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Is ''women's work'' now more recession proof? The unemployment rate for women normally rises more rapidly than for men during a recession. Not so, this time. As in the 1980 recession, unemployment for women has risen more slowly. But the difference in the current crunch has been even more pronounced. The number of unemployed men rose 2.5 percent during the past year, compared with a 1.8 percent jump for women.

The reason? Blue-collar workers, predominantly adult men, have been hardest hit. Some 67 percent of women are white-collar workers; only 45 percent of men hold white-collar jobs.m