Unpaid household work, including childcare, cooking, and cleaning, is valued at £1.24 trillion per year, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS). This figure surpasses the combined output of the UK's retail and manufacturing sectors.
The ONS released data for 2015 and 2016 on Tuesday, estimating the value of unpaid work such as caring for adults and driving to work. The total equates to £18,932 per person and has grown every year from 2005 to 2016.
In 2016, the value of unpaid household work exceeded the £1.04 trillion total contribution of the UK's non-financial corporation sector. The ONS collects this data to supplement GDP, which does not include such unpaid activities.
Richard Tonkin, ONS assistant director, said: 'GDP is incomplete. It is often, and incorrectly, used as an all-encompassing proxy for people’s living standards.' He noted that activities like organising holidays or finding insurance, once paid for, are now done by households using free online services, which could reduce GDP while potentially improving wellbeing.
The data showed that in 2005, the total value was £684.87 billion, rising by over 80% by 2016. Previous ONS data for 2014 indicated that women did 26 hours of unpaid work per week on average, compared to 16 hours for men. In 2016, transport accounted for 28.8% of the total value, while childcare was equivalent to £5,358 per person.
