Women in the UK are in danger of bearing the brunt of job losses over the next eight years, researchers claimed on Thursday.

Men will take up an increasing share of employment in many parts of the economy previously dominated by women, according to the Commission for Employment and Skills in a report on post-recession employment trends.

The forecast follows a warning from the Trade Union Congress that women will be hit harder during the recession than men, with jobs losses spread across the economy rather than in sectors dominated by male employment, like manufacturing.

This was reflected in official employment figures that showed that while employment fell by a lower-than-expected 26,000 in the three months to November, full-time employment plunged by 89,000. Job vacancies declined by 69,000 in the three months to December.

However, the Commission said the economy would bounce back, with almost 2 million jobs created by 2017.

A significant increase in the population, helped by immigration, will help raise employment levels above 30 million.