American employers added 74,000 jobs in December on net. All of that employment increase was a result of new jobs filled by women.

Photo

Women gained, on net, 75,000 jobs in December; men lost, on net, 1,000 jobs. This was the first time since December 2007 that a month’s job gains were captured entirely by women. Women represented more than half (56 percent) of the net gain in the 12 months.

As you can see in the chart above, women also suffered far fewer job losses during the recession, partly because men are more likely to work in industries very sensitive to the business cycle (like construction or manufacturing, as opposed to health care and government).

The employment picture for women is not entirely rosy. As noted by Joan Entmacher, vice president for family economic security at the National Women’s Law Center, women’s recent job gains have been concentrated in low-wage sectors.

In December, women gained 39,000 jobs in retail (also men’s strongest sector), for example, as well as 18,000 in leisure and hospitality. Women also enjoyed an increase of 15,000 jobs in professional and business services, which tend to be higher-paying positions.