Collecting data on Care-giving and Unpaid work

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Collecting data on Care-giving and Unpaid work

• Heather Dryburgh
• Statistics Canada

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Outline

• Context Unpaid work module
• Measuring childcare
• Measuring care of seniors
• Measuring unpaid housework

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Context

• Why is measuring unpaid work important?
• Household production Satellite account for System
  of National Accounts
• Recommendations for 2010 round of Censuses

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Unpaid service

• Unpaid service refers to the contribution of
  labour to that part of economic activity that is
  outside the production boundary defined for the
  System of National Accounts.
• It includes the non-market activity of
  households, such as looking after children
  without pay, doing laundry, yard work, helping a
  senior with taking medication, washing the car or
  shopping. It refers to such activity performed
  during a specified reference period.

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Unpaid work

• Good to distinguish between
• Unpaid work for household members
• Unpaid work for members of other households
• Unpaid volunteer work for an organization

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Using Time Use data

• Example Valuation of unpaid work (SNA)
• Time use data
• Calculate time spent in unpaid work
• Apply a market occupational value to that time to
  estimate value of unpaid work
• Canada, 1998 Equivalent to 1/3 of GDP

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Unpaid work module

• Six questions
• Childcare
• Inside household, outside household
• Housework
• Inside household, outside household
• Senior care
• Inside household, outside household

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Types of unpaid care

• Unpaid child care
• Unpaid care or assistance to seniors
• (Unpaid care to other adults - not currently
  collected in the Canadian General Social Survey
  or Census)

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Comparing sources on childcare

• Time diary
• 24 hour diary
• Active childcare
• Passive childcare if secondary activity collected

• Unpaid work module
• 2 questions
• Active and passive childcare grouped together
• Care to children in the household
• Care to children living outside the household

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Unpaid care provided

• Unpaid care provided refers to all incidents in
  which a person provided unpaid service to assist
  or care for children, seniors or other adults
  both within and outside his or her household.
• It excludes volunteer service through an
  organization.

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Comparability with United Nations recommendations
(2010 round of Censuses)

• Statistics Canada
  United Nations
• Unpaid Household Activities
  Unpaid Services
• Unpaid Housework
  Persons who provide social and
• Unpaid Work Looking After Children
  personal services to their own
  
• Unpaid Work Care or Assistance to Seniors
  household or other households.

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Care for Children living in the Household

• The next few questions refer to unpaid work
  activities last week.
• (Last week), how many hours did you spend looking
  after
• one or more of the children in your household,
  without pay?
• INTERVIEWER Include
• - time when the respondent was doing another
  activity while looking
• after the children
• - time when looking after the children was shared
  with someone
• else
• - time when the child was having a nap.
• Exclude
• - time the child spent sleeping during the night
• - time the child spent at school, at a friend's
  or in organized
• activities.

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Answer categories Options

• A) Fractions should be reported as follows
• 1/2 hour .5
• 1/4 hour .25
• 3/4 hour .75
• (0.00..168.00)
• DK, RF

• B) Was it
• 1 None?
• 2 Less than 5 hours?
• 3 5 to 14 hours?
• 4 15 to 29 hours?
• 5 30 to 59 hours?
• 6 60 hours or more?
• DK, RF

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Care for Children living outside of the Household

• The next few questions refer to unpaid work
  activities last week.
• (Last week), how many hours did you spend looking
  after
• one or more children outside of your household,
  without pay?
• INTERVIEWER Include
• - time when the respondent was doing another
  activity while looking
• after the children
• - time when looking after the children was shared
  with someone
• else
• - time when the child was having a nap.
• Exclude
• - time the child spent sleeping during the night
• - time the child spent at school, at a friend's
  or in organized
• activities.

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Childcare estimates

• Time Diary
• Active childcare by participants
• Men 12.6 hours/week
• Women 18.9 hours/week

• Unpaid Work Module
• Care of children in HH by participants
• Men 22.8 hours/week
• Women 48.7 hours/week
• Care of children out of HH by participants
• Men 1.7 hours/week
• Women 3.5 hours/week
• Total childcare
• Men 24.5 hours/week
• Women 52.2 hours/week

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Unpaid care to seniors

• Two main sources of information
• Detailed survey on care-giving, focus on
  providing care to seniors
• Unpaid work module questions

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Comparison of two sources

• Caregiving survey
• Full detailed questionnaire (approx 50 minute
  interview)
• Sample aged 45
• Care to all ages (can select by age)
• Focus on care to people with long-term health
  condition

• Unpaid work module
• 2 questions
• Sample all ages
• Care to seniors aged 65
• Care or assistance
• Outside HH - Do not know whether there was a
  senior who needed their help

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Detailed care of seniors information

• Time spent providing senior care
• Characteristics of care provider and receiver
• Relationship to care receiver
• Type of care provided
• Impacts of providing senior care
• Unmet care needs of seniors

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Unpaid Care or Assistance to Seniors within the
Household

• (Last week), how many hours did you spend
  providing
• unpaid care or assistance to one or more seniors
  who live in your household?
• Same possible answer categories (two options) as
  child care questions
• Open-ended (0-95), or
• Grouped categories

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Unpaid Care or Assistance to Seniors outside the
Household

• (Last week), how many hours did you spend
  providing
• unpaid care or assistance to one or more seniors
  who live outside of your household?
• Same possible answer categories (two options) as
  child care questions
• Open-ended (0-95), or
• Grouped categories

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Care to seniors

• Unpaid Work Module
• Care of seniors in HH by participants
• Men 2.8 hours/week
• Women 4.1 hours/week
• Care of seniors out of HH by participants
• Men 0.5 hours/week
• Women 0.9 hours/week
• Total senior care
• Men 3.3 hours/week
• Women 5.0 hours/week

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Data on housework

• Time diary data
• Unpaid work module

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Unpaid housework

• Unpaid housework refers to all incidents in which
  the person provided unpaid service such as
  domestic work, yard work or home maintenance for
  members of his or her household, for other family
  members outside the household or for friends or
  neighbours.
• It refers to such activity performed during a
  specified reference period.
• It excludes volunteer service for an
  organization.

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Unpaid housework

• Examples
• preparing meals and associated cleanup,
• washing the car,
• doing laundry,
• ironing, folding and mending,
• gardening and cutting the grass,
• shopping and household planning as well as
  associated travel.

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Comparison of two sources

• Time use survey
• 24 hour diary required
• Detailed breakdown of types of housework.
• Possible to specify what is included in
  definition of housework
• Respondent burden for diary

• Unpaid work module
• 2 questions
• Housework, yard work, home maintenance grouped
  together under housework
• Respondent burden relatively ow for these
  questions

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Unpaid housework within the household

• (Last week), how many hours did you spend doing
• unpaid housework, yard work or home maintenance
  for your household?
• Same possible answer categories (two options) as
  child care questions
• Open-ended (0-95), or
• Grouped categories

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Unpaid housework outside the household

• (Last week), how many hours did you spend doing
• unpaid housework, yard work or home maintenance
  for persons who live outside your household?
• Same possible answer categories (two options) as
  child care questions
• Open-ended (0-95), or
• Grouped categories

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Housework

• Housework in HH by participants
• Men 7.9 hours/week
• Women 13.4 hours/week
• Housework out of HH by participants
• Men 0.8 hours/week
• Women 0.7 hours/week
• Total housework
• Men 8.7 hours/week
• Women 14.1 hours/week

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Conclusions

• The contribution of unpaid work to the economy
  and well-being of the country
• Measuring unpaid work
• Multiple sources, multiple uses of information