Background to the Research

• This paper uses Labour Force Survey (LFS) data to present a picture of the Catholic and Protestant female labour force and unemployed in Northern Ireland. The chances of Catholic and non-Catholic women aged 20 to 54 being in the labour force and being employed are examined in detail. Particular attention is paid to family effects such as the effects of family size, the age of the youngest child and the economic activity of the male partner, if present. Econometric models are also used to disentangle the effects of various factors which simultaneously determine labour force participation and employment at the level of the individual.

Main Findings

• The proportions of employed Catholic and other women who are working part-time are almost the same, and their reasons for working part time are similar. Likewise, the reasons why economically inactive Catholic and non-Catholic women are not looking for a job are very similar, as are the proportions who would like a job and the proportions claiming unemployment-related payments.
• A woman is economically inactive if she does not participate in the labour force, i.e. if she is neither employed nor unemployed. Catholic inactivity rates tend to be about one third higher than non-Catholic rates, however this pattern does not hold for unemployment rates.
• The unemployment differential between Catholic and non-Catholic women is much lower than the corresponding male unemployment differential, thus there is no evidence to indicate that Catholic women are at a double disadvantage because of their sex and their religion. The unemployment differential however varies greatly with the presence of children.
• Catholic women are less likely to be economically active and, and if they are economically active, they are more likely to be unemployed. Religion accounts for about one third of the difference in participation rates and for about two thirds of the difference in unemployment rates in the sample.