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 Mackay (R), accounting for 65.7% (63,811 people). This share was lower than Regional Qld (67.1%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in not doing unpaid domestic work, which increased by 5,393 people and 4.3 percentage points.
Section overview
Unpaid domestic work
Mackay (R) - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)
This table summarises unpaid domestic work for Mackay (R) in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Regional Qld and change since 2016.
Unpaid domestic work snapshot
2021 distribution by category for Mackay (R), with comparison markers for Regional Qld.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
63,811
% of total
65.7%
Change from 2016
-4.2pp
63,811
65.7%
-4.2pp
Less Than 5 Hours
2021 count
18,280
% of total
18.8%
Change from 2016
-1.4pp
18,280
18.8%
-1.4pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
2021 count
25,523
% of total
26.3%
Change from 2016
-0.2pp
25,523
26.3%
-0.2pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
2021 count
10,995
% of total
11.3%
Change from 2016
-1.0pp
10,995
11.3%
-1.0pp
30 Hours Or More
2021 count
9,013
% of total
9.3%
Change from 2016
-1.7pp
9,013
9.3%
-1.7pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
2021 count
23,139
% of total
23.8%
Change from 2016
+4.3pp
23,139
23.8%
+4.3pp
Not Stated
2021 count
10,237
% of total
10.5%
Change from 2016
-0.1pp
10,237
10.5%
-0.1pp
Chart view
Unpaid domestic work change
Absolute change in category counts between 2016 and 2021.
Did Unpaid Domestic Work
+16
-4.2pp
Less Than 5 Hours
-109
-1.4pp
Between 5 And 14 Hours
+1,346
-0.2pp
Between 15 And 29 Hours
-247
-1.0pp
30 Hours Or More
-974
-1.7pp
Did No Unpaid Domestic Work
+5,393
+4.3pp
Not Stated
+566
-0.1pp
Data table
Unpaid domestic work for Mackay (R). Unpaid domestic work. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Regional Qld.
| Category | 2021 | 2016 | Change | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | % | Regional Qld% | Count | pp | |
| Did Unpaid Domestic Work | 63,811 | 65.7% | 67.1% | 63,795 | 69.9% | 69.3% | +16 | -4.2pp |
| Less Than 5 Hours | 18,280 | 18.8% | 19.3% | 18,389 | 20.2% | 20.9% | -109 | -1.4pp |
| Between 5 And 14 Hours | 25,523 | 26.3% | 26.7% | 24,177 | 26.5% | 26.3% | +1,346 | -0.2pp |
| Between 15 And 29 Hours | 10,995 | 11.3% | 12.1% | 11,242 | 12.3% | 12.2% | -247 | -1.0pp |
| 30 Hours Or More | 9,013 | 9.3% | 9.0% | 9,987 | 11.0% | 10.0% | -974 | -1.7pp |
| Did No Unpaid Domestic Work | 23,139 | 23.8% | 24.3% | 17,746 | 19.5% | 20.2% | +5,393 | +4.3pp |
| Not Stated | 10,237 | 10.5% | 8.6% | 9,671 | 10.6% | 10.4% | +566 | -0.1pp |
| Total | 97,190 | 100.0% | 100.0% | 91,204 | 100.0% | 100.0% | +5,986 | 0.0pp |