Tomorrow’s jobs report will be treated like it’s the ultimate scorecard for the economy.
Hot takes. Market reactions. “What this means for the Fed” segments.
But there’s one thing it won’t do:
Tell the truth about what’s happening to women.
Because of the 43-day federal government shutdown, we’re getting a delayed September report, the October report has been canceled, and the November data won’t show up until mid-December - after the next Fed meeting. One stale report is being asked to carry way too much weight.
Economists will say something like: “The labor market is cooling, but still fine. Maybe ~50,000 jobs added, unemployment around 4.3%.”
From where I sit - inside hundreds of women’s job searches - that translation is incomplete at best and dismissive at worst.
So here’s how I want you to read this report as a woman and as the CEO of your own career.
1. Women are acting as the shock absorbers
In the first half of 2025, hundreds of thousands of women left the workforce, with mothers of young children seeing the steepest drop in participation in over 40 years. Rising childcare costs and strict return-to-office policies are a big part of the picture.
On paper, this looks like a gentle “cooling labor market.” In real life, it looks like:
“I can’t afford childcare for two kids on my salary.”
“My job snapped back to five days in-office, my partner’s didn’t, and we can’t be in two places at once.”
“I’m piecing together contract work, school pick-ups, and elder care, and none of it shows up in the jobs report.”
The data is gender-blind, but the impact is not.
2. The numbers are politicized. Your reality is not.
We’re also reading this report in a moment where the jobs numbers themselves have become a political football.
The shutdown halted data collection, so one month’s report is literally missing.
The head of the Bureau of Labor Statistics was fired earlier this year after an inconvenient jobs print, raising concern about pressure on an agency that’s supposed to be boring and neutral.
Why does that matter for you?
Because when the scoreboard is under attack and sometimes unplugged, it becomes even easier for people to dismiss what women are actually experiencing at work.
“Can’t find childcare, job market feels brutal, recruiter ghosted me again?”
Well… unemployment is only 4.3%, so maybe it’s just you.
No. Absolutely not.
3. A quick cheat sheet: how I’ll read tomorrow’s report
If you don’t want to wade through all the tables, here are the three things I’ll be watching for (and how you can think about them too).
Are women quietly disappearing again?
I’ll be looking at:
Labor force participation for women 25–54
The employment-to-population ratio for women
If women’s participation ticks down while men’s is flat or rising, that’s a sign that women are once again stepping out (or being pushed out) to absorb the shock.
If the headline says “steady,” but women’s participation is slipping, this isn’t stability. It’s strain.
Who is losing jobs first?
I’ll look at unemployment broken out by sex and race, especially:
Adult women vs. adult men
Black women and Latinas
If the overall unemployment rate looks calm but the rate for Black women is jumping, the downturn is not “even.” It’s being offloaded onto specific groups of women.
This is your reminder not to gaslight yourself if your community is being hit harder than the headline suggests.
Are women being pushed into worse-quality work?
I’ll check:
Part-time for economic reasons (people who want full-time but can’t get it)
Multiple jobholders
If those numbers grow for women, it means more of us are patching together income in ways that are more fragile, more chaotic, and more exhausting.
For your job search, that means:
Don’t assume a “for now” contract or part-time role will magically convert. Build an exit plan.
4. What this means if you’re job searching right now
Here’s what I want you to take away, especially if you’re staring down a job search heading into year-end:
You are not the problem.
If your search feels harder, you’re not imagining it. We’re in a moment where data is messy, childcare is expensive, and flexibility is shrinking. The jobs report will understate all of that.
You’re allowed to treat this as a systems problem, not a personal failing.
When hundreds of thousands of women leave the workforce, the issue isn’t that you didn’t manifest hard enough. It’s structure, policy, and priorities.
You still have agency.
My read of the jobs report is not “everything is terrible, full stop.” It’s “OK, given this reality, how do I play smart?”
Concretely, that might look like:
Targeting employers and sectors that are still growing and still offer flexibility.
Asking pointed questions about hybrid policies, schedule expectations, and support for caregivers.
Negotiating not just salary, but location, hours, and boundaries that let your life actually work.
At Get Her Hired, my mantra is:
You are not just a line on a spreadsheet. You’re a whole human with a life, a family, a body, and a brain.
Quick note from me
If reading this made you realize, “Yep, I need a smarter plan for my next move,” that’s literally what we do all day.
Hit reply to this email, or book a consult, and let’s make sure the story of your career isn’t written by a single jobs report.
— Kate
PS: Further reading (if you want to go nerdy on this)
If you like having receipts, here are a few good ones:
KPMG – “The Great Exit” – On why moms of young kids are leaving the workforce in record numbers (and how RTO + childcare costs are driving it).
Allwork.Space – “Over 200,000 U.S. Women Have Left the Workforce in 2025 Alone” – Breaks down the 212,000-women figure and what’s behind it.
TIME – “Why So Many Women Are Quitting the Workforce” – A smart, readable deep dive on the lived experience behind the stats.
(You don’t have to read any of these to “qualify” to feel how you feel. They’re just here if your inner data nerd is curious.)
REMINDER!
- Jennifer McCullough
From Burnout to Brilliance: A live conversation with Burnout Recovery Coach Jennifer McCullough
📅 Thursday, Nov 20
🕧 12:30–1:30pm CT
🌐 Live virtual session. Anonymous Q&A. Registration required.
Thank you all for taking the time to learn and grow with us. - Jhoneth, Ann Marie, Lourdes, Mimi and Kate.
👋Before you Go …
Ready to move, but don’t know where to start? 📞 Book a call. Let’s build the roadmap that takes you out of “stuck” and into hell yes.
If you don't want to receive future editions of Get Her Hired’s Excited to Share Newsletter, please unsubscribe. ⬇️
