Moms Are Leaving The Workforce Again After Brief Post-Pandemic Increase
The number of working mothers in the U.S. with children under 5 years old has dropped nearly every month this year, with labor force participation falling by nearly 3% from January to June 2025. It comes as many companies have revoked pandemic-era remote work policies and flexible schedules.
About 212,000 women over age 20 have stopped working or applying for jobs since January, while 44,000 men have entered the workforce in that time, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Labor force participation for mothers ages 25 to 44 living with young children is down to 67% in June 2025 from 70% in January.
WHAT’S LEADING TO THE CHANGE?
The drop is erasing gains to labor force participation made in the years after the pandemic, when remote work policies and flexible schedules brought more women into (or back into) the workforce. In 2025, many workers have seen those policies revoked on a large scale.
By the numbers: Full-time in-office requirements among Fortune 500 companies jumped to 24% in the second quarter of 2025, up from 13% at the end of 2024. President Trump also ordered federal employees back to the office five days a week in January, despite many federal workers having agreed to remote work contracts.
Other factors: Experts say another point of consideration is the pullback in federal dollars for childcare in recent years, forcing many centers to close or raise tuition.
Sweeping layoffs across the federal government have also affected many women who were drawn to those jobs for their stability and flexibility.
On the other hand, some moms say they’ve happily given up their jobs this year — to spend more time with their kids or to live out a lifestyle more in line with traditional gender roles.