Only 6 per cent of female homemakers are likely to take up a job as many are too busy with their housework and family, a government study has found. The Census and Statistics Department yesterday released results of research commissioned jointly by the Labour and Welfare Bureau and the Women's Commission. The study was conducted from September to December 2013 to gauge female homemakers' interest in taking up employment. The findings are released amid debate about how more women can be encouraged to join the workforce while the city ponders how to deal with a declining number of workers as its population ages. It found the city had 637,500 female homemakers, defined as those aged 15 or above who looked after the family and had no jobs. Four-fifths of them had worked before. When asked about the likelihood of them taking up a job, only 6 per cent said they were likely to or would definitely do so. More than 80 per cent answered it would be very unlikely or that they definitely would not do so. Another 11 per cent of those interviewed said they might or might not do so. "[The bureau] is strengthening the relevant support services, including enhancing child care and after-school care services, promoting family-friendly employment practices, and improving employment support and employee retraining services," a bureau spokesman said. The survey showed there was still room to raise the participation rate of women in the labour force, he added. Of those who believed it would be unlikely for them to get a job, many said it was because they were too busy doing housework and taking care of their family members. For those likely to get a job, four-fifths of them said they needed work to make money for the family, while 34.8 per cent said they wanted a job to kill time. Opportunities to work flexible hours or work from home would appeal to people who were likely to get a job and increase their interest in getting a job.
