Informal economy
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Informal economy

Although it is difficult to assess the extent of undeclared work in Central and Eastern Europe, recent findings indicate that informal employment is widespread in the Western Balkans and Moldova and also in other Central and Eastern European countries. For example, the latest ILO studies have revealed that over 30 per cent of the total workforce is employed informally in the construction sector of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the overall economy of Montenegro and Moldova.

The ILO’s strategy focuses on building alliances with governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations and encouraging them to jointly develop and implement common action plans to address undeclared work.
These joint actions have focused on three main elements:
  1. adoption of necessary legal changes conducive to reducing informal employment;
  2. improving law enforcement;
  3. awareness-raising on the negative effects of undeclared work.

Highlights

  1. Press release

    Fight undeclared work in the Western Balkan and Moldova
    February 15, 2011

    Recent ILO studies have discovered that at least 30 per cent of the total workforce is employed informally in the construction sector of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the overall economy of Montenegro and Moldova.

  2. New publication

    Overview of informal employment in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Moldova and Montenegro
    February 15, 2011

    This comparative overview has been published as a contribution to the ongoing debate on promoting decent work through the extension of labour protection to the informal economy. It seeks to be an inspiration for policy makers especially in South Eastern Europe to develop targeted solutions to the problem of informal employment.

What's new

  1. Fight undeclared work in the Western Balkan and Moldova

    15 February 2011

    Recent ILO studies have discovered that at least 30 per cent of the total workforce is employed informally in the construction sector of Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as in the overall economy of Montenegro. Another national study was carried out in Moldova at the request of the government with similar results. A recently ended ILO project has built new alliances with governments, workers’ and employers’ organizations to fight undeclared work in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro.

  2. ILO is to reduce informal employment in the Albanian construction sector

    01 September 2008

    The continuous and growing concern of the Albanian social partners over the negative impact and widespread proliferation of undeclared work in the most important sectors of national economy has encouraged the International Labour Organization (ILO) to undertake significant efforts to address this phenomenon through actions leading to strongersocial dialogue and partnership.

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