I Irland og Nederlandene var kun under halvdelen af de kvinder, der betragtes som ledige (forstået som aktivt jobsøgende) registreret på arbejdsformidlingskontorerne i 1989. I Storbritannien var tallet helt nede på 40%.
These differentials in unemployment rates mean that, despite the fact that the number of women in employment in the Community is considerably less than the number of men — only around two-thirds as much on average — women now make up more than half of the total numbers recorded as being out of work in the Community as a whole (Graph 44).