A Look at the Labor Force by Gender in Clackamas County and Oregon
April, 07 2025Nation’s Historical Labor Force Participation Rate Differs by Gender
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the share of the population that was either working or looking for work, known as the labor force participation rate or LFPR, was at 68.0% for men and 57.5% for women in the United States during January 2025. Historically, the nation’s LFPR for women has risen by 25.4 percentage points since January 1948, when women made up less than one-third or 32.1% of the labor force, to over one-half or 57.5% of the labor force in January 2025. On the other hand, men’s LFPR has fallen since 1948 by 18.7 percentage points, dropping from 86.7% in January 1948 to 68.0% in January 2025.
Oregon’s Labor Force Participation Rate
Similar to national trends, the most current labor force statistics for Oregon show that the LFPR for women has increased from 48.9% in 1976 to 58.4% in 2024. Alternately, the LFPR for men has fallen from 77.0% in 1976 to 67.4% in 2024.
Women’s Share of Covered Employment
Women’s share of nonfarm, covered employment in both Oregon and Clackamas County has followed similar patterns since 1992. In Oregon, women’s share of quarterly employment increased from 47.4% in 1992 to 49.1% in 2024. Clackamas County’s share of female employment was at 47.8% in 1992 and increased slightly to 48.1% in 2024.
Gender Employment Differs by Industry
Women’s share of jobs varies by the type of industry they work in. Nearly three-quarters (74.3%) of jobs in the health care and social assistance industry with an average wage of $33.71 were held by women in second quarter 2024. The next highest portion of female employment was in private educational services at 68.8% with an average wage of $19.18 and finance and insurance at 59.3% with an average wage of $50.73.
In second quarter 2024, a higher percentage of females working in Clackamas County earned less than $30 an hour at 42% compared with 36% of males. Alternately, a lower percentage of females (58%) earned more than $30 an hour compared with 64% of males.
The Gender Pay Gap by Industry
The gender pay gap is the difference in earnings between men and women. According to a recent report from the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, women in the United States are paid eighty-four (84) cents for every dollar a man makes, a persistent gender wage gap that spans all professions, even those typically held by women.
Female workers employed in Clackamas County earned an average of 76% of what male workers earned in all broad industry sectors in 2024. The female to male earnings ratio varied significantly, though, by the specific type of broad industry. The industries where women earned the highest (90% or more of male earnings) included administrative and support services, and management of companies and enterprises.
The broad industries with the lowest female to male earnings ratio included professional, scientific, and technical services (68.6%); other services (67.1%); and finance and insurance (61.0%).
Possible Explanations for Female to Male Wage Disparity
The persistent wage disparity between male and female workers can have many explanations. In a recent study by the McKinsey Global Institute, How Time and Career Choices Shape the Gender Pay Gap, an analysis of 86,000 real-life online career histories found that nearly 80% of the national gender pay-gap was driven by women having a flatter work experience compared with men. The main conclusions from this study include:
- Women tend to build less human capital during their work experience by accumulating less time on the job. Women work fewer hours, take longer breaks between jobs and choose to work more part-time jobs than men.
- Women tend to choose different career pathways than men often choosing less competitive environments and fewer full-time requirements.
- Women are less likely than men to switch into occupations that are projected to have high demand in the future and often move into shrinking occupations.
Although female-to-male wage disparity still exists, it seems to be shrinking over time. In 1991, the percentage of female to male annual average quarterly earnings was at 59.2% for all industries in Clackamas County. Over 30 years later, the county’s female-to-male earnings ratio had increased by 16.8 percentage points to 76% in 2024. Statewide, the female-to-male earnings ratio increased slightly less by 14.1 percentage points from 59.1% in 1991 to 73.2% in 2024.