USE OF TIME IN SINGLE-MEMBER HOUSEHOLDS IN SLOVAKIA

Households represent one of the basic units in economy. In the last years, the increasing number of single-member households has become a significant issue in Slovakia. In 2011, ratio of singlemember households was more than 25% in Slovakia (The 2011 Population and Housing Census in Slovakia). It is an interesting phenomenon influencing not only labor market (paid work), but also unpaid work activities (work performed in households) and spending of the leisure time. The aim of this study was to examine the time use of single-member households in Slovakia. We analyzed 301 single-member households and allocation of their daily time into 13 activities. To get information about the daily time use of persons, we used household member diary. Study offers unique data, based on the original field research on time use of Slovak households and individuals, which was conducted in 2017 by team of researchers from Faculty of Economics, Matej Bel University in Slovakia. Besides collecting data on time use, we also collected information about the attitudes and preferences of individuals concerning the paid work and unpaid work. Within the single-member households, we analyzed and compared specific groups of persons – men and women, and persons younger than 30 years of age and persons over 65 years of age. We found out, that young persons living alone spend significant part of their daily activities by paid work (almost 2 and half hours more than an average for person in multi-persons households). Men living alone spend significant part of their daily time in paid work and by sport and usage of modern technologies. Time use of persons over 65 years living alone pointed to problem of their social isolation and absence of education in this age group.