Many women have left the workforce. When will they return?

By BOBBY CAINA CALVAN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER
Associated Press

NEW YORK (AP) — As the U.S. economy rebounds from the ongoing pandemic, many women are choosing to sit out the labor force. The pandemic has laid bare the disproportionate burdens many women shoulder in caring for children or aging parents, as well as highlighted the roles they have traditionally played in the labor force. In September, 2.5 million fewer women were employed compared to the same month in 2019, and nearly 3.1 million more women were not in the labor force this past September compared to the number in the same month two years ago. Even with children back in school, a dramatic influx of women returning to work that some analysts expected has yet to materialize.