change from previous recessions, when men typically suffered greater job losses than women. in february 2020, the unemployment rate for women was slightly lower than for men, but by april it had risen to 16. 1 percent, compared to 13. 6 percent for men. that difference continued only until september, but this statistic does not reveal the fact that many women were leaving the workforce, and therefore not counted in unemployment. their labor force participation fell more than the participation rate for men and at last count, there were two million fewer women in the labor force than before the pandemic. 1 the difference in employment for men and women held true across some minority groups. 2 reasons why the pandemic affected women differently so, what led to this decline in women ’ s employment and what specific factors contributed to women ’ s employment and their choice to leave the labor force? and why has this time been different than other points in our history, resulting in larger declines for women relative to men? in contrast to previous crises, covid - 19 had a larger impact on occupations with higher numbers of female workers. women are disproportionately represented in high - contact jobs with less flexible work conditions, including lodging, food service, eldercare, and childcare, which were among the sectors most affected by the crisis. most of these jobs cannot be performed from home or have less flexibility in the timing of when they can be performed. roughly a quarter of women worked in these jobs, compared with around 10 percent of men. 3 the statistics cover adults 20 years and older, with seasonal adjustments, and come from the current and historical tables a - 1, a - 2, and a - 3 of the bls employment situation report. see u. s. bureau of labor statistics, “ the employment situation — september 2021, ” news release, october 8, 2021, https : / / www. bls. gov / news. release / empsit. nr0. htm. labor force participation rates declined by 6. 8 percent for hispanic women and 4. 2 percent for black women between february 2020 and september 2021. statistics come from current and historical tables a - 1, a - 2, and a - 3 of the bls employment situation report. see u. s. bureau of labor statistics, “ the employment situation — september 2021. ” stefania albanesi and jiyeon kim, “ effects of the covid - 19 recession on the us labor market

foreclosure resource centers at each reserve bank that continue to provide homeowners, prospective homebuyers, and community groups with information to help prevent foreclosures and lessen their negative influence on neighborhoods. these centers offer a variety of resources, including an enhanced foreclosure mitigation toolkit, which provides detailed steps and information for localities seeking to develop foreclosure prevention activities. the toolkit also includes a new foreclosure recovery resource guide to help consumers recover from the foreclosure process. as the foreclosure crisis unfolded and concerns expanded from loss mitigation and loan modifications to worries about housing values, vacant properties, and neighborhood stabilization, the fed ’ s response evolved as well. for example, starting in 2009, the board worked with the federal reserve banks of boston and cleveland to produce a publication addressing issues related to the acquisition and disposition of real estate owned properties ( reo ), a term that refers to property owned by a financial institution, typically a bank, after a foreclosure. the publication, “ reo and vacant properties, ” 2 is a compendium of papers by national experts that highlight their key ideas regarding the disposition of vacant properties. last november, the papers were presented publicly at a forum at the federal reserve board in washington, d. c., where more than 100 participants shared ideas and lessons learned about community stabilization. 3 in addition, last year, the federal reserve worked with other federal regulators to encourage neighborhood stabilization activities through the community reinvestment act. this year, we created video reports that describe specific strategies for managing vacant properties in cleveland, phoenix, and detroit. 4 throughout our work on the housing crisis, we have witnessed policy changes and novel responses to the challenges facing our communities. the collaborative efforts and for more information, see http : / / stlouisfed. org / rrrseries /. this publication ( 4. 6 mb pdf ) is available on the board ’ s website. to learn more about the forum, go to www. federalreserve. gov / events / conferences / 2010 / reovpsns / default. htm. all three video reports are available on the board ’ s website. bis central bankers ’ speeches information sharing from national housing and community development experts, including those led by our own staff, helped bring these innovative efforts to fruition. for example, as a result of our neighborhood stabilization work, some reserve banks partnered