There have been many developments and extensive work on the improvement of the measurement of informality and this session will be an opportunity to highlight the latest developments in the statistical framework of the informal economy and its measurement, as well as sharing leanings. According to the latest global estimates 60 percent of the worlds employed population are in informal employment. This means most workers lack effective coverage of formal arrangements, such as national labour laws and social protection systems put in place to regulate and protect workers, enterprises and their activities. While informal employment creates opportunities to generate income and support livelihood, it has strong links to vulnerability, economic risks and decent work deficits. Links were evident during the COVID-19 pandemic when informal workers were severely impacted by lock-downs and limited access to economic support. Informality also has a strong gender dimension. Women are more often found in the most vulnerable forms of informal employment, for instance as domestic workers, home-based workers or contributing family workers.

The informal economy has been a long standing priority for the ILO and its constituents. The first statistical standards defining the informal sector were adopted at the International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) in 1993. Ten years later, the boundaries of informality were broadened with the adoption of the Guidelines concerning a statistical definition of informal employment. These standards have contributed to increase measurement of informal employment by countries providing statistics on the different components of the informal economy.

Development of a statistical framework for informality has been an incremental process. As a result, despite good progress, there are some flexibilities, gaps, and inconsistencies between and within the different concepts and definitions. In addition, the standards for measuring work, on which the standards for informality were built, have changed in the last decade following introduction of a the concept of work at the ICLS in 2013, recognizing five different forms of work, paid as well as unpaid. One of the most essential objectives of collecting data on informality is to support and monitor policies aimed at improving working conditions in both informal and formal employment. While the dichotomy of informality and formality contributes to this, there is a strong need to provide more granular data that gives a better understanding of the situation of informal and formal workers.

At the 20th ICLS in 2018, there was consensus on the need to revise the current standards on informality, to address these and other issues. To assist in this work, the ILO established a working group comprising producers and users of labour and economic statistics from national government agencies in all regions, intergovernmental agencies, and workers’ and employers’ organizations. In addition to a new conceptual framework for measurement, an indicator framework is being developed to support and assist countries in producing policy relevant data on the informal economy.

In parallel with revising the statistical standards, the ILO is development of improved data collection methods for the measurement of informal employment. These will support countries to implement the new standards and improve their measurement of informality, particularly with a gender lens. The Engendering Informality Statistics Project, and the Informality in the Arab Region project through which this methodological work is being conducted, allows the testing of improved survey questions as well as the development of additional modules that will contribute to a better understanding of the situation of women and men in the informal economy.

The new standards on the informal economy, the supporting indicator framework and the improved data collection tools will all be presented and discussed that the next ICLS taken place in 2023. The 63rd ISI Conference provides a timely opportunity to promote the work being done and explore the impact on the international statistical community.

The new measurement framework for the informal economy will harmonise data on informality and encourage regular production and analysis of statistics. For countries currently not measuring the informal economy, the improved framework and tools are an opportunity to start doing so. For countries already producing informality statistics this will support improved measurement and the production of policy relevant indicators.  
The different presentations in the session will explore user perspectives and the changing needs for data on informality. It will outline the features of the new conceptual framework developed by the ILO working group. Partners from national statistical offices will be invited to share their experience in pre-testing methods and contributing to the development of the news measures and tools.

Organiser: Mr Michael Frosch 

Chair: Mr Tite Habiyakare 

Speaker: Mr Kossi Edem Kludza 

Speaker: Mr Michael Frosch 

Speaker: Michael Ogen 

Speaker: Dr. Gayatri Koolwal