Time Use Survey 2024: 7 Stark Realities of Unpaid Care Work

Time Use Survey (TUS) 2024

Experts have recommended that the government conduct a survey to assess whether urban working women and adults perform unpaid care work out of choice or obligation, following findings from the Time Use Survey (TUS) 2024.
• The suggestion was made at a panel discussion in Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, highlighting the continuing burden of unpaid work on women despite government initiatives to increase workforce participation.

Highlights from the Time Use Survey (TUS) 2024:

Participation in Unpaid Activities:
• 84% of females aged 6 years and above participated in unpaid activities.
• For males, the participation rate was 60.7%.
• Average time spent on unpaid caregiving:

• Females: 137 minutes/day
• Males: 75 minutes/day

Rural vs Urban Participation:

Women, especially in urban areas, spend significant time on household work and caregiving, which can restrict their ability to use their skills for paid employment.

Youth Trends:
Young males (15–29 years) have also increased their time spent on family care over the past five years:

• 2019: 154 minutes/day
• 2024: 164 minutes/day

Concerns Highlighted by Experts:

• Unpaid caregiving leads to ‘time poverty,’ restricting women from pursuing improved employment opportunities
  • Government schemes promoting women’s workforce participation are not sufficient to address societal and familial obligations that restrict skill-based employment.
  • Experts called for a survey to understand whether unpaid work is done out of choice or perceived duty, particularly among upper-class professionals.

Significance:

• Recognizing unpaid care work is crucial for policy-making and improving Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLPR), which remains low at 37% compared to 75% for males.
  • The findings can help in designing interventions that reduce women’s unpaid work burden and enable equitable participation in the workforce.