Tuesday, December 09, 2008

It's A "Man-Cession" in the Lipstick Economy

(CEP News) - It's not a recession, it's a man-cession. And the lipstick economy may have only just begun.The U.S. recession has been a catastrophe for men, but merely a downturn for women. According to Friday's payrolls report, eight out of every 10 pink slips in the past year have gone to men.

Mark Perry, a professor of finance and business economics at the University of Michigan-Flint, has written about the phenomenon.


Update: Over the last year from November 2007 to November 2008, the U.S. economy lost 2.352 million jobs, and 82% of those losses were male jobs (1.932 million) and only 18% female jobs (430,000). Stated differently, for every female job lost, there were 4.5 males jobs lost over the last year. How does that compare to the last two recessions?

1. Between January 2001 and January 2002, there was a loss of 2.076 million jobs, and 57% of those jobs were held by males and 43% by females.

2. Between May 1990 and May 1991, there was a loss of 1.711 million jobs, and 70% were male jobs and 30% female jobs.


10 Comments:

At 12/09/2008 3:59 PM, Blogger Free2Choose said...

Mark....I think you meant to say a "He Cession". Feel free to use that anytime. :)

 
At 12/09/2008 4:58 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Men shouldn't get "pink slips" anyway. Better terminology may be "blue undershirts".

 
At 12/09/2008 6:04 PM, Blogger Milena said...

Oh hilarious statistic!

 
At 12/09/2008 7:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Any insights from free-marketeers?

 
At 12/09/2008 7:47 PM, Blogger Dean said...

Plunging through that glass floor.

 
At 12/09/2008 8:26 PM, Blogger Dave Narby said...

Heh...

I guess they figure they get away with paying the women less.

 
At 12/09/2008 8:52 PM, Blogger QT said...

Dave,

We both know they don't. There are still many women who are not prepared to work 60-70 hrs per week.

There are many reasons that men get laid off...ie. cylical sectors like construction, mining, etc. are largely male dominated. Many of the occupations dominated by women like nursing, and teaching generally hold up well in adverse economic conditions.

The stat is one that bears investigation to find out precisely what is happening here.

 
At 12/10/2008 8:29 AM, Blogger RebelRenegade said...

poor boomer> What insights does there need to be? Financial and Construction industries are contracting which are male dominated.

 
At 12/10/2008 8:25 PM, Blogger destilando cafe said...

Males on this blog--look around you at work and see how many working women are actually WEARING lipstick. My observation is--not many. Watch your investments in Revlon, Max Factor, etc.

 
At 12/13/2008 5:18 AM, Blogger Diogenes said...

Who needs men? What are women unable to do without a man? Men are so yesterday and last century.

 

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