Domestic workers earn only 53% of what other workers worldwide earn, up from 56% in 2019, ILO estimates show | Today’s news

Domestic workers worldwide earn just 53.3% of the average monthly wage of other workers, down from 56.4% in 2019, as wage gaps widen and millions continue to work without effective work and social protection, according to new estimates released by the International Labor Organization (ILO) on 27 October.

An ILO statistical brief, The state of domestic work in 2025: 15 years after Convention No. 189, found that informal domestic workers face an even greater disadvantage, earning just 48.7% of the average monthly wage of other workers.

The findings point to persistent inequalities in the workforce that provides basic household services, including cleaning, cooking and caring for children, the elderly and people with disabilities.

The ILO warned that a fall in relative wages for domestic workers does not necessarily mean that their earnings have fallen in absolute terms. In many countries, their wages increased, but more slowly than those of other workers. Global figures are also influenced by the growing share of domestic workers in countries with larger wage gaps.

66.5 million domestic workers remain in informal employment

An estimated 80 million people aged 15 and over were employed as domestic workers globally in 2025, up from 75.6 million in 2019.

Despite the increase, domestic work continued to account for 2.2% of total employment and 4.4% of employees worldwide.

Of the 80 million domestic workers, 66.5 million, or 83.1%, remained in informal employment without effective labor and social protection. That was 5.1 million more than in 2019.

The ILO said the increase largely reflects the growing concentration of domestic workers in countries where informality remains persistently high, rather than a widespread deterioration in working conditions across the sector.

Informality among domestic workers decreased or remained stable in 91 of the 140 countries with comparable data for 2019 and 2025. These countries accounted for almost 70% of domestic workers worldwide. The remaining 49 countries, representing around 30% of the labor force, saw an increase in the share of domestic workers in informal employment.

Women make up 77% of domestic workers, but face a wider wage gap

Women made up 77.2% of domestic workers worldwide and faced a particularly significant wage disadvantage, the estimates showed.

Housewives earned on average only 48% of the monthly wages of other employees. For men in the household, the comparable figure was 65.8%.

Women were also disproportionately concentrated in cleaning and manual occupations, highlighting persistent gender inequalities in domestic work.

The ILO said the contributions of domestic workers continue to be undervalued despite the essential services they provide to households.

35% of domestic workers work at least 49 hours a week

Long working hours are still widespread among domestic workers, with 35.2% working at least 49 hours a week. About 14.6% work 60 hours or more per week.

At the other end of the spectrum, domestic workers are more likely than other workers to work very short hours. According to the ILO, this may indicate underemployment or employment in several households.

The figures point to different problems across the sector, including excessive working hours for some workers and insufficient work for others.

Asia Pacific accounts for half of the global domestic workforce

Asia Pacific was home to 40.2 million domestic workers in 2025, about half of the global number.

Africa saw the largest increase in domestic employment between 2019 and 2025, adding 4.2 million workers. However, 93.3% of domestic workers in the region remained in informal employment.

Informality was almost universal among domestic workers in Arab states. Europe and Central Asia recorded the lowest regional informality rates, although more than one in three domestic workers in the region still worked informally.

America remained the most feminized broad region in terms of housework.

The ILO calls for stronger labor protection

Patrick Belser, head of the informal work department at the ILO, said progress in several countries showed that improvements were possible, but much more needed to be done to protect domestic workers.

“We cannot claim to value care while devaluing the people who provide it,” Belser said, calling for the rights set out in the ILO Domestic Workers Convention 2011 (No. 189) to be translated into effective protection.

The ILO called on governments to strengthen the implementation of Convention No. 189 and Recommendation No. 201 through targeted formalization strategies, accessible registration systems, social protection, effective minimum wages and working time guarantees.

It also called for investment in decent care jobs, recognition of workers’ skills, stronger compliance and enforcement and greater use of social dialogue and collective bargaining.

The organization said improving working conditions for domestic workers will become increasingly important as demographic changes, migration and digital transformation reshape labor markets and intensify demand for care services. Ensuring decent work in the sector, he says, is essential to promoting gender equality, building sustainable care systems and promoting social justice.