FIGURE 17

Reasons for Women in Different age Groups Doing
Part-Time Work 1985

Source: The Labor force Survey (Monthly) Cat. #71-001

TABLE 19 and FIGURES 18-20 following provide details on women's employment and unemployment.

The TABLE shows that the highest unemployment rate is found among young women (age 15-24 years). Since younger women are more likely to be in the labor force than older women (see TABLE 16), this is a disturbing finding.

TABLE 19 also shows that:

• Young women (age 15-24) are less likely to be unemployed than young men.
  
  
• Young women's unemployment has increased faster than that of older women (4 and 6 percentage points increase among those who are 15-20 and 20-24 years old respectively as compared to 3 and 2 percentage points among women in the 35-44 and 45+ age categories). This is consistent with the pattern of men's unemployment.
  
  Unemployment among young people is thought* to be a by-product of the continuing economic stalemate in Canada, with employers cutting costs by reducing new hiring's, and employees more reluctant to leave their jobs at a time of high unemployment.
  
  While this problem is not exclusive to women, the fact that a large percentage of new entrants to the labor force will be women, means that its effect may fall disproportionately on them.

* Armstrong, Labor Pains, 1985.