Global Domestic Labor Informality Impacts 66M Workers
Operators relying on contract labor face persistent wage gaps and compliance risks in an increasingly informal workforce.
Updated on Oct. 27, 2026 in Employment
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The International Labour Organization reports that 66.5 million domestic workers remain in informal employment as of 2025. This shadow labor market accounts for 83.1% of the 80 million global domestic workers, highlighting significant gaps in regulatory compliance and wage parity.
Why it matters
The persistent scale of informal labor complicates workforce management and compliance for firms that rely on contracted domestic support. These figures illustrate the systemic wage and hour disparities that operators must navigate when benchmarking labor costs against standard market rates.
Informal employment currently encompasses 83.1% of the 80 million global domestic workers, a figure that has risen by 5.1 million since 2019. Informal workers earn just 48.7% of the average monthly wages of other employees, compared to 53.3% for the broader domestic workforce.
The players
International Labour Organization
A United Nations agency that sets global labor standards and monitors employment trends.
The details
Informal employment in this sector is characterized by the absence of formal contracts and protections, with 35.2% of all domestic workers logging 49 hours or more per week. These operational gaps are unevenly distributed, ranging from extreme informality in the Arab states and Africa to more regulated environments in Europe and Central Asia. Firms engaging these workers face risks regarding wage hour compliance and the potential for future regulatory shifts intended to close this persistent earnings gap.
Timeline
2019: Global domestic workforce reached 75.6 million people.
2025: 66.5 million domestic workers were informally employed.
October 2026: ILO released report on domestic labor conditions.
Market Landscape
This data marks the 15-year anniversary of the Domestic Workers Convention and underscores the slow pace of sector formalization. It illustrates a departure from the goals of that precedent, with informal employment rates remaining a dominant characteristic of the global labor market.
Operators relying on contract labor should audit their supply chains to ensure compliance with local standards, as informal wage levels remain nearly 50% below standard employee benchmarks. Failure to formalize these arrangements exposes businesses to significant regulatory and reputational risk.
The takeaway
The persistence of informal labor signals that regulatory convergence remains elusive for global domestic workforces. Businesses should track local legislative initiatives aimed at mandatory contract registration as an early signal for upcoming cost adjustments in service procurement.
Further reading
For broader trends in labor markets, see the Employment section.
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