All news: informal employment + informal enterprises + informal economy

COVID-19: Relying on social dialogue for solutions

The COVID-19 crisis: A wake-up call to strengthen social protection systems

Countries with effective health and social protection systems are better prepared to respond to the pandemic.

COVID-19: Stimulating the economy and employment

COVID-19 responses must be built on human solidarity, ILO tells World Bank/IMF

In submissions to the Spring Meetings of the IMF and World Bank the ILO Director-General has laid out a four-pillar plan of policy responses to the COVID-19 crisis, that are human-centred and built on global solidarity.

Virtual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF

COVID-19: Immediate relief needed to protect workers and enterprises, says ILO Director-General

Priority attention should be given to small enterprises, unprotected workers and those in the informal economy, says the Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Guy Ryder, in a statement to the Spring Meeting of the IMF/World Bank...

Virtual Spring Meetings of the World Bank and the IMF

We need a human-centred response to COVID-19 through global solidarity

In a statement to the International Monetary and Financial Committee of the IMF and World Bank, the Director-General of the International Labour Organization, Guy Ryder, outlined the steps that need to be taken to lessen the impact of the crisis on...

ILO Voices | Small enterprises

Which policies can help small businesses withstand COVID-19

Small and medium-sized enterprises and their employees are an essential part of the social and economic fabric of daily life worldwide. This vital role is now under threat from the unprecedented effects of COVID-19.

COVID-19

COVID-19 Pandemic and Employment Relations Reset High on the Agenda of the Saint-Petersburg International Legal Forum

How to save one’s business and comply with obligations before the workers? What changes to the labour law are now possible and acceptable? How to settle the legal and other aspects of remote work? These and other issues were discussed at a special...

COVID-19: Stimulating the economy and employment

ILO: COVID-19 causes devastating losses in working hours and employment

The COVID-19 pandemic is having a catastrophic effect on working hours and earnings, globally. A new ILO report highlights some of the worst affected sectors and regions, and outlines policies to mitigate the crisis.

COVID-19: Protecting workers in the workplace

COVID-19 cruelly highlights inequalities and threatens to deepen them

The COVID-19 pandemic is exacerbating already existing inequalities – from catching the virus, to staying alive, to coping with its dramatic economic consequences. Policy responses must ensure that support reaches the workers and enterprises who...

Fighting undeclared work

Information campaign of Ukrainian labour inspectors brings 123,000 workers into formal employment in one month

Labour inspectors from the State Labour Service of Ukraine visited more than 184,000 employers in the trade, hotel and restaurant sector between 21 and 30 January, 2020, to inform them about the risks of undeclared work. The news about these visits...

Global Employment Trends for Youth 2020

Unemployment, informality and inactivity plague youth in Latin America and the Caribbean

There are 9.4 million unemployed young people, 23 million do not study or work, and more than 30 million only get informal employment. The situation is worrying, and will become more complicated by the effects of coronavirus (COVID-19), said ILO...

Informal economy operators in Bulawayo to benefit from ILO’s Start and Improve Your Business programme

The ILO has trained 17 Start and Improve Your Business trainers to offer management-training services to improve the businesses operating in the informal economy.

Youth entrepreneurship for rural development in Astrakhan region of the Russian Federation

On 18-19 February 2020, the Astrakhan Region hosted a kick-off conference on the joint Astrakhan Region Public Employment Service (PES) and the ILO pilot youth employment programme.

ILO and Uzbekistan: cooperation that goes beyond child labour and forced labour

Uzbekistan’s ability to create enough decent jobs will be the key factor to enable and sustain the ongoing reform process. This was stated by the participants of the roundtable “Sustaining reforms through decent work” held on 5 February in Tashkent.

Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators

Brightly® – Scaling up worker cooperatives through the franchise model

“Spotlight Interviews with Co-operators” is a series of interviews with co-operators from around the world with whom ILO officials have crossed paths during the course of their work on cooperatives and the wider social and solidarity economy (SSE)....

Lebanon launches the results of the Labour Force and Households Living Conditions Survey for 2018 - 2019

The Central Administration of Statistics launches the main results of the Labour Force and Households’ Living Conditions Survey, which was carried out with the technical support from the ILO and funding from the EU.

Co-creating better work places for micro-enterprises

As part of efforts to facilitate the transition from the informal economy to the formal, the ILO convened a two-day meeting to co-create designs of workspaces and plans to enhance the sustainability of identified enterprises.

Indian women co-operators are being trained to roll out Think.Coop

The Indian Academy of Self-Employed Women (IASEW) conducted a training of facilitators on the ILO’s Think.Coop training tool, with a view to further strengthening women cooperative entrepreneurs in the rural and informal economy in India.

Initiative to facilitate the transition from informality to formality launched in Bulawayo

The initiative is part of the Employment Promotion and Labour Market Governance Programme (2019 -2020), which in part, seeks to facilitate transition to formality in Zimbabwe.

Final knowledge-sharing event of the DW project in Bishkek

On 5 December 2019, the tripartite constituents of the Kyrgyz Republic hosted in Bishkek the final knowledge-sharing event of the project “From the Crisis towards Decent and Safe Jobs, Phase II” funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Finland...

Policy advice

Is youth employment improving in the Western Balkans? 5 key trends to guide decision-makers in 2020

As the year slowly draws to a close, it also invites a pause for reflection to take stock and look ahead. With electoral tests facing several governments in the Western Balkans in 2020 (North Macedonia and Serbia being cases in point), many policy...