavily on female labor, often termed the “pink-collar economy,” and Wolfers notes that these fields continue to see limited interest from male job seekers.
To address the growing gender gap in job growth, Wolfers suggests that men may need to consider entering these expanding fields. He concluded, “If we want job growth for men to match that for women, men may need to move toward the industries that are actually growing.” The data collectively paints a picture of an economy steadily moving away from its industrial and agricultural foundations and deeper into a service-based model. Wolfers frames this as a long-term trend, spanning decades, rather than a phenomenon tied to any single administration. The ongoing shift raises important questions about how the broader labor force will adapt as care-based industries continue their expansion while traditionally male-dominated sectors contract.
