The COVID recession was Australia’s deepest since the Great Depression. And while all Australians felt some effects, the economic pain was not shared equally.

This recession hit young people, those in insecure work, and women particularly hard. Indeed, women are recovering from a ‘triple-whammy’ – they were more likely to lose their jobs, more likely to do a lot more unpaid work, and less likely to get government support.

Women’s jobs were hit harder than men’s during the COVID lockdowns. At the peak in April, almost 8 per cent of Australian women had lost their jobs, and women’s total hours worked were down 12 per cent. The figures for men were 4 per cent and 7 per cent.

Women’s employment improved as the economy re-opened, but many groups have not caught up, and on current forecasts, unemployment will remain too high for too long.

Remote learning and the loss of formal and informal childcare and household support services led to a big rise in unpaid work during the lockdowns. This unpaid work was disproportionately borne by women, and many found it impossible to juggle with their existing paid work commitments.

Mothers in couples, and single parents (80 per cent of whom are women), were more likely to leave the labour force than other groups.

Women of childbearing age also gave up study in record numbers. For single parents, paid hours remain substantially below pre-pandemic levels.