More than 80% of domestic workers worldwide remain in informal employment – ILO

More than four in five domestic workers worldwide remain in informal employment, often without effective labour and social protection, despite progress in many countries, a new report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO) has found.

The report, The State of Domestic Work in 2025: 15 Years After Convention No. 189, estimates that 66.5 million domestic workers, representing 83.1 per cent of the global workforce in the sector, are informally employed.

The figure is 5.1 million higher than in 2019, reflecting the growing concentration of domestic workers in countries where informality remains persistently high.

The report, released 15 years after the adoption of the ILO Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), estimates that 80 million people aged 15 and above were employed as domestic workers worldwide in 2025, up from 75.6 million in 2019.

Domestic work accounts for 2.2 per cent of total global employment and 4.4 per cent of employees.

Africa records highest informality rate

The ILO found that informality in domestic work declined or remained stable in 91 of the 140 countries with comparable data between 2019 and 2025. These countries account for nearly 70 per cent of domestic workers worldwide.

However, informality increased in the remaining 49 countries, which represent about 30 per cent of the global domestic workforce.

Africa recorded the largest increase in the number of domestic workers during the period, adding 4.2 million workers between 2019 and 2025.

The report estimates that 93.3 per cent of domestic workers in Africa are informally employed, while informality is nearly universal in the Arab States.

Asia and the Pacific has the largest domestic workforce, with 40.2 million workers, accounting for about half of the global total. Europe and Central Asia recorded the lowest regional informality rate, although more than one in three domestic workers in the region remain informally employed.

Domestic workers earn less

Despite providing essential household services, including cleaning, cooking and care for children, older people and persons with disabilities, domestic workers continue to face significant wage inequalities.

According to the report, domestic workers earn an average of 53.3 per cent of the monthly wages of other employees. For those in informal employment, the figure drops to 48.7 per cent.

The relative wage gap has widened since 2019, when domestic workers earned 56.4 per cent of the average monthly wages of other employees.

The ILO explained that this does not necessarily mean domestic workers’ wages have declined. In many countries, their wages increased but at a slower rate than those of other employees.

Women, who make up 77.2 per cent of domestic workers globally, face particularly significant disadvantages. They earn an average of 48 per cent of the monthly wages of other employees, compared with 65.8 per cent for men in domestic work.

Long working hours also remain a concern. The report estimates that 35.2 per cent of domestic workers work at least 49 hours a week, including 14.6 per cent who work 60 hours or more.

Others work very short hours, which the ILO says may reflect underemployment or jobs spread across several households.

ILO calls for stronger protection

Patrick Belser, Chief of the ILO’s Informal Work Branch, said progress in several countries showed that reducing informality was possible, but more action was needed to improve conditions for domestic workers.

“We cannot claim to value care while undervaluing the people who provide it,” he said, calling for fair wages, social security, decent working conditions and effective protection for all domestic workers.

The ILO is urging governments and other stakeholders to strengthen the implementation of Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201.

Its recommendations include making worker registration and social protection more accessible, enforcing minimum wages, improving working-time protections, investing in decent care jobs and strengthening labour inspections and collective bargaining.

The organisation says improving working conditions for domestic workers will become increasingly important as demographic changes, migration and digital transformation reshape the labour market and increase demand for care services.

It argues that effective protection for domestic workers is essential to advancing gender equality, building sustainable care systems and promoting social justice.