January 13, 2009; News 12 This Morning

In these tough times, the unemployment line is getting longer and longer, and it looks like you have a better chance of standing in it if you are a man.

A new study shows women seem to be holding on to their jobs more than men.

Since the recession began, the jobless rate for men rose from 4.4% to 7.2%. The jobless rate for women went from 4.3% to 5.9%. Why the discrepancy? Experts say the kind of jobs women tend to hold offer more stability. About 75% of the people who work in health care and education are women. Those jobs certainly aren't going away right now.

Women are more likely to work part-time than men. That means they make less money than the full-timers and probably don't get benefits.
Experts say that makes them more, well, safe. But, it also makes everyone else more safe too.

Think about this: the last time the economy was this rough, there were not as many dual income households. So, if a person lost their job, they lost all of their family's income. At least now, chances are there's another person earning money too, and losing some is better than losing everything.