Defining and measuring informal employment

Abstract: The paper summarises the international statistical definition of the informal sector as adopted by the Fifteenth International Conference of Labour Statisticians (15th ICLS) in 1993 and referred to in the revised System of National Accounts (SNA 1993). With a view to complementing statistical measures of employment in the informal sector with broader statistical measures of informal employment, it also proposes a definition of informal employment as developed by the ILO for discussion by the International Labour Conference (ILC) in 2002 and endorsed by the 17th ICLS in 2003. The possibilities and limitations of labour force surveys as a source of data on employment in the informal sector and informal employment are discussed. To illustrate how the information can be obtained, examples of possible survey questions are included.