YemenEXtra
YemenExtra

Big rise in number of working mothers

278

YemenExtra

There has been a big rise in the number of working mothers in England over the past two decades, figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says 4.9 million women were working last year while looking after children – up 1.2 million since 1996.

Back then, 62% of mothers with dependent children were in work, either full- or part-time.

Now, 21 years on, the employment rate among this group of mothers in England has risen to 74%.

There has been a particularly big jump in the employment rate among mothers with children aged three or four, from 56% to 65%.

Mothers in employment
% of mothers in work whose youngest child is 3 or 4 years old