[CLSTR]
API
< Back to situations

Monitor this situation.

[SITUATION] · [ACTIVE] · [BUSINESS]

2 clusters · 12 sources · 1 days · First seen · Last updated

ILO report on global domestic worker informality

Overview

An International Labour Organization (ILO) report indicates that as of 2025, the global domestic workforce has grown to 80 million people. Approximately 83.1% of these workers, or 66.5 million individuals, are engaged in informal employment, marking an increase of 5.1 million informal workers since 2019.

Regional data shows that Asia and the Pacific host about half of the global workforce, totaling 40.2 million people, while Africa experienced the largest increase in informal workers, reaching a 93.3% informality rate. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the sector is characterized as precarious and heavily feminized, with women making up 88.6% of the workforce. In this region, the informality rate stands at 75.1%, leaving many without legal contracts or social protections. Specific countries with high rates of domestic work relative to total employment include Trinidad and Tobago (8.4%), Paraguay (7.6%), and Colombia (6.9%), followed by Argentina (6.4%), the Dominican Republic (6.3%), and Jamaica (5.8%).

Significant wage disparities persist; on average, domestic workers earn only 53.3% of the monthly wage of other employees, with informal workers earning just 48.7%. Gender gaps are also evident: women, who comprise 77.2% of the sector, earn an average of 48% of the wages of other employees, while men earn 65.8%. Working conditions are often strenuous, with 35.2% of workers logging at least 49 hours per week and 14.6% working 60 hours or more. The ILO is calling for stronger enforcement of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011, to improve wages, social protection, and working-time safeguards. The report, titled “The State of Domestic Work in 2025: 15 Years After Convention No. 189”, emphasizes that informal employment leaves workers without written contracts, pensions, or social security.

Entities

International Labour Organization · Sahra Razavi · Patrick Belser · Paraguay · Colombia

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how many sources carry each claim.

Timeline

  1. [BUSINESS] 3 sources
    ILO report highlights high domestic work rates in Latin America

    An ILO report finds that domestic work in Latin America is highly informal and feminized, with Trinidad and Tobago, Paraguay, and Colombia recording the highest employment rates in the sector.

  2. [BUSINESS] 9 sources
    ILO report: 83% of global domestic workers lack formal protections

    An ILO report finds that 83.1% of the 80 million global domestic workers are informally employed, lacking social protections and earning significantly less than other employees.

Sources

actualidad.rt.com · cameroonintelligencereport.com · chale.news · diarioparaguayo.com · globaldiasporanews.com · ipsnoticias.net · kenya-today.com · m.businesstoday.in · myjoyonline.com · postcourier.com.pg · primermomento.com · questiondigital.com

This summary has been updated 2 times: see revision history