More than four in five domestic workers work informally, ILO finds

More than four in five domestic workers worldwide remain informally employed, according to new International Labour Organization estimates released on 27 October 2026, ahead of a global conference on their rights next week.

The ILO statistical brief estimates that 66.5 million of the world’s 80 million domestic workers were informally employed in 2025: 83.1%. Africa’s regional rate was 93.3%; that is not a South African estimate.

Progress is uneven

The worldwide increase does not mean conditions deteriorated everywhere. Informality declined or stayed broadly stable in 91 of 140 countries with comparable 2019 and 2025 data. Changes in where domestic workers are concentrated helped push up the global rate.

The figures concern employment status, rather than the number of people seeking work. They should not be read as an unemployment rate.

The next test is implementation

The ILO, International Social Security Association and Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation will convene a tripartite conference in Montevideo, Uruguay, from 3 to 5 November 2026. It marks 15 years since adoption of the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189).

The meeting aims to set priorities and milestones for formalisation, protection and implementation.

In a separate 29 October statement for International Day of Care and Support, the ILO called for investment in care, adequate remuneration and representation for care workers. Its framework links recognising, reducing and redistributing unpaid care with rewarding and representing those who do paid care work.

What this means in South Africa

Household employment already falls within South Africa’s wage framework. Government Gazette 54075, published on 3 February 2026, sets domestic workers’ minimum at R30.23 per hour, binding from 1 March 2026. The rate is an hourly floor; monthly earnings depend on hours worked.

Government’s domestic-worker UIF registration guidance also directs household employers to register eligible employees with the Unemployment Insurance Fund and identifies Labour Centres as a registration route.

For South African households, the practical issue is whether pay and social-insurance arrangements meet the applicable requirements. An international meeting can put those questions in focus; it does not replace an employer’s existing responsibilities.