How this calculator works
Unpaid work, sometimes called household production, is the cooking, cleaning, caring, driving and repairing that keeps a household running. National statistical agencies try to measure it because it is large and because it falls unevenly on women in most countries. This calculator multiplies the hours you spend on each task by an hourly value. The choice of that value is the whole argument. Two approaches are common. The replacement cost approach values the hours at what it would cost to hire someone to do the same task, which for child care and cleaning is often a relatively low wage. The opportunity cost approach values them at what the person could otherwise earn, which can be much higher and is the better measure of what the person gave up. Neither is wrong; they answer different questions. If you are asking what it would cost to replace the work, use the replacement wage. If you are asking what the household loses when someone steps back from paid work, use the person's own wage. The default values here treat every hour at one rate, which is a simplification: an hour of child care and an hour of gardening are not worth the same in a market. Adjust the wage to match the perspective you want. The calculation stops at the value of time and does not include the cost of materials, equipment or the emotional labour that cannot be bought.
Formula
Hourly value = the hourly wage you enter, or the weekly salary divided by paid hours per week, or the monthly salary divided by (paid hours per week x 52 / 12). Unpaid hours per year = sum of the weekly hours in every category x 52. Value per year = unpaid hours per year x hourly value. Value by category = that category's weekly hours x 52 x hourly value.
Worked example
Thirty-two hours of unpaid work a week valued at $25 an hour. The annual hours are 32 x 52 = 1,664, and the value is 1,664 x $25 = $41,600 a year, or about $800 a week. Meal preparation at 7 hours a week is 364 hours a year, worth $9,100. Child care at 10 hours a week is 520 hours, worth $13,000. The unpaid hours are 80% of a 40-hour paid week.
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Frequently asked questions
Should I use my own wage or the cost of hiring someone?
Use your own wage if you want the opportunity cost of the time you are not spending in paid work. Use a housekeeper or child care wage if you want the cost of replacing the tasks. The two answers can differ by a factor of several.
Why is this not counted in GDP?
GDP counts market transactions, so unpaid household work is left out unless it is bought. Statistics agencies produce satellite accounts that value it separately, which is why estimates of its size vary with the method used.
Should I include sleep or leisure?
No. The calculation covers work you do for the household that someone could in principle be paid to do. Sleep and leisure are not work and would swamp the figure.
What about the cost of materials?
Groceries, cleaning supplies and fuel are separate household spending. This calculator values time only. Add material costs if you want the full replacement cost of a task.
Can the hours exceed the hours in a week?
They cannot exceed 168, and in practice they cannot exceed the waking hours left after paid work and sleep. The calculator rejects a total above 168 hours.