Employment

Unpaid care

About this topic

Unpaid care records whether people aged 15 years and over spent time providing unpaid help or assistance to someone because of disability, long-term illness, or problems related to old age. It captures informal care provided by family members or others in the community.

This topic is useful for understanding the demand placed on informal carers and the likely need for support services, respite, and home-based assistance. It does not measure the intensity or duration of care, so it should be read alongside need for assistance and other health and ageing indicators.

Interpretation notes

  • This records whether a person aged 15 years and over provided unpaid help or assistance in the previous two weeks because of disability, long-term illness, or old age.
  • It identifies whether care was provided, not the intensity, frequency, or number of hours of care.

Key insight

In 2021, not providing unpaid care was the most common response among residents aged 15 and over in Harrogate, accounting for 81.2% (285 people). This share was lower than Mount Barker (DC) (82.2%). Since 2016, the biggest change was in provided Unpaid Assistance, which increased by 28 people and 7.5 percentage points.

Section overview

Unpaid care

Harrogate - Persons aged 15+ (Usual residence)

This table summarises unpaid care for Harrogate in 2021 for persons, with comparison against Mount Barker (DC) and change since 2016.

Unpaid care snapshot

2021 distribution by category for Harrogate, with comparison markers for Mount Barker (DC).

Harrogate
Mount Barker (DC)

Total Provided Unpaid Assistance

2021 count

54

% of total

15.4%

Change from 2016

+7.5pp

Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided

2021 count

285

% of total

81.2%

Change from 2016

+0.7pp

Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated

2021 count

11

% of total

3.1%

Change from 2016

-6.0pp

Data table

Unpaid care for Harrogate. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Barker (DC).

Unpaid care for Harrogate. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Barker (DC).
Unpaid care for Harrogate. Unpaid care. 2021 and 2016 counts, percentages, and change compared with Mount Barker (DC).
Category20212016Change
Count%Mount Barker (DC)%Count%Mount Barker (DC)%Countpp
Total Provided Unpaid Assistance5415.4%13.2%267.9%11.3%+28+7.5pp
Total No Unpaid Assistance Provided28581.2%82.2%26580.5%81.5%+20+0.7pp
Total Unpaid Assistance Not Stated113.1%4.6%309.1%7.2%-19-6.0pp
Total351100.0%100.0%329100.0%100.0%+220.0pp