Skip to main content

Advertisement

Log in

Trends in differentials in the workforce participation of mothers with young children in Australia 2002–2008

  • Published:
Journal of Population Research Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper analyses changes in the employment rates and hours worked of mothers with pre-school age children in Australia between 2002 and 2008, using data from Waves 2 to 8 of the Household Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia survey, a large-scale longitudinal survey of the household population. The employment rate of mothers with young children rose considerably over the period considered. However, the hours per employed mother changed relatively little on average. There are significant differentials in the mother’s employment rate by the number and ages of children, and by mother’s education, marital status and birthplace. Hours worked per employed mother vary with the mother’s age, education, marital status and birthplace, by the youngest child’s age, and the number of children under five. The paper pays particular attention to the change in these differentials over time. It finds the change over time for the mother’s employment rate varies significantly by the number of children, while for the hours worked it varies by mother’s education and marital dissolution, and the age of the youngest child. The implications of these patterns are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
$34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. The Child Care Rebate is calculated as a percentage of the ‘gap’ between child care costs and the pre-existing, progressively-levied Child Care Benefit. The initially-announced rate was 30 % of the gap up to an annual maximum amount of A$4,000 per child, with effect for expenses incurred over the 2004–2005 financial year (Daniels 2009). In 2008 the rate of childcare rebate increased to 50 % and the annual maximum amount per child to A$7,750. The rebate is conditional on a specified number of hours being spent working, studying, or training.

  2. An entitlement to 18 weeks of paid parental leave paid by the Australian Government at the national minimum wage to families whose primary carer earns less than A$150,000 per annum was introduced with effect from 1 January 2011 (Australian Government 2010b). The ‘Fair Work Act’ which came into effect from 1 January 2010 introduced a minimum set of terms and conditions of employment, including a right to 12 months unpaid parental leave, a right to request a further 12 months, and ten days paid personal carer’s leave per year (Australian Government 2010c).

  3. The name of this year varies between states. The term ‘kindergarten’ is used in New South Wales, the term ‘preparatory’ in Queensland, Tasmania and Victoria, ‘reception’ in South Australia, and ‘pre-year 1’ in Western Australia. There are differences between the states in the age of entry (Future Media Group 2012).

  4. For 5 observations the number of hours worked was zero. These observations were treated as not being employed.

  5. It is possible that different rates of attrition within the sample between mothers with different levels of education also affect these patterns.

  6. In Australia Year 12 is the final year of school education.

  7. This payment was originally known as the Maternity Payment. The amount increased from $3,000 at the time of its introduction in 2004 to $4,000 in 2006 and $5,000 in 2008 (Daniels 2009).

  8. There are 5 observations for widowed mothers with children under five. The reform of family law would not be applicable to widowed mothers; however, the number of observations from this group is too small to affect the results substantially. The HILDA data show the percentage of the youngest resident children of divorced, or separated or widowed parents who spent zero nights per year staying overnight with the other parent fell from 39.6 % (of 139 observations) for the 2002–2006 period to 24.3 % (of 37 observations) for the 2007–2008 period.

References

  • Austen, S., & Seymour, R. (2006). The evolution of the female labour force participation rate in Australia 1984–1999. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 9(3), 305–320.

    Google Scholar 

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2006a). Consumer price index. Catalogue Number 6401.0. Canberra.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2006b). Australian national accounts: State accounts 2005–06 reissue. Catalogue Number 5220.0. Canberra.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2006c). Pregnancy and employment transitions, Australia. Catalogue Number. 4913.0 Canberra.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2008a). Australian historical population statistics. Catalogue Number 3105.0.65.001. Canberra.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2008b). Social trends 2008. Catalogue Number. 4102.0 Canberra.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2009a). Labour force historical time series. Catalogue Number. 6204.0.55.001 Canberra.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2010). Australian social trends 2010. Catalogue Number 4102.0. Canberra.

  • Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). (2011), Births 2010. Catalogue Number. 3301.0 Canberra.

  • Australian Government. (2005). Budget 200506: A sustainable welfare system for the future. Canberra. http://www.budget.gov.au/2005-06/overview2/html/welfare_01.htm. Accessed March 23, 2012.

  • Australian Government. (2006). Family Law Amendment (shared parental responsibility) Act 2. Canberra. http://www.comlaw.gov.au. Accessed December 15, 2011.

  • Australian Government. (2010a). Changes to parenting payment from 1 July 2006. Canberra. http://www.centrelink.gov.au. Accessed June 20, 2011.

  • Australian Government. (2010b). Paid parental leave scheme. Canberra. http://www.familyassist.gov.au. Accessed July 6, 2010.

  • Australian Government. (2010c). Fair work information statement. Canberra. http://www.fairwork.gov.au. Accessed January 12, 2010.

