Work and Family
Two-thirds of mums are in employment
Employment rates: by age of youngest dependent child, 2008, UK
More than two thirds of working-age women with dependent children (68 per cent) were in employment in the second quarter of 2008. But women without children were more likely to be in employment, at 73 per cent over the same period.
The age of the youngest child affects the employment rate of mothers. Of working-age women with children aged under five, 57 per cent were in employment. This compared with 71 per cent for those whose youngest child was aged five to ten and 78 per cent whose youngest child was aged 11 to 15.
Conversely, men with dependent children are more likely than those without to be in employment. The age of their children has no impact on their likelihood of being in employment. Around 90 per cent of men with dependent children were in employment regardless of the age of their youngest child.
Women are more likely than men to work part time, particularly if they have dependent children. Thirty eight per cent of women with dependent children worked part time compared with 22 per cent of those without dependent children. Only 4 per cent of men with dependent children and 7 per cent of men without dependent children worked part time.
A smaller proportion of lone mothers are in employment than mothers who are married or cohabiting. Fifty six per cent of lone mothers were in employment, compared with 72 per cent of married or cohabiting women with dependent children.
The age of the youngest dependent child has an impact on the employment rate of lone mothers. Thirty five per cent of those with a child aged under five were in employment compared with 59 per cent of those with a child aged five to ten. The difference in employment rates between lone mothers and married or cohabiting women narrowed as the age of the youngest child rises, almost disappearing for women with dependent children aged 16 to 18.
The opportunity to work flexibly can improve people's ability to balance home and work responsibilities. In Q22008 women were more likely than men to have some form of flexible working arrangement, including flexible working hours and term-time working arrangements. Around 30 per cent of women used a flexible working pattern as compared to around 20 per cent of men. Flexible working arrangements among men and women with dependent children show a similar story. Just under a third of mothers used some form of flexible working pattern compared with around a fifth of fathers.
Among all types of flexible working arrangements, flexible working hours was the most common type to be used by all parent employees (10 per cent). Of parents with dependent children, mothers were slightly more likely to use this working arrangement than fathers; one in nine mothers worked flexible working hours compared with one in eleven fathers. Term time working arrangements, however, showed the largest difference between mothers and fathers – 9 per cent of mothers used this type of flexible working arrangement compared with 1 per cent of fathers.
Source: Labour Force Survey,Q2 2008, Office for National Statistics
Notes: Employment rate - the proportion of the population of working-age men (aged 16-64) and women (aged 16-59) who are in employment.
Dependent children - children aged under 16and those aged 16 to 18 who are never-married and in full-time education.
Data are at Q2 2008 and are not seasonally adjusted.
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