Average hours of housework performed by different employment groups over time

The bar chart illustrates the average number of hours spent on housework by four distinct groups: unemployed women, women in part-time employment, women in full-time employment, and men in full-time employment, across the years 1985, 1995, and 2005.

Overall, it is evident that women consistently performed more housework than their male counterparts. Furthermore, while there were fluctuations in the time spent by each group, unemployed women consistently recorded the highest figures, whereas full-time working men consistently spent the least amount of time on domestic chores.

In 1985, unemployed women spent 7 hours on housework, which slightly decreased to 6.5 hours in 1995 before returning to 7 hours in 2005. Similarly, women in part-time employment spent 5.5 hours in 1985, dipping to 5 hours in 1995, and rising to 6 hours by 2005.

Regarding those in full-time employment, women spent 2 hours on housework in 1985, which fell to 1.5 hours in 1995, before reaching a peak of 2.5 hours in 2005. Men in full-time employment spent the least time, remaining steady at 1 hour in both 1985 and 1995, before experiencing a slight increase to 1.5 hours in 2005.