Just 1 woman in 11 stays at home to care for her family

STAY-AT-HOME mothers are becoming a thing of the past, with more women choosing to return to work after starting a family, official figures show.

A historic low of one in 11 women are not seeking employment due to home commitments – a fall of one-third over the past two decades.

The number of house-husbands is also in decline having been gently rising over recent years. Experts said the squeeze on family budgets – at a time of rising prices and subdued wage growth – was forcing more mothers to look for work.

In 1997, 2.5million women stayed at home to look after their families – 13.5 per cent of the female working age population. By June of this year, that had fallen to 1.86million women, or 9 per cent, Office For National Statistics figures reveal.

The ONS said 70.8 per cent of women aged between 16 and 64 are now in work – the highest since records began in 1971.

But campaigners warned the absence of mothers could be harming children’s welfare.

Claire Paye, of campaign group Mothers At Home Matter, called on ministers to do more to help women who want to stay at home. John Hawksworth, chief economist at PWC, said: ‘More women are working due to pressures on household incomes and some improvement in state childcare.’

‘Pressure on incomes’