JOBLESSNESS AMONG DOMESTIC WORKER RESPONDENTS REMAINED AT 21% IN MARCH
More than half of respondents struggled to afford regular household expenses during the first quarter of 2023
Domestic Workers Economic Situation Report · March 2023
With analysis from the first quarter of 2023
Source: La Alianza surveys, NDWA Labs
Released: April 10, 2023
The most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics Jobs Report shows the general unemployment rate decreased slightly, and the number of jobs added was around market expectations [1]. The unemployment rate for Latina women also decreased slightly.
NDWA Labs’ March Report shows that the joblessness rate for domestic worker respondents remained at 21% in March. This rate is higher than at any point in the second half of 2022, and it is more than twice the rate of 9% who reported having no jobs before COVID-19 [2].
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 [3].
La Alianza survey data from Spanish-speaking domestic workers shows how respondents continue to face low wages and high levels of unemployment and underemployment.
March 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 [4]. Here 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 April 7, the BLS released new employment data for March 2023.
The number of jobs added in March was around market expectations.
The general unemployment rate ticked down.
The unemployment rate for Latina and Black women decreased.
The unemployment rates for Black and Latinx adults continue to be higher compared to the rates for white adults.
NDWA Labs’ data show that joblessness remained steady compared to February for surveyed Spanish-speaking domestic workers. While the share of joblessness for domestic workers is not directly comparable to the unemployment rate nationwide*, looking at trends in the data for Spanish-speaking domestic workers in the context of national trends can support our understanding of the sector as it relates to the broader economy.
March Domestic Worker Economic Situation at a Glance
Methodological note
In 2023, we began implementing some methodological improvements to our surveys, following recommendations from survey design and methodology experts at NORC. Beginning with our January surveys, we made some changes to the wording of some questions.**
We tested slight language changes with a subgroup of respondents to make sure the changes did not affect how respondents answered our questions before sending the survey to the full sample. We assigned the original and updated versions of the survey to random subgroups and confirmed that differences in responses were not statistically significant before we shared the updated survey with a larger sample of workers. However, we cannot definitively rule out that some differences in our findings compared to prior surveys may be partially due to wording changes.
Main Findings
Below are our main findings on the Economic Situation of Spanish-speaking domestic workers in March. Note that monthly numbers may be volatile, which is why we look at our findings as they relate to prior trends in the data and the economic situation of the overall economy. Additionally, at the end of each quarter, we calculate quarterly averages for key economic indicators.
Jobs and Wages
21% of domestic worker respondents were jobless in the first quarter of 2023, compared with 19% in the fourth quarter of 2022. Joblessness in the first quarter was higher than any point during the second half of 2022.
In March, the joblessness rate remained the same as in February, at 21%.
The share of respondents with a relatively higher volume of work increased. More than a third (36%) of respondents reported working more than twenty hours per week on average, higher than at any point during the past year.
Six in ten (60%) domestic worker respondents were underemployed in March 2023. The main reason for underemployment that workers reported was that they could not find more clients (66%), followed by having a health problem (14%), taking care of a family member (14%), and “other” (6%).
The wage distribution remained roughly steady in the first quarter of 2023 relative to the previous quarter. 63% of domestic worker respondents reported earning less than $15 per hour on average in both quarters.
In the first quarter of 2023, 17% of workers earned $9 or less per hour, 46% earned $10-14 per hour, and 37% earned $15 or more per hour on average.
This share is still higher than the share of respondents who earned less than $15 per hour before COVID-19, which was at most 55%.***
Economic Security
In the first quarter of 2023, nearly eight in ten (78%) domestic worker respondents said their households faced food scarcity either often (13%) or sometimes (65%) in the week prior to being surveyed.
NOTE: We introduced this question in January, asking workers about food availability in their households in the seven days prior to the survey. Previously, we had gauged food security by asking respondents whether they would be able to afford food in the two weeks following the survey.**
Domestic workers’ housing insecurity increased notably in the first quarter of 2023 compared to the previous quarter. Nearly half of respondents (49%) on average were unable to pay their monthly rent or mortgage at the beginning of the month, up from 41% in the fourth quarter of 2022.
In March, 50% of workers were unable to pay their rent or mortgage at the beginning of the month.
More than half (51%) of domestic worker respondents struggled to afford regular household expenses in the first quarter of 2023.
Respondents told us that it was either very (24%) or somewhat difficult (27%) to afford regular household expenses, such as food, housing, car payments, and medical expenses, in the week prior to being surveyed.
42% of workers told us that it was a little difficult to afford household expenses and only 7% told us that it was not difficult.
About the surveys
NDWA Labs surveys Spanish-speaking domestic workers each week, via La Alianza, a Messenger chatbot. At the end of each survey, La Alianza provides respondents with relevant news articles and resources in Spanish. To learn more about NDWA Labs’ La Alianza survey of Spanish-speaking domestic workers, see this report.
The employment numbers presented in this report include data from twelve weekly surveys in the first quarter of 2023 and eight weekly surveys in the fourth quarter of 2022. The total number of fully completed surveys in the first quarter of 2023, which includes both new and repeated respondents, was 7,264. For the fourth quarter of 2022, the total number of completed surveys was 4,337. For greater detail on completions broken down by month, please see the table below. Due to technical difficulties, we were unable to send surveys between October 7 and October 14. Surveys were paused between December 23 and January 6, due to end of year Holidays and NDWA Labs’ Winter office closure.
| Month | Number of weekly surveys | Total completed surveys |
|---|---|---|
| March 2023 | 5 | 3053 |
| February 2023 | 4 | 2230 |
| January 2023 | 3 | 1981 |
| December 2022 | 3 | 1744 |
| November 2022 | 3 | 2040 |
| October 2022 | 2 | 1450 |
Questions about hours worked and hourly wages are asked weekly, questions regarding underemployment and job search are asked bi-weekly, and questions around economic security are asked monthly.
La Alianza is a product of NDWA Labs, the innovation partner 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 White House Council of Economic Advisers (2023), The Employment Situation in March
2 NDWA Labs (2020), 6 Months in Crisis: The Impact of COVID-19 on Domestic Workers
3 Economic Policy Institute (2022), Domestic Workers Chartbook
4 Kopparam (2022), What federal statistical agencies can do to improve survey response rates among Hispanic communities in the United States
* Unlike unemployment rates, joblessness for domestic workers may include people who are not working but are currently unavailable to work, or not actively looking for jobs. Additionally, the NDWA Labs’ joblessness rate for surveyed domestic workers is NOT seasonally adjusted, while BLS unemployment rates are adjusted.
**We modified the wording of some questions to ensure specificity and consistency in period reference formatting. The goal was to reduce cognitive burden and potential measurement error. For example, where we previously asked: “How many hours did you work on the week of January 9?”, we changed the question to: “During the last 7 days, how many hours did you work?”
*** The share of respondents earning less than $15 in 2022 cannot be directly compared to baseline numbers before COVID-19, due to a change in answer option ranges. However, since 55% of respondents reported earning $15 or less before COVID-19,2 a share which is inclusive of those who earned $15 per hour, we know that the share of respondents earning less than $15 is at most 55%.