Working wives in economic downturns
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Over the past 40 years, women's participation in the labour force has been increasing; this trend has improved the economic security of Canadian couples during economic downturns.
In the 2008–2009 recession, almost 70% of unemployed husbands had a working spouse, compared with 50% during the 1981–1983 recession. Women married to unemployed men averaged about 30 hours of work per week in both of these downturns. They worked on average 41 weeks in 2006, an increase from 35 weeks in 1981. By 2006, wives were earning an average of $18,550 per year, compared with $10,690 in 1981.
Between the two downturns, more and more women joined the labour market. Women with an unemployed spouse increased their participation the most when their husbands were aged 45 to 64 or when their husbands did not have a university degree.
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