- Office for National Statistics said number of mothers in work has risen steadily
- Are 4.9million working mothers in England compared to 3.7million 20 years ago
- Research brought out to mark the increase in free childcare from 15 to 30 hours
The number of mothers juggling raising their children with work has soared by 1.2million in the past 20 years, new figures today reveal.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there are now 4.9million working mothers in England this year – a rate of nearly 74 per cent.
This is 12 per cent higher than in 1996 when the number of women with dependent children heading out to the office stood at 3.7million.
The employment rate of mothers whose youngest child was aged three or four has also shot up from 55.8 per cent in 1997 to 65.1 per cent in 2017, the data showed.
The number of working mothers in England has rise by over 1 million in the past 20 years. This includes a rise in the number of women with toddlers heading out to the office, as illustrated in this graph
ONS statistician Emily Glastonbury said the number of mothers striking the tricky balance between heading out to work and raising their children has risen steadily.
She said:’The continuing rise in the number of working mothers has been a major feature of the labour market in England in the last two decades.
‘Reasons for this might include more flexible working practices, shared parental leave and changes to government policy on the availability of childcare.’
The research found that women with children aged between three and four years old are the least likely to head out to work, at just 65 per cent.
They are also the most likely to work part tim, the ONS found.
Theresa May’s government today launches the roll-out of the increase in free childcare from 15 hours to 30 hours (file pic)
The ONS said that the Government’s policy to double the amount of free childcare provided by the state from 15 hours a week to 30 hours a week will encourage parents to head back to the office.
While Theresa May’s government has also promoted the launch of returnships – schemes to encourage mothers who have taken time out to rise their kids back into work.
And in what may be a sign families are increasingly trying to balance the childcare, there has been an increase in the number of fathers with young children working part time.
This has increased from 3.9 per cent in 1997 to 6.9 per cent in 2017 – a rise the ONS described as a ‘marked increase’.