New US study shows men's housework load doubled

New York: The hours women spend on housework has dropped by almost 30 per cent in the past three decades while for men the number has more than doubled.

According to a new national study in the US that compared housework patterns in 1976 and 2005, the average number of hours women spent on housework every week has dropped from 26 to 17 in this period, while for men it has risen from six to 13 hours. The study, by researchers at the University of Michigan, is based on data from the "Panel Study of Income Dynamics" conducted since 1968 by the university's Institute for Social Research.

The study also found that having a husband adds an extra seven hours of housework for women, while, for men, a wife saves about an hour of housework a week.

Single women in their 20s and 30s did the least housework.