(CNSNews.com) - A record 55,553,000 women 16 years and older did not participate in the labor force in September, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). This means that 55,553,000 women in the United States did not have a job and did not actively seek one in the past four weeks.



The number of women not in the labor force increased from 55,345,000 in August to 55,553,000 in September, an increase of 208,000.



The participation rate for women also dipped in September to 56.7 percent; it has not been this low since September of 1988 when it was 56.6 percent. This means that only 56.7 percent of women participated in the labor force by either having a job during the month or actively seeking one.

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The number of employed women decreased from 68,525,000 in August to 68,499,000 in September, a decline of 26,000. However, the number of unemployed women also declined from 4,466,000 in August to 4,390,000 in September, which means there were 76,000 less unemployed women in September.



The unemployment rate for women declined from 6.1 in August to 6.0 in September.

The business and economic reporting of CNSNews.com is funded in part with a gift made in memory of Dr. Keith C. Wold.