The number of domestic workers has plunged almost 400,000 over the past five years as their employers cut back on spending or move home — either within South Africa or abroad.
About 19% of domestic workers have lost their jobs in the past financial year alone, according to the eighth annual “Report on Domestic Worker Pay and Working Conditions” compiled by SweepSouth, an online platform that connects home owners with services such as cleaning, gardening and elderly care.
The South African economy has been muted over the past decade, with GDP rising an average of only 0.7%, according to the World Bank. The economy is expected to grow between 1% and 1.7% this year.
The percentage of domestic workers who lost their jobs in financial 2025 because their employer could no longer afford to pay them dropped to 16%, compared with 25% in 2024 and 25% in 2023.
According to the report, there was a slight increase in the percentage of those who lost their work because their employer moved home, but this is still relatively stable from the previous year. Employers who moved home primarily moved overseas (48%) while a significant portion moved to a different city within South Africa (34%).
SweepSouth CEO Lourandi Kriel said prior to the Covid-19 pandemic, there were 1.2-million employed domestic workers; but that figure dropped to 850,000 in financial 2025, and sits at just over 839,000 in the second quarter of the current year.
This is a year-on-year change of 0.5%, according to StatsSA.
“So the decline in domestic workers is due to a multitude of factors,” Kriel said. “The economy hasn’t grown, and because of the tough economic conditions, some families can’t afford [domestic help], and also some of them are probably emigrating.”
She said the SweepSouth platform showed that any attempt to raise pay for domestics led to a decline in hiring. This means either the number of days a week is cut or a full-day engagement becomes a half-day job.
“For some families, it is just not affordable. Then they drop the service in its entirety. And if you look at the middle to upper class that can afford a form of domestic work, salaries haven’t really increased.
“This is one of the areas where households often cut. Now that some work from home, they do some of the chores themselves. So that’s very prevalent post-Covid,” Kriel said.
Domestic workers continue to struggle with the rising cost of living. About 39% earn less than the national minimum wage. The minimum wage increase for domestic workers was 4.4% in 2025. About 82% serve as the primary breadwinners for their households and support an average of four dependents.
SweepSouth says median monthly earnings for domestics was R3,932, up from R3,404 last year. In 2020, domestic workers earned about R2,814, but there was a slight decline to R2,730 in 2021.
For domestic workers on SweepSouth’s platform, earnings increased nearly 6% in financial 2025. “While this is positive, we do also see the impact of continued economic pressure on all consumers.”
Some countries have an ageing population and low birth rates. That means globally there will be a high need for carers. In South Africa, it is projected that the childcare economy will be R103bn by 2030 and R211bn for elderly care
— Lourandi Kriel, SweepSouth CEO
Kriel noted, however, that as the population ages, demand for caregivers will rise, both locally and abroad.
“Some countries have an ageing population and low birth rates. That means globally there will be a high need for carers. In South Africa, it is projected that the childcare economy will be R103bn by 2030 and R211bn for elderly care. So the paid care economy makes up 13.8% of employment.”
Mervyn Abrahams, programme co-ordinator at the Pietermaritzburg Economic Justice & Dignity NGO, said when middle-class families are under immense financial strain, it has consequences for domestic work.
SweepSouth contacted 17,500 domestic workers for its survey: 6,500 who had never used the service; 5,500 who had previously found work through the platform; and just over 5,500 who were currently active workers on the platform. It received a total of 5,039 responses.
According to the report, the majority of respondents (85%) work part-time for multiple employers, while 15% work for a single employer.
Those who work in the Western Cape and Gauteng earn more than those in other provinces. Domestic workers who report child care or elderly care as their primary role appear to be paid the highest.
The company said the increases in the minimum wage for domestic workers over the past few years have helped to raise pay levels. But rising living costs continue to strain household budgets, limiting the impact of wage gains.
SweepSouth data shows that the cost of living for domestic workers rose 7% overall from 2024 to 2025, with all categories — food, data and airtime, housing, transport and electricity — showing increases.
“Rising expenses of domestic workers will likely place further pressure on their budgets, reducing their disposable income and limiting their ability to save, pay off debt, or invest in their future and education,” the report said.
The total median expenses for rent/bond (R1,401), food (R1,335), transport (R613), electricity (R381), data/airtime (R104), and other items (R665) bring the basic cost basket to R4,500 a month, more than a single domestic earns on average.
But the figures for total household incomes painted a better picture, the report said.
“Household income covers basic costs, [but] these are median values and therefore many domestic workers still cannot afford these expenses. It is also important to recognise that these are basic costs only. There is limited opportunity for additional savings and investments.”
According to the report, 72% of domestic workers are not making enough to put money away. Just 13% say they have a savings account or a pension plan, and 17% participate in a stokvel (rotating savings).
“A low savings rate leaves households vulnerable to any financial shocks and prevents them from investing in their future,” the report states.
While the financial security and future readiness of most domestic workers remain fragile, there are some positive trends over the past few years. There has been an increase in the proportion of workers who have savings or a pension, while, correspondingly, the proportion of workers who do not make enough money to save continues to decrease.
Kriel said financial institutions had approached the company to suggest financial products for domestic workers. “The challenge that we faced in the past has been that a lot of these financial institutions want to make a certain margin [that is] not affordable for domestic workers.”
She said one financial services company was working on a credit rating system for domestics based on how much they have in their bank accounts. “So you don’t have to go into debt to get a credit rating. But you have to have, say, R200 in a deposit account all the time.”
It might sound like a trivial amount, but for a domestic who is only just making ends meet it is not always attainable, Kriel said.
“I think this is an amazing product, and we just need to get a workaround around that, because if domestic workers can get good credit ratings, they can get access to financial products at a better rate, which will help a bit.”
According to the report, debt levels are still concerning among domestic workers, with one-third of respondents reporting that they owe money. South African nationals showed higher levels of indebtedness than foreign respondents at 59% and 33% respectively.
“This is likely due to a reduced ability of foreigners to access credit. Of those in debt, 35% described their repayment situation as ‘hopeless’.”
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