Employment situation of mothers and fathers

This indicator reflects the gaps in the employment situation of parents in the labour market in various groups of the population, depending on whether they are lone parents or in a couple.

Mothers
Mothers most often work part-time. 62% of them work at an activity rate lower than 90%. Depending on migration status, there are substantial differences in the employment situation of mothers. While mothers with a migration background are proportionally more likely to be without gainful employment (22% compared with 13% for mothers without a migration background), they are also more likely to work full-time (24% compared with 11%). Mothers without a migration background are more likely to work part-time (75%) than mothers with a migration background (48%).

Fathers
Fathers mainly work full-time (around 80% in both population groups). Only 2% of fathers without a migration background are economically inactive, while the share is 5% among fathers with a migration background. 14% of fathers without a migration background work part-time, compared with 9% of fathers with a migration background.

Between 2011 and 2019, the rate of mothers who worked full-time and a lower part-time rate remained stable (around 12% and 34% for mothers born in Switzerland/without a migration background; and 23% and 18% for mothers born abroad/with a migration background). In contrast, the rates of inactive mothers from both population groups decreased considerably during the period analysed (among women born in Switzerland/without a migration background from 19% in 2011 to 13% in 2019; and among women born abroad/with a migration background from 28% to 22% for the same period). The rates for mothers working a higher part-time rate in contrast increased considerably among women born in Switzerland/without a migration background from 34% in 2011 to 41% in 2019; and among women born abroad/with a migration background from 25% to 30% for the same period. A higher part-time rate has become the predominant employment situation of mothers, whether or not they have a migration background.

While participation in the labour market varies between mothers with a partner by their migration status, the age of the youngest child living in the household has an impact on the employment situation of these two groups.

The share of mothers with a partner and who work full-time is nonetheless two to three times higher among those with a migration background from the first generation than those without a migration background regardless of the age of the youngest child in the household. Among mothers with a migration background from the first generation, the rate of mothers working full-time is considerably higher than among mothers from the second or subsequent generations, but only when the youngest child is between 4 and 12 years old. Among mothers from the first generation, the older the last-born, the greater the rate of mothers working full-time.

As for those working full-time, the share of mothers without gainful employment with a partner is significantly higher among the first generation (25%) than it is among the population from the second or subsequent generations and among the population without a migration background (13%). When the youngest child is aged under 3, mothers in the first generation had the highest rate of inactivity at 33%.