The percentage of Seattle-area women who work shortly after giving birth has grown since 2010, per new census data.
Why it matters: Motherhood often knocks women out of the labor force, at least temporarily — often slowing their career and earnings growth and contributing to the gender pay gap.
By the numbers: In the Seattle metro area, 62.8% of women who gave birth in the previous 12 months were working a job as of 2022, per the latest American Community Survey data.
That’s compared to 57.9% in 2010.
Yes, but: The 2022 number was less than the national rate, and fell slightly from the year before.
In 2021, 67.4% of women who recently gave birth in the Seattle area were working within a year.
The big picture: The national percentage of new mothers who are working reached 66.6% last year, up from 61.6% in 2010.
Driving the news: Remote and flexible work is making it easier for new moms to juggle parenting and their careers, Axios’ Emily Peck has reported. (In fact, the workplace gender gap is at a record low.)
That’s true for new dads, too — but women tend to bear the brunt of work/life priority changes brought on by parenthood.
Between the lines: One complicating factor in all this: the skyrocketing cost of child care, which is driven in part by a lack of supply and low caretaker pay.
As care gets more expensive, more families are put in the difficult position of deciding whether it makes sense for both parents to work or for one to stay home with the kids.
In households with a male and female parent, it’s often mothers who stay home to watch the kids when child care is too expensive, in part because they likely make less to begin with.
Thought bubble: With Washington’s child care costs among the nation’s highest — and Seattle-area prices generally trending even higher than the state average — that could be a factor in the recent drop in new moms in the workforce locally.
What we’re watching: Whether the trend of more women working after giving birth continues into the post-pandemic years.
Some employers are trying to drag workers back to the office, but are finding mixed success as many employees embrace a lifestyle that affords better flexibility — whether to raise a family, pursue a hobby or simply avoid a stressful commute.
