Four in five domestic workers lack formal job protections, leaving them more than twice as likely as other employees to be without effective labor and social protection, according to the UN’s International Labour Organization. Their work encompasses household cleaning, meal preparation, childcare, and support for older people and people with disabilities. ILO director Sahra Razavi emphasized that this contribution is frequently undervalued.
Global domestic employment reached an estimated 80 million in 2025, compared with 75.6 million in 2019. However, its share of total employment remained broadly unchanged at around 2.2 percent, indicating that the increase largely reflected overall employment growth rather than sector-specific expansion. Women represented 77.2 percent of domestic workers, with heavy concentrations in cleaning and care occupations.
Average monthly wages amounted to just 53.3 percent of other employees’ earnings, falling to 48.7 percent among informally employed domestic workers. The earnings gap has widened since 2019. More than one-third worked at least 49 hours weekly, and nearly 15 percent worked 60 hours or more. At the opposite extreme, short hours and low pay could reflect underemployment and the need to work across multiple households.
Despite these conditions, more than half of countries with comparable data have reduced informality in domestic employment since 2019. Forty countries have ratified ILO Convention No. 189, formally committing under international law to standards for decent domestic work. Razavi urged wider ratification, particularly in Asia and the Arab States, where participation remains especially low. She stressed that domestic workers are entitled to the same rights and protections as other workers.
