Impact and people

We Have the Power to Change Lives

06 June 2021

This month, the UN Resident Coordinator for the Fiji Multi-Country Office, Sanaka Samarasinha sat down with us to discuss Pacific informal economies. In this in-depth interview, he speaks about the unique challenges faced by the informal sector, and how we cannot hope to build back better from the pandemic without addressing the massive gaps within this often ‘invisible’ space.

Kazakhstan: Parliamentary Hearings on Labour Market and Youth Employment

28 September 2018

On 28 September the Kazakhstan’s Parliament held hearings, titled “Problems and prospects of development of the employment sphere,” on 28th September. The participants discussed the current state of the labour market, employment, and formalization of self-employed population in Kazakhstan as well as methods to further develop employment of the country in the current context.

Direct hiring opens up new horizons in Colombia

05 May 2016

Workers in Colombia’s palm oil agribusiness sector have reached agreements formalizing their jobs following complex tripartite negotiations. For José Guarín, this is a chance to make his dreams come true. For the ILO, while much remains to be done in the sector, this is a good beginning.

Turning computer junk into jobs

18 January 2013

Vast amounts of electrical and electronic waste end up in developing countries where the recycling methods are often hazardous. Integrating informal e-waste operations into the formal sector can help make the process safer, according to an ILO study titled "The global impact of e-waste".

ILO, WTO joint study on trade and informal employment: Globalization and Informal Jobs in Developing Countries

01 December 2009

This study finds that the high incidence of informal employment in the developing world suppresses countries’ ability to benefit from trade opening by creating poverty traps for workers in job transition. It is a product of the collaborative research programme of the ILO International Institute for Labour Studies and the WTO Secretariat