Employment
Unpaid domestic work
About this topic
Unpaid domestic work measures how much time people aged 15 years and over spent doing housework for their household in the week before the Census. It helps show the distribution of unpaid labour that supports home and family life.
This topic is useful for understanding household roles, time pressures, and gender or life-stage differences in unpaid work. It is best read with household type, employment, and income, because the amount of unpaid domestic work can be shaped by family structure and the ability to outsource tasks.
Interpretation notes
- The hours refer to unpaid domestic work done for the person's household in the week before the Census.
- This topic does not measure childcare, disability care, or other unpaid help unless it falls within domestic work for the household.
Related topics
Key insight
In 2021, doing unpaid domestic work was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Adelaide (C), accounting for 61.4% (14,478 people). This share was lower than Greater Adelaide (70.7%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 2,002 people and 1.6 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid domestic work
Adelaide (C) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Adelaide (C) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Adelaide and change since 2016.
Unpaid domestic work snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Adelaide (C), with comparison markers for Greater Adelaide.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
14,478
% of total
61.4%
Change from 2016
+1.6pp
14,478
61.4%
+1.6pp
Less Than 5 Hours
2021 count
5,442
% of total
23.1%
Change from 2016
-3.6pp
5,442
23.1%
-3.6pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
2021 count
6,295
% of total
26.7%
Change from 2016
+3.3pp
6,295
26.7%
+3.3pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
2021 count
1,839
% of total
7.8%
Change from 2016
+1.2pp
1,839
7.8%
+1.2pp
30 Hours Or More
2021 count
902
% of total
3.8%
Change from 2016
+0.6pp
902
3.8%
+0.6pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
7,052
% of total
29.9%
Change from 2016
+2.1pp
7,052
29.9%
+2.1pp
Not Stated
2021 count
2,053
% of total
8.7%
Change from 2016
-3.7pp
2,053
8.7%
-3.7pp
Chart view
Unpaid domestic work change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
+2,002
+1.6pp
Less Than 5 Hours
-120
-3.6pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
+1,407
+3.3pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
+471
+1.2pp
30 Hours Or More
+244
+0.6pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
+1,261
+2.1pp
Not Stated
-530
-3.7pp
Data table
Unpaid domestic work for Adelaide (C). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Adelaide.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Adelaide% | Count | % | Greater Adelaide% | Count | pp | |
| Did Unpaid Domestic Work | 14,478 | 61.4% | 70.7% | 12,476 | 59.8% | 71.4% | +2,002 | +1.6pp |
| Less Than 5 Hours | 5,442 | 23.1% | 21.0% | 5,562 | 26.7% | 22.6% | -120 | -3.6pp |
| Between 5 And 14 Hours | 6,295 | 26.7% | 29.0% | 4,888 | 23.4% | 27.9% | +1,407 | +3.3pp |
| Between 15 And 29 Hours | 1,839 | 7.8% | 12.6% | 1,368 | 6.6% | 12.3% | +471 | +1.2pp |
| 30 Hours Or More | 902 | 3.8% | 8.1% | 658 | 3.2% | 8.6% | +244 | +0.6pp |
| Did No Unpaid Domestic Work | 7,052 | 29.9% | 24.9% | 5,791 | 27.8% | 21.8% | +1,261 | +2.1pp |
| Not Stated | 2,053 | 8.7% | 4.4% | 2,583 | 12.4% | 6.8% | -530 | -3.7pp |
| Total | 23,578 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 20,850 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +2,728 | 0.0pp |