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Jessie Morancy uses her computer to fill out the application for unemployment benefits after being laid off from her job at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport on March 27, 2020 in Hollywood, Florida.
- More than 700,000 jobs have been closed due to the novel coronavirus, according to data from the Department of Labor.
- More than 60% of those job losses were experienced by women, who lost more jobs than men in most sectors impacted by eliminated positions, according to a report from the Institute for Women's Policy Research.
- Most losses for both men and women occurred in the leisure and hospitality industries.
- Teenagers have faced the largest rate of unemployment, according to the report.
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The Department of Labor reported more than 701,000 jobs have been lost over the past two months due to the COVID-19 pandemic. According to an analysis conducted by the Institute for Women's Policy Research, about 60% of those losses were experienced by women.
The institute reported that 412,288 or about 58.8% of the 701,000 job losses were experienced by women between February and March. It noted that amid ongoing widespread layoffs, the 701,000 figure from the Labor Department is already outdated and doesn't represent the number of total jobs lost as a result of the pandemic.
In almost all sectors that faced losses, women faced greater losses than men, according to the analysis. The majority of job losses for both women and men occurred in the leisure and hospitality industries, but overall 261,000 women in the field lost their job compared to 181,000 men.
The American Hotel and Lodging Industry predicted as many as four million people working in the hotel industry could lose their job as a result of the novel coronavirus. UBS predicted one in five restaurants could close due to the virus, which has in most states forced restaurants to offer take out and delivery only due to statewide stay-at-home orders.
In four sectors - educational and health services, financial services, construction, and information - women lost jobs while employment for men rose, according to the IWPR report. Men lost more jobs than women in three areas, which included wholesale trade, mining and logging, and "other services."
Both men and women saw job growth in the government sector, which IWPR attributed to jobs related to the collection of the 2020 Census.
In addition to women, job losses have also disproportionately teenagers in the workforce. According to the IWPR report, the rate of unemployment for men and women ages 16 to 19 is 14.3%, compared with 4% for men and women aged 20 and older. It's the only demographic where the current rate of unemployment is in double digits, IWPR said.
"The job losses in Leisure and Hospitality, and in Retail are likely to have a particularly severe impact on younger workers," according to the report.
Business Insider previously reported that more than 10 million people filed for unemployment benefits in the last two weeks of March. The surge has overwhelmed unemployment systems across the US, according to the previous report, leaving unemployed people unsure when they might receive needed aid.
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