Increasingly mums are returning to the workforce when their youngest child begins school, statistics from the ABS show.


For mums whose youngest child was of school-age (6 to 14 years), 79% participated in the labour force in 2010-11, up from 77% in 2006-07.

For mums with school-aged children, 55% were working part-time in 2010-11, and 10% of those mums both wanted to and were available to work more. 

Two-thirds of employed mums with children under 6 years of age were working part-time in 2010-11, and 9% of those mums both wanted to and were available to work more. 

But mums don't just work in a job. In 2006, mums of school-aged children on average spent 5 hours and 9 minutes a day caring for their children, while mums of younger children spent 11 hours and 25 minutes. Those mums employed part-time spent almost 2 hours more per day looking after their children (8 hours and 34 minutes) compared to mums who worked full-time (6 hours and 39 minutes per day).

In 2009-10 there were 1.2 million mothers of children under 6 years, another 1.1 million mothers whose youngest child was aged 6 to 14 years, and a further 1.3 million mothers with older children.

The median age of women having a baby in 2010 was 30.7 years, up from 29.8 years in 2000. The median age of first-time mothers in 2010 was 28.9 years.

To find out more about mothers see the ABS online products: Gender Indicators, Australia (cat. no. 4125.0), How Australians Use Their Time, 2006 (cat. no. 4153.0), Family Characteristics, Australia, 2009-10 (4442.0) and Births, Australia, 2010 (cat. no. 3301.0).