Vice President Harris: "Women's Exit from Labor Market Due to COVID-19 Is a National Emergency"

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[Asia Economy Reporter Yujin Cho] U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris has declared the exit of women from the labor market due to COVID-19 a national emergency and urged the swift passage of a $1.9 trillion stimulus package to address this crisis.

On the 18th (local time), speaking via video at an event supporting enhanced COVID-19 relief for women, she stated that the prolonged COVID-19 situation has inflicted greater damage on women in the U.S. labor market compared to men, according to The New York Times (NYT).

She emphasized, "Approximately 2.5 million women have lost their jobs due to the impact of COVID-19, a number large enough to fill 40 football fields. The massive exit of female workers from the labor market constitutes a national emergency that requires a nationwide solution."

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 2.5 million women lost their jobs after COVID-19, exceeding the 1.8 million men who did. This is attributed to the greater impact on service industries, healthcare, and low-wage jobs, sectors with a relatively high proportion of female workers.

She pointed out, "After schools and kindergartens closed due to COVID-19, 400,000 childcare-related jobs disappeared, forcing many women to reduce their working hours or quit their jobs to care for their children."

She added, "Without women's economic participation, a full recovery of our economy is impossible," explaining, "If women participated in the labor market at the same rate as men, GDP could increase by 5%."

She stressed the urgency of introducing the $1.9 trillion stimulus package proposed by the Biden administration to prevent women from leaving the labor market.

Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus package includes raising the child tax credit to $3,000 ($3,600 for children under 6) and allocating $40 billion in funding for childcare support.

She added, "The longer we hesitate to act, the harder it will be to bring millions of women back into the labor market," and "This stimulus package is expected to benefit half of children living in poverty."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.