(Bloomberg) -- Women of childbearing age are returning to the U.S. workforce, showing a small improvement in their participation rate after a decline in September.
Participation among prime-age female workers, those 25 to 54 years old, rose slightly last month, Labor Department data released Friday showed. It was little changed for men of the same age.
The small increase could be the first sign of a return many economists were predicting would happen in September as children went back to school. Women with children have particularly struggled over the course of the pandemic as school closures and a lack of care have hampered their ability to work.
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However, the return of female workers appears unequal among race groups. Participation of Black women over 20 declined, while that of White and Hispanic women of the same age group increased.
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