Stay at home parents face a big job market penalty when they try to re-enter the workforce

Like those who are trying to return to the workforce after being unemployed, stay at home parents also face a disadvantage when trying to find a new job. But which is a greater disadvantage for jobseekers, unemployment or having been a stay-at-home parent? In new research which examines job openings across 50 US cities, Kate Weisshaar finds that compared to job applicants that were already employed, stay-at-home mothers and fathers were significantly less likely to be called back by an employer for a job – less likely even than those who had experienced a period of unemployment.