Men hurt more than women in 'Full Monty' recession

Research by Policy Exchange suggests that men have been more hurt by the recession than women.

The Telegraph reports: "The number of men in employment fell three times more than the number of women in one year, with the employment rate of women falling by 2.8% up to September 2009 and the employment rate of men slumping by 8.8 per cent... Official figures show that the number of men of working age with jobs has fallen from 92% in 1971 to 75%. The number of women who are employed has risen from 56 per cent to 69%, narrowing the gap between women and men to 6%."

Neil O'Brien, director of Policy Exchange, said: 'We are having a Full Monty-style recession with women faring much better than men. As Britain has lost industrial jobs over the last couple of decades, the number of men in work has collapsed, and the numbers on benefits soared. The current recession is accelerating this trend further.” The Fully Monty was a 1997 hit film that showed how a group on men in Sheffield became strippers after losing their jobs in the steel industry.

[No link yet available on the Policy Exchange website.]