According to the International Labour Office (ILO, 2013), at least 52.6 million people were employed as domestic workers across the world, in 2010. In developed countries, domestic workers’ share in total employment has reached an average of 0.8, in 2010. Why do households become employers of domestic workers? By using macro-level indicators from the Global Human Capital Data, and from the Eurostat Online Database, we analyze the cross-country variation in the share of domestic workers out of total employment, in 26 developed countries, based on measures provided by the International Labour Office. Our results suggest that demographic processes act as pushing forces in the demand of households for domestic workers. We find that the increase in the demand for domestic workers might be related to deficit of time and deficit of formal child- and elderly care, so that domestic workers and informal care serve as substitutes for governmental support. Moreover, the availability of low-skilled workers, many of them are poorly protected immigrants, provide a pool of potential service workers. Unless regulated, the growing demand for domestic workers might increase global and local social inequality, enhance gender inequality, limit the social integration of the low-skilled, and expand the shadow economy.