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 Cumberland (A), accounting for 50.9% (95,922 people). This share was lower than Greater Sydney (65.5%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 14,673 people and 4.6 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid domestic work
Cumberland (A) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Cumberland (A) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Greater Sydney and change since 2016.
Unpaid domestic work snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Cumberland (A), with comparison markers for Greater Sydney.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
95,922
% of total
50.9%
Change from 2016
-5.6pp
95,922
50.9%
-5.6pp
Less Than 5 Hours
2021 count
27,318
% of total
14.5%
Change from 2016
-5.2pp
27,318
14.5%
-5.2pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
2021 count
35,120
% of total
18.6%
Change from 2016
-0.9pp
35,120
18.6%
-0.9pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
2021 count
17,233
% of total
9.1%
Change from 2016
+0.4pp
17,233
9.1%
+0.4pp
30 Hours Or More
2021 count
16,251
% of total
8.6%
Change from 2016
0.0pp
16,251
8.6%
0.0pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
75,587
% of total
40.1%
Change from 2016
+4.6pp
75,587
40.1%
+4.6pp
Not Stated
2021 count
17,046
% of total
9.0%
Change from 2016
+1.0pp
17,046
9.0%
+1.0pp
Chart view
Unpaid domestic work change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
-1,133
-5.6pp
Less Than 5 Hours
-6,509
-5.2pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
+1,616
-0.9pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
+2,277
+0.4pp
30 Hours Or More
+1,483
0.0pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
+14,673
+4.6pp
Not Stated
+3,301
+1.0pp
Data table
Unpaid domestic work for Cumberland (A). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Greater Sydney.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | % | Greater Sydney% | Count | pp | |
| Did Unpaid Domestic Work | 95,922 | 50.9% | 65.5% | 97,055 | 56.5% | 67.0% | -1,133 | -5.6pp |
| Less Than 5 Hours | 27,318 | 14.5% | 19.0% | 33,827 | 19.7% | 23.8% | -6,509 | -5.2pp |
| Between 5 And 14 Hours | 35,120 | 18.6% | 26.1% | 33,504 | 19.5% | 24.6% | +1,616 | -0.9pp |
| Between 15 And 29 Hours | 17,233 | 9.1% | 11.8% | 14,956 | 8.7% | 10.4% | +2,277 | +0.4pp |
| 30 Hours Or More | 16,251 | 8.6% | 8.6% | 14,768 | 8.6% | 8.1% | +1,483 | 0.0pp |
| Did No Unpaid Domestic Work | 75,587 | 40.1% | 28.5% | 60,914 | 35.5% | 25.2% | +14,673 | +4.6pp |
| Not Stated | 17,046 | 9.0% | 6.1% | 13,745 | 8.0% | 7.8% | +3,301 | +1.0pp |
| Total | 188,553 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 171,707 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +16,846 | 0.0pp |