{"id":799528,"date":"2024-11-12T16:58:45","date_gmt":"2024-11-12T14:58:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/?p=799528"},"modified":"2024-11-12T16:58:51","modified_gmt":"2024-11-12T14:58:51","slug":"crisis-for-domestic-workers-in-south-africa-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businesstech.co.za\/news\/lifestyle\/799528\/crisis-for-domestic-workers-in-south-africa-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Crisis for domestic workers in South Africa"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While most jobs in South Africa have returned to or surpassed pre-Covid levels, domestic worker jobs remain in significant decline, with over 170,000 positions seemingly permanently lost.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Domestic worker jobs in South Africa increased over the last quarter, but the 11,000 jobs added in Q3 are still lower than the same time last year – and the sector is nowhere close to recovering to levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the third quarter of the year, domestic worker jobs increased 1.3% quarter-on-quarter to 854,000 jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While this is undoubtedly good news for domestic workers looking for jobs, it comes with the caveat that the sector is still under pressure relative to 2023 – with 6,000 fewer jobs (or a 0.7% decline) from Q3 2023.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Stats SA noted that this reflects a shift in employment among private households, which represents a crucial segment of the labour market, despite being relatively vulnerable and largely informal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, while the South African economy has recovered since the Covid-19 days\u2014and households have seen a positive turn in recent months\u2014this has not been reflected in domestic worker jobs, which remain over 170,000 lower than pre-Covid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Approximately 1.1 million South Africans are employed in private households, with 75.7% (or 854,000) working as domestic workers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These workers form an essential support system for families across the country, Stats SA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“Domestic work encompasses a variety of tasks, but its defining characteristic is that it takes place in or for a private household. This category includes live-in and live-out domestic workers, those working on a casual or hourly basis, and those employed through or by a service provider. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“They perform vital tasks such as childcare, cleaning, cooking, and elderly care, enabling other South Africans to work outside their homes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“However, despite the essential nature of their work, domestic workers face ongoing vulnerabilities and economic uncertainties, which have only intensified in recent years,” it said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Between Q3: 2014 and Q3: 2019, domestic work employment showed modest growth of 6.8% (or 65,000 jobs), increasing from 961,000 to 1 million jobs. <\/p>\n\n\n

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This steady rise indicated a stable demand for domestic services. However, the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020 disrupted this trend. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the pandemic kept people home, demand for domestic work declined sharply by 15.9% (or 163,000 jobs), falling to 864,000 in Q3: 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While employment in private households began to recover slightly with a 0.8% increase in Q3: 2021 as restrictions eased, the demand for domestic help continued to decline. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Q3: 2024, domestic work employment had decreased further to 854,000 jobs \u2013 still significantly below the pre-pandemic level of 1 million in Q3: 2019. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“This post-pandemic decline also reflects financial pressures on households, many of whom have reduced spending on non-essential services like domestic help due to rising inflation,” Stats SA said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This has been reflected in many other independent surveys and studies of household spending, which indicate that domestic help is a ‘luxury’ for many, and one of the first budget items to be cut when it comes time to tighten belts and save.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Major blow to domestic workers in South Africa as households call it quits<\/a><\/blockquote>