Six in ten domestic workers reported earning less than $15 per hour. expenses during the first quarter of 2023.
Source: La Alianza surveys, NDWA Labs
Released: May 5, 2023
The Domestic Workers Economic Situation Report analyzes the economic situation of domestic workers and is released on the same day as the US Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly Jobs Report. Based on weekly surveys with thousands of Spanish-speaking domestic workers across the country, these reports cover jobs, wages and food and housing security.
The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report shows strong job growth in April. In parallel, NDWA Labs’ April Report shows a decline to 18% in joblessness for surveyed domestic workers. This decline puts joblessness at the level we saw in November 2022, and comes after a joblessness increase during the first quarter of the year. It remains over twice the rate of 9% who reported having no jobs before COVID-19 [1].
Domestic workers are the nannies, homecare workers, and house cleaners whose work is essential to our economy, and yet they are one of the most vulnerable and marginalized groups of workers. They work in private homes, and often have multiple employers. This means they may have to schedule several jobs in a given week in order to make ends meet. Domestic workers earn less than the average US worker and are three times as likely to be living in poverty [2].