It's Hard To Get Good Help These Days

According to this article from Forbes, middle class Brazilian families who may have previously enjoyed the services of a maid may not be in a position to continue to do so. Changes in labor laws, increased job opportunities for women who formerly had no options except domestic service, and the resulting changes in supply and demand have led to a fairly hefty increase in the cost of hiring a maid in Brazil.  

As the author points out, until fairly recently, middle class families of relatively modest means could afford to have a maid at least a couple days a week if they wanted one, and those with higher incomes could have live-in help.

For most North Americans, having a regular maid (not just a cleaning woman who comes in for an afternoon once a week), is something for the wealthy and even then, generally from a bygone era. How many families in the United States have someone to do the food shopping, prepare their meals, clean up afterwards, launder and fold clothes, and keep the place neat and tidy all the time? Very few, at least based on my experience, but apparently this has been more common in Brazil.