  • Australian Government. (2011). Sustainable Australiasustainable communities: A sustainable population strategy for Australia. Canberra. http://www.environment.gov.au/sustainability/population/publications/. Accessed June 12, 2011.

  • Baker, M., Gruber, J., & Milligan, K. (2008). Universal child care, maternal labor supply, and family well-being. Journal of Political Economy, 116(4), 709–745.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, J. (2004). Increasing employment of partnered mothers: Changes in child care use. In Paper presented to the 12th biennial conference of the Australian Population Association in Canberra, 15–17 September, 2004.

  • Baxter, J. (2005). Mothers’ employment transitions following childbirth. Family Matters, 71(Winter 2005), 11–17.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, J. (2008a). The employment of partnered mothers in Australia, 1981 to 2001. Ph.D Thesis, Australian National University, Canberra.

  • Baxter, J. (2008b). Is money the main reason mothers return to work after childbearing? Journal of Population Research, 25(2), 141–160.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, J. (2009). Mothers’ timing of return to work by leave use and pre-birth job characteristics. Journal of Family Studies, 15(2), 153–166.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baxter, J., & Renda, J. (2011). Lone and couple mothers in the Australian labour market: Differences in employment transitions. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 14(2), 103–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Birch, E. R. (2005). Studies of the labour supply of Australian women: What have we learned? Economic Record, 81(252), 65–84.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Breusch, T., & Gray, E. (2004). New estimates of mothers’ forgone earnings using HILDA data. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 7(June), 125–150.

    Google Scholar 

  • Craig, L. (2006). Parental education, time in paid work and time with children: An Australian time-diary analysis. The British Journal of Sociology, 57(4), 553–575.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, L. (2007a). How employed mothers in Australia find time for both market work and childcare. Journal of Family and Economic Issues, 28(1), 69–87.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Craig, L. (2007b). Contemporary motherhood: The impact of children on adult time. Aldershot: Ashgate Publishing.

  • Craig, L., & Bittmann, M. (2008). The incremental time costs of children: An analysis of children’s impact on adult time use in Australia. Feminist Economics, 14(2), 59–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daly, A. (1990). Women in the workforce and family structure in Australia. Journal of the Australian Population Association, 7(1), 27–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Daniels, D. (2009). Social security payments for people caring for children, 1912 to 2008 chronologies online. Canberra: Parliamentary Library, Parliament of Australia. http://www.aph.gov.au/library/pubs/BN/2008-09/children_partc.htm. Accessed December 1, 2011.

  • Del Boca, D., & Sauer, R. M. (2009). Life cycle employment and fertility across institutional environments. European Economic Review, 53(3), 274–292.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Doiron, D., & Kalb, G. (2005). Demands for child care and household labour supply in Australia. Economic Record, 35(254), 204–213.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, M. (1996). Women’s labour force participation in Australia: Recent research findings. Journal of the Australian Population Association, 13(1), 67–92.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, M. D. R., & Kelley, J. (2001). Employment for mothers of pre-school children: Evidence from Australia and 23 other nations. People and Place, 9(3), 28–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, M. D. R., & Kelley, J. (2008). Trends in women’s labour force participation in Australia: 1984–2002. Social Science Research, 37(1), 287–310.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Future Media Group. (2012). Australian schools directory. Melbourne. http://www.australianschoolsdirectory.com.au/. Accessed March 5, 2012.

  • Gauthier, A. H. (2007). The impact of family policies on fertility in industrialized countries: A review of the literature. Population Research and Policy Review, 26(3), 323–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goldstein, H. (1995). Multilevel statistical models. London: Arnold.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gruen, D., & Kennedy, S. (2006). Reflections on the global economy and the Australian mining boom. Economic Roundup (Spring), 45–65.

  • Guest, R., & Parr, N. (2010). The effects of family benefits on childbearing decisions: A household optimising approach applied to Australia. Economic Record, 86(275), 609–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herbst, C. (2010). The labour supply effects of child care costs and wages in the presence of subsidies and the earned income tax credit. Review of Economics of the Household, 8(2), 199–230.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jaumotte, F. (2004). Labour force participation of women: Empirical evidence on the role of policy and other determinants in OECD countries. OECD Economic Studies, No. 37, 2003/2.

  • Kalb, G. (2009). Children, labour supply and child care: Challenges for empirical analysis. The Australian Economic Review, 43(3), 276–299.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kalb, G., & Lee, W. S. (2008). Childcare use and parents’ labour supply in Australia. Australian Economic Papers, 47(3), 272–295.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaspiew, R., Gray, M., Weston, R., Moloney, L., Hand, K., Qu, L., and the Family Law Evaluation Team. (2009). Evaluation of the 2006 family law reforms. Melbourne: Australian Institute of Family Studies.

  • Lefebvre, P., & Merrigan, P. (2008). Child-care policy and the labour supply of mothers with young children: A natural experiment from Canada. Journal of Labour Economics, 26(3), 519–548.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liang, K. Y., & Zeger, S. L. (1986). Longitudinal data analysis using generalised linear models. Biometrika, 73(1), 13–22.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lundin, D., Mork, E., & Ockert, B. (2008). How far can reduced childcare prices push female labour supply? Labour Economics, 15(4), 647–659.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Massey, S. J. L., & Parr, N. (2012). The socioeconomic status of migrant populations in Regional and Rural Australia and its implications for future population policy. Journal of Population Research, 29(1), 1–21.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, P. (2006a). An assessment of policies that support having children from the perspectives of equity, efficiency and efficacy. Vienna Yearbook of Population Research, 2006, 213–234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McDonald, P. (2006b). Low fertility and the state: The efficacy of policy. Population and Development Review, 32(3), 485–510.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parr, N. (2007). Which women stop at one child in Australia? Journal of Population Research, 24(2), 207–225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parr, N., & Guest, R. (2011). The contribution of increases in family benefits to Australia’s early 21st-century fertility increase: An empirical analysis. Demographic Research, 25(6), 215–244.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Productivity Commission. (2009). Paid parental leave: Support for parents with newborn children. Report Number 47. Canberra.

  • Rammohan, A., & Whelan, S. (2005). Childcare and female employment decisions. Australian Journal of Labour Economics, 8(2), 203–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rammohan, A., & Whelan, S. (2007). The impact of childcare costs on the full-time/part-time employment decisions of Australian mothers. Australian Economic Papers, 46(2), 152–169.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Simonsen, M. (2010). Price of high-quality daycare and female employment. Scandinavian Journal of Economics, 112(3), 570–594.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smyth, B., Weston, R., Moloney, L., Richardson, N., & Temple, J. (2008). Changes in patterns of post-separation parenting over time: Recent Australian data. Journal of Family Studies, 14(1), 23–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Swan, W. (2011). Budget speech 201112. Canberra: Australian Government. http://www.budget.gov.au/2011-12. Accessed June 12, 2011.

  • United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD). (2008). Statistics and indicators on women and men. [electronic resource]. http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/. Accessed June 17, 2011.

  • Van Egmond, M., Baxter, J., Buchler, S., & Western, M. (2010). A stalled revolution? Gender role attitudes in Australia 1986–2005. Journal of Population Research, 27(3), 147–168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Viitanen, T. K. (2005). Cost of childcare and female employment in the UK. Labour, 19(Special Issue), 149–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Waldfogel, J., Higuchi, Y., & Abe, M. (1999). Family leave policies and women’s retention after childbirth: Evidence from the United States, Britain and Japan. Journal of Population Economics, 12(4), 523–545.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Washbrook, E., Ruhm, C. J., Waldfogel, J., & Han, W. J. (2011). Public policies, women’s employment after childbearing, and child well-being. The B.E. Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy, 11(1):1–48.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watson, N., & Wooden, M. (2002a). The household, income and labour dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey: Wave 1 survey methodology. Hilda Project Technical Paper Series No 1/02 http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/hilda/. Accessed August 18, 2010.

  • Watson, N., & Wooden, M. (2002b). Assessing the quality of the HILDA Survey Wave 1 Data. Hilda Project Technical Paper Series No 4/02 http://www.melbourneinstitute.com/hilda/. Accessed August 18, 2010.

  • Whitehouse, G. (2005). Policy and women’s workforce attachment. Just Policy, 35(March): 22–30.

    Google Scholar 

  • Whitehouse, G., Baird, M., Diamond, C., & Hosking, A. (2006). Parental Leave in Australia Survey: November 2006 Report. http://www.polsis.uq.edu.au/parental-leave/level1-report.pdf. Accessed July 29, 2010.

  • Wooden, M., & Watson, N. (2007). The HILDA Survey and its contribution to economic and social research (so far). Economic Record, 83(261), 208–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

An earlier version of this paper was presented to the 15th Biennial Conference of the Australian Population Association in Surfers Paradise, Queensland 30 November-3 December 2010. This paper uses unit record data from the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) Survey. The HILDA Project was initiated and is funded by the Australian Government Department of Families, Housing, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs (FaHCSIA) and is managed by the Melbourne Institute of Applied Economic and Social Research (Melbourne Institute). The findings and views reported in this paper, however, are those of the author and should not be attributed to either FaHCSIA or the Melbourne Institute. The author wishes to thank Amy Lo for assistance in preparing the figures and tables and an anonymous reviewer for comments received.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Nick Parr.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Parr, N. Trends in differentials in the workforce participation of mothers with young children in Australia 2002–2008. J Pop Research 29, 203–227 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-012-9089-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12546-012-9089-2

Keywords

Navigation