We are pleased to share our new working paper which presents a blueprint for an EU-SILC ad hoc module focusing on ‘Adult Care & Work’. In this working paper, the rationale is outlined for introducing an ad hoc module in the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) on the extent and intensity of care for adult relatives or other close persons in European households. We motivate that these questions on care responsibilities in the European population and their effect on employment will complement the rich battery of childcare questions and questions on employment and poverty outcomes that have been fielded by the EU-SILC survey since 2004.
The ad hoc module intends to monitor the extent of adult and cumulative care and its impact on employment outcomes which will be especially relevant in the context of ageing populations and shrinking families in Europe. Namely, in this context, care for relatives – whether this is care for (a) adult relative(s) and/or childcare responsibilities – represents a rising risk to labour market activity, gender equality and the well-being of caregivers. Taken together, the ad hoc module would provide comparative and high-quality data on adult care provision to family members both within and outside carers’ households in Europe and the impact of this type of care on the carers’ employment outcomes, which will be visibly important to multiple policy domains and shows the interconnectedness of those as well.
The proposed ad hoc module fits well with existing variables on employment and work intensity, as well as with variables on childcare, poverty risks and material deprivation. This would enable the European data infrastructure to set the adult care in a wider context of issues such as gender employment and pay gaps, or risks of poverty and social exclusion and might have important ramifications for the European Care Strategy, EU’s Strategy on Gender Equality and the employment target of having at least 78% of the population aged 20-64 in employment by 2030.
You can read the full description of and motivation for the blueprint on ‘Adult Care and Work’ here.