98% of U.S. Jobs Went to Women While Men Fell Further Behind: Here’s why

Sasha Senior - owner of Bliss Skateboard shop — @girlisnota4letterword.com

Skateboarding is no longer just about who is riding the board.

Look at the people working behind the scenes and women are showing up in some of the biggest positions across the industry.

SZA became Vans’ Artistic Director in 2025 through a multi year creative partnership with the brand, working on campaigns and exclusive product collections.

Vans is also led by Sun Choe, who was appointed Global Brand President in 2024 after previously serving as lululemon’s Chief Product Officer.

Sun Choe Vans Global President — Credit: Sun Choe; VF Corp

Then there are the people working directly around skateboarding.

Contest announcers and commentators are increasingly women as well. Alex White has been a commentator for skateboarding competitions. She has also worked in skate industry roles beyond the microphone.

That is only one part of a much bigger workforce connected to skateboarding.

Behind every skate company, shop, event and organization is an entire workforce handling sales, design, marketing, reception, photography, video, customer service and operations.

According to reports, women are becoming increasingly visible in those roles, and that shift fits into a much larger change happening across the American labor market.

Women accounted for 158,000 of the 162,000 jobs created in August, according to a CNBC analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data. That works out to roughly 98% of the jobs created during the month.

Men accounted for just 4,000 net positions.

The difference is even more striking when looking at the past year. The number of employed women has increased by more than 870,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis, while the number of employed men has fallen by nearly 1.5 million.

The change can be seen across several industries.

68-Year-Old Grandma Shreds on a Skateboard — @Instagram.com/globalsouthworld

Healthcare continued to create jobs in August, and women make up more than four out of every five workers in the industry.

Local government and education also produced 42,000 jobs during the month. Women hold close to three quarters of positions connected to education, training and libraries.

Women are also gaining ground in fields that have traditionally employed more men, including manufacturing.

That same expansion can be seen in parts of skateboarding.

Take Skate Like a Girl. The organization has helped create opportunities for girls and women to participate in skateboarding through programs, events and community initiatives.

Skate Like a Girl Program — @Instagram.com/skatelikeagirl

But participation is only one part of the picture.

The skate industry needs people selling products to retailers, answering phones, designing graphics, managing social media, coordinating events, handling customers and running day to day business operations.

A graphic designer working on a deck graphic is part of skateboarding.

So is the person selling that deck to a retailer.

The receptionist answering calls at a skate company is part of the business. So is the marketing employee creating its next campaign.

As skateboarding has developed into a larger commercial industry, the number of careers connected to it has expanded with it.

The latest employment data shows women are gaining ground across the wider economy at the same time.

The unemployment rate for women fell to 3.9% in August, while the rate for men reached 4.4%.

@Instagram.com/fabiana_delfino

The overall jobs number also came in much higher than economists expected. The economy added 162,000 positions during the month, more than three times the forecast.

There is a catch, however.

Economists caution that one month's gender employment figures can be volatile. Heather Long, chief economist at Navy Federal Credit Union, has argued that longer term patterns provide a better picture.

There are also questions about the types of jobs being created.

Laura Ullrich of Indeed Hiring Lab noted that women generally earn less than men, meaning a larger share of new positions going to women does not automatically translate into stronger financial outcomes.

Women are also more likely to work multiple jobs, so some of the increase could involve people taking on additional employment to cover expenses.

That makes the headline figure more complicated than simply saying women are winning and men are losing.

Still, the numbers show a noticeable change in the labor market.

And within skateboarding, the same broader shift can be seen in the people building the businesses and organizations around the culture.

The skaters are still the most visible part of the industry.

Behind them is a growing network of employees handling everything from sales and customer service to design, marketing and management.

That is where the employment story gets bigger than the skatepark.