Further increase mothers working in large part-time jobs

The percentage of mothers working in part-time jobs increased further in 2008. Last year, nearly six in ten women with underage children worked on a part-time basis. Medium-sized and large part-time jobs became more popular. The overall labour market participation rate of mothers with underage children was nearly 70 percent.

Working hours women with underage children, 2001-2008

Labour participation rate mothers continually rising

Nearly seven in every ten mothers belonged to the employed labour force in 2008. The participation rate of mothers has increased for years, in particular since 2005. In 2001, 57 percent of mothers were working.

More mothers have 20 to 34-hour working weeks

The share of mothers working in medium-sized (20-27 hours) or large part-time jobs (28-34 hours) has grown considerably. In the period 2005-2008, the share of these two categories together rose by nearly 3 percentage points annually. The share of mothers with small jobs (12-19 hours) and full-time working mothers has hardly changed.

Working hours women with underage children by number of children, 2008

Mothers with more children work fewer hours

Last year, 14 percent of one-child mothers had full-time jobs. The rate is almost twice as high as among mothers with more than one child. One-child mothers also more often work 28-34 hours a week than mothers with two or more children. The more children women have, the more often they tend opt for small jobs. A job of three days a week is most frequently found, irrespective of the number of children.

Sabine Fouwels