Paid domestic employment dropped 23% in fourth quarter 2020

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian population engaged in paid domestic work is finding fewer job opportunities. According to data from the Intersyndicate Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (DIEESE), released on Tuesday, April 27, the amount of people employed in the sector fell from 6.4 million in the fourth quarter 2019 to 4.9 million in the same period last year.

The 23.4% drop is higher than the decrease in occupation in the overall picture in the country: in the fourth quarter 2019, there were 94.5 million people employed in Brazil; in the same period of 2020, this figure stood at 86.2 million, an 8.7% drop.

According to the survey, the proportion of paid domestic workers without a worker’s record book has increased: they were 73% in the fourth quarter of 2019 and increased to 75% in the same period of 2020. The proportion of employees in the sector who contributed to Social Security also decreased: from 37.5% in the fourth quarter 2019 to 35.6% in the same period of 2020.

The average monthly income of paid domestic workers fell from R$924 (US$171) in the fourth quarter 2019 to R$876 in the same period of 2020. There was a drop in all regions, except in the North, where it remained stable. According to DIEESE, informal workers earn 40% less than formal workers and black workers earn 15% less, on average.

According to the DIEESE survey, of the total number of workers employed in paid domestic work, 92% are women, 65% of whom are black. In the fourth quarter 2020, female household heads represented 52.4%; in the same period of 2019, they were 51.2%.

DIEESE data are based on the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics’ (IBGE) Continuous National Household Sample Survey.

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