Caution: Men Out of Work.

That's more than a pithy play on words.

It is a sobering sign of the times, a troubling trend that David Zinczenko, editor in chief of Men's Health, cleverly calls the "Great He-Cession."

Turns out that men – much more than women – are feeling the brutal brunt of a gut-wrenching recession that's devouring male-dominated jobs in construction and manufacturing.

"This troubling trend has been going on for several years, but it really picked up speed at the end of 2008," Zinczenko wrote in a recent USA Today article. "Of the 5.2 million people who've lost their jobs since last summer, four out of five were men.

"Some experts predict that this year, for the first time, more American women will have jobs than men. And that's just furthering the decline of the endangered male."

I'm not ready to jump on the "endangered male" bandwagon just yet. Not after enduring all the "endangered-black-male" hype for two decades.

Let's see, we're so endangered that a black male now runs the White House.

Nor am I ready to emphatically declare that this draconian turn in the economy is as glum and gut-wrenching as the Great Depression that gripped our parents and grandparents.

We have more safety nets than we did eight decades ago, even if they aren't fail-proof.

This much is clear: Too many men – and fathers – are losing their identity and well-honed sense of self-worth as the traditional, breadwinning, daddy-knows-best role gives way to more women taking charge at work and at home.

"For a lot of guys who define themselves centered around the breadwinning role and suddenly they're out of jobs, the silver lining is that in the time they're out of work, they may have a closer, more intimate relationship with their kids than they've ever had," said Vince DiCaro, a spokesman for the National Fatherhood Initiative. "They're recognizing the incredible joy their children bring."

So kids, for this Father's Day, what do you give the man who has everything?

"How 'bout a job?" quipped Phil Holland, a 44-year-old Euless man who lives with his fiancée. "My emergency unemployment is about to run out. Do you know anybody building a power plant?"

Holland, who abruptly left the restaurant business for a higher-paying job with an energy-management company that lasted only three months, is in he-man limbo.

"It's been kind of weird," he said, "because I'm a househusband right now living with my fiancée and her 19-year-old boy."

His fiancée, Kim Jackson, works at a convenience store, and the couple is struggling through the weak economy.

"I don't get up and go to work," Holland said. "I get up and do laundry."

Holland, like many men, said he feels odd in his new role, even if society has changed. "It messes with your head," he said. "It's just difficult to explain."

What men need these days – perhaps more than another necktie – is reassurance that their presence at home, whether or not they're the breadwinner, is valued and cherished.

Disturbingly, more than 25 million children live apart from their biological fathers – or slightly more than one of every three children in the U.S.

Let's break it down further: Nearly two in three black kids (65 percent) live in homes where no father is present. Almost four in 10 (36 percent) Hispanic children and 27 percent of white children live in fatherless homes, according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics.

If you think that doesn't matter, think again: Studies show that children in "father-absent" homes are five times more likely to be poor, and they face higher odds of being incarcerated than those living with Mom and Dad.

One of the problems is that too many boys are pretending to be men – having babies out of wedlock, failing to commit to their partners and connect with their kids. And too many men don't know how to be fathers, especially when they're asked to do more than bring home the bacon.

"I do tend to find men's identities are connected in a big way to what they do in their career," said Rick Eldredge, a code enforcement officer for the city of Euless who is helping Holland make needed repairs to his home. "If it's not a job, they have to fill that void with something else."

Shakespeare had it right: It is a wise man who knows his own child.

These days, it is a lucky child who knows his own father – whether he mows lawns, runs a major corporation or stays home and does the laundry.