Press Release: Employment in the EU. Impact of children on women’s employment varies between Member States. Both partners going to work is the norm

Amongst the EU households surveyed with two partners of working age, where at least one partner is in work, the most common situation is for both partners to have a job. For couples without children this share ranged in 2000 from 42% in Spain to 79% in the United Kingdom (in 1999), while for couples with children it ranged from 44%, again in Spain, to 74% in Portugal. In every Member State for which data is available the relative importance of dual participant couples has shown an upward trend since 1992.