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.

Key insight

In 2021, doing unpaid domestic work was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Mooroobool, accounting for 64.3% (3,726 people). This share was lower than Cairns (R) (65.3%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 3,490 people, while its share fell by 0.5 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid domestic work

Mooroobool - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Mooroobool in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Cairns (R) and change since 2016.

Unpaid domestic work snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Mooroobool, with comparison markers for Cairns (R).

Mooroobool
Cairns (R)

Did Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

3,726

% of total

64.3%

Change from 2016

-0.5pp

Less Than 5 Hours

2021 count

1,185

% of total

20.4%

Change from 2016

+8.9pp

Between 5 And 14 Hours

2021 count

1,514

% of total

26.1%

Change from 2016

+5.2pp

Between 15 And 29 Hours

2021 count

607

% of total

10.5%

Change from 2016

-5.2pp

30 Hours Or More

2021 count

420

% of total

7.2%

Change from 2016

-9.6pp

Did No Unpaid Domestic Work

2021 count

1,640

% of total

28.3%

Change from 2016

+6.3pp

Not Stated

2021 count

430

% of total

7.4%

Change from 2016

-6.1pp

Data table

Unpaid domestic work for Mooroobool. Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).

Unpaid domestic work for Mooroobool. Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Unpaid domestic work for Mooroobool. Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Cairns (R).
Category20212016Change
Count%Cairns (R)%Count%Cairns (R)%Countpp
Did Unpaid Domestic Work3,72664.3%65.3%23664.8%68.3%+3,490-0.5pp
Less Than 5 Hours1,18520.4%19.7%4211.5%21.2%+1,143+8.9pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours1,51426.1%27.1%7620.9%27.6%+1,438+5.2pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours60710.5%11.1%5715.7%11.1%+550-5.2pp
30 Hours Or More4207.2%7.5%6116.8%8.4%+359-9.6pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work1,64028.3%24.8%8022.0%20.3%+1,560+6.3pp
Not Stated4307.4%9.9%4913.5%11.4%+381-6.1pp
Total5,796100.0%100.0%364100.0%100.0%+5,4320.0pp