In 2025

Main obstacles to reconciling work and family life were long working hours and unpredictable or atypical working hours

The Regional Directorate of Statistics of Madeira (DREM) today releases the results of the regular module of the Labour Force Survey – "Reconciliation of work and family life" – for the Autonomous Region of Madeira (ARM).

The main objective of the Labour Force Survey (LFS) is to characterise the resident population in relation to the labour market. It is a quarterly sample survey which, on an annual basis, incorporates regular modules covering topics collected every eight years to complement the information gathered through the LFS.

In 2025, the "Reconciliation of work and family life" module was carried out, with the main objectives of obtaining information to assess the extent to which professional and family responsibilities limit each other, and of identifying the strategies adopted and the constraints experienced by persons in this effort at reconciliation.

Among the results obtained, the following stand out:

• Caring for children under 15 years of age living in the household concerned 23.1% of the population aged between 18 and 74 in the Region and 22.6% in the country;
• Caring for grandchildren under 15 years of age, with no children of that age dependent on them, was less frequent in the Region (3.7%) than at national level (5.2%);
• The use of childcare services to ensure regular care for children under 15 years of age was reported by 41.8% of persons aged between 18 and 74 in the ARM and by 51.6% in Portugal;
• Among persons who provided regular care for children under 15 years of age and did not use childcare services, 10.8% reported that the children remained without direct supervision, looking after themselves (11.8% in the country);
• In the Region, around one in ten persons aged between 18 and 74 provided care for dependent family members aged 15 and over, a higher ratio than that observed at national level (7.1%);
• 30.9% of the population reported spending, on average, 30 or more hours per week caring for dependent family members aged 15 and over (28.0% in the country);
• Long working hours and unpredictable or atypical working hours were identified as the main obstacles to reconciling work and family life, cited by 11.1% and 11.0%, respectively, of the employed population aged 18 to 74 with responsibilities for the regular care of children or grandchildren under 15 years of age and/or dependent family members aged 15 and over (11.8% in Portugal);
• 21.7% of the employed and non-employed population with prior work experience, aged between 18 and 54, who took parental leave, interrupted their working life for a period not exceeding 1 month (21.8% at national level).

For further information, please refer to:

• In Focus (Portuguese only)
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