DOMESTIC WORKERS’ JOBLESSNESS CONTINUES TO DECREASE BUT REMAINS AT NEARLY 30%
9 in 10 surveyed domestic workers earn $15 or less per hour
Domestic Workers Economic Situation Report · April 2021
Source: La Alianza surveys, NDWA Labs
Released: May 7, 2021
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. Even before COVID-19, domestic workers earned less than the average US worker and were three times as likely to be living in poverty.1
La Alianza survey data of Spanish-speaking domestic workers shows how the pandemic has amplified the vulnerability of this workforce. Domestic workers continue to face low wages and high levels of unemployment and underemployment. A contextual note regarding our findings: domestic workers, and particularly house cleaners, often have multiple employers. This means they have to schedule several jobs in a given week in order to make ends meet.
La Alianza surveys began in March 2020, and we started asking about weekly employment in late March 2020. After a full year of surveying, we are able to present yearlong comparative data for certain indicators for the first time.
April Jobs Report - Bureau of Labor Statistics
Each month, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases an Economic Situation Summary with employment and other labor market data. This is an important report to keep track of how the economy is doing. However, domestic workers, along with other vulnerable workers, are often underrepresented in official data. We present an overview of the BLS Jobs report, along with NDWA Labs’ data which shows the employment and economic situation of thousands of Spanish-speaking domestic workers.
On May 7, the BLS released new employment data for April 2021.
The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for Latina women increased slightly compared to March 2021.
The unemployment rates for Black and Latinx adults showed little to no change in April 2021 and are still among the highest compared to other demographic groups.
People who have been unemployed long-term (27 weeks or more) represented 43% of the total unemployed in April.
The economic crisis that resulted from the COVID-19 pandemic has been particularly harsh for Latina women. In April 2020, the unemployment rate for Latina women reached 20%, the highest compared to other racial/ethnic and gender groups. While there has been improvement since then, the unemployment rate for Latina women in April 2021 was still higher than before the pandemic.2
NDWA Labs’ April report shows that Latina domestic workers are especially vulnerable during this crisis. In April 2020, 62% of domestic worker respondents were without work. In April 2021, 29% of domestic worker respondents were still out of work, much higher than the 9% who reported having no jobs before COVID-19.
April Domestic Worker Jobs and Wages
April unemployment and underemployment for domestic workers continue to be very high. However, there has been a decrease in unemployment throughout 2021, and unemployment is much lower compared to April 2020.
29% domestic worker respondents had ZERO work hours per week in April, compared to 31% in March and 34% in February.
By contrast, in April 2020, 62% of domestic workers reported ZERO jobs per week.3
The vast majority of respondents are underemployed. 83% of domestic worker respondents who had at least one hour of work per week said they wanted to work more hours.
Job Search
Most domestic worker respondents, whether or not they had current work, looked for additional work in April.
More than 8 in 10 (85%) domestic worker respondents, whether or not they had current work, told us they had looked for new work in the past 30 days.
Similarly, more than 8 in 10 (81%) respondents, whether or not they had current work, told us they had asked at least one of their regular employers to go back to work in the past 30 days.
Housing and Food Security
Nearly half of domestic worker respondents continue to face housing insecurity, and 3 in 4 continue to experience food insecurity. While some domestic workers are starting to recover some of the work they had lost, this is not enough to ensure their economic security. Their ongoing economic precarity is reflected in the high number of workers who are unsure if they can afford, or who cannot afford, food in the next two weeks, as well as the high number who are unable to pay rent.
In early April of this year, for the first time since we began asking this question twelve months ago, the percentage of respondents who could NOT pay their rent or mortgage at the beginning of the month dipped below 50%. However, nearly half (49%) of domestic worker respondents still said they were unable to pay their rent or mortgage in early April 2021.
13% of respondents said they would not be able to afford food in the following two weeks and 63% were unsure if they would be able to.
About the surveys
La Alianza surveys Spanish-speaking domestic workers each week, via a Messenger chatbot. The employment numbers presented in this report pool data from five weekly surveys in April. Questions about hours worked and hourly wages are asked weekly, questions regarding underemployment and job search are asked bi-weekly, and questions about housing and food security are asked once a month.
The total number of fully completed surveys for our five April weekly surveys, which includes both new and repeated respondents, was 7,685. At the end of each survey, La Alianza provides respondents with relevant news articles and resources in Spanish. To learn more about the La Alianza survey of Spanish-speaking domestic workers, see our recent report.
La Alianza is a product of NDWA Labs, the innovation arm of the National Domestic Workers Alliance. NDWA Labs experiments with the ways technology can organize domestic workers and transform domestic work jobs into good jobs by bringing respect, living wages, and benefits to an undervalued and vulnerable part of the economy.
For questions, please contact us here.
Notes
1 Economic Policy Institute (2019), Domestic Workers Chartbook
2 Economic Policy Institute (2021), Jobs and Unemployment, “A more comprehensive look at unemployment rates”
3 In 2020, our main indicator for unemployment was based on those who responded ZERO to the question: “How many jobs did you have last week?”. In 2021, our main indicator of unemployment is based on those who responded ZERO to the question: “How many hours did you work last week?”