Women More Likely Than Men To Live Paycheck To Paycheck

At least along some measures, the economy is back to its pre-recesssion state. According to a new survey by CareerBuilder, 42 percent of workers report that they usually or always live paycheck to paycheck, falling 1 percent from last year in a return to 2007 levels.

The picture is less pretty for women, however. Forty-six percent of female workers are living paycheck to paycheck compared to 38 percent of male workers, the survey says, and almost a quarter of female respondents said that they had missed a bill payment in the last year, compared to 17 percent for men. The persistent wage gap no doubt plays a role in this. Women still make 19 percent less than men for the same job, and according to a 2010 report by the Center for American Progress, an unmarried woman earns just 56 cents to a married man's dollar.