JOHANNESBURG – Domestic workers in South Africa are facing growing uncertainty as new employment data shows their jobs are steadily shrinking and their financial struggles deepening.
According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by Statistics South Africa for the second quarter of 2025, domestic worker jobs increased by 21,000 between April and June, bringing the total to 839,000. While this reflected a 2.5 percent rise compared to the previous quarter, the figure was still 4,000 lower than the same period last year.
Long-term figures reveal that South Africa has lost about 160,000 domestic worker jobs since the Covid-19 pandemic, representing 17 percent of the sector. Data from SweepSouth, a platform connecting households with domestic workers, suggests that the number of jobs before the pandemic stood at 1.2 million. This fell sharply to 850,000 after the lockdowns and has since remained between 800,000 and 850,000.
SweepSouth chief executive Lourandi Kriel said the situation has left domestic workers vulnerable, with fewer job opportunities, reduced earnings, and rising mental health challenges linked to financial pressure. Many workers are primary breadwinners in their families and support an average of four dependents.
Debt levels have worsened for those in the lowest income bracket, with DebtBusters reporting that women earning less than R5,000 a month now face debt-to-income ratios as high as 94 percent. Around 77 percent of their monthly income is directed to loan repayments, most of which are unsecured.
The Debt Index further shows that while inflation has risen by 51 percent since 2016, average income has only grown by 2 percent. For low-income earners, wages improved by just 11 percent over the same period, while debt climbed 18 percent.
Wages in the domestic sector remain low despite legal protections. The National Minimum Wage sets hourly pay at R28.79, which amounts to about R5,600 a month for a full-time worker. However, SweepSouth’s survey for 2024 indicated that domestic workers earned an average of R3,349, while median earnings from Statistics South Africa placed the figure at R2,350, less than half the national median of R5,417.
“When you’re stressed about finding work and worried about putting food on the table, the anxiety and depression can be overwhelming,” said Kriel.
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