Domestic work represents an important source of employment and in 2021 it was the third most important branch of economic activity for the employment of women in the country and contributes to the access to work of the rest of employed people.
This is highlighted by the Ministry of Economy, Planning and Development in the document“Domestic Work in the Dominican Republic: An approach to the living and working conditions of workers in domestic service and its regulation.,prepared by Rosa Cañete Alonso and Ángel Serafín Cuello, from the Directorate for the Analysis of Poverty, Inequality and Democratic Culture of the Vice Ministry of Economic and Social Analysis.
In 2021 it generated 245 thousand jobs
During 2021, the domestic sector generated 245,102 jobs, more than double the number of people employed in free zones, which amounted to 122,310, a sector with a higher level of incentives and regulation. According to the analysis, 92% of the jobs it generates are for women.
In 2021, 226,262 jobs for women and 18,840 jobs for men were generated in domestic service. The report states that In general terms, the domestic sector produced 5.38% of the employed population in the country. Likewise, represented 12.35% of female jobsonly behind commerce and other services.
Low recognition and low wages
Despite its contributions to the care and sustainability of life, as well as the reproduction of the workforce, in the country this sector does not have sufficient recognition, economic compensation and regulation.
“Despite being an important generator of employment, it is a sector with inadequate working conditions, precarious remuneration, lack of social protection and insufficient regulation” specifies the study report
Indicates that the limited regulation of domestic work and the absence of establishing a minimum wage influence the low incomes of the sector. While in 2021, the monthly income of the total number of employed persons in the country was RD$19,429 per month, for persons employed in this domestic service it was RD$8,415 per month57% lower.
He maintains that the majority of people employed in the domestic sector in the country work under verbal contract (94%) and it is the branch of economic activity with the lowest payment per hour of work, RD$57 pesos per hour, followed by agriculture and livestock with RD$75 pesos per hour, 32% more.
This causes the households of people employed in domestic service to be the branch of economic activity in 2021 with the highest percentage of monetary poverty (20.33%), even above the agricultural sector, which historically had been the one with the greatest relative poverty.
The study adds that it is estimated that 3.53% of people employed in domestic service in the country are affiliated with health insurance due to their work, and 3.08% with the pension system.