Abstract
Gender differences in recovery following job displacement remain understudied in the United States, particularly within a household context. This paper examines how married men and women adjust their labor supply after job loss during mass layoff events. Using restricted U.S. administrative data in the 2000s and 2010s, we estimate event study and matched difference-indifference models of employment and earnings around displacement. We find that women experience larger short-run employment declines, but smaller long-run earnings losses than men. This pattern reflects substantial heterogeneity across households. Mothers with school-age children experience earnings gains relative to comparable non-displaced women, and women’s relative improvements are concentrated among secondary earners and those with shorter unemployment spells. We find limited roles for self-employment, education, labor market conditions, and unemployment insurance in explaining these patterns. Instead, the results highlight the importance of household structure-particularly the presence and age of children-and household roles in shaping gender differences in recovery from job displacement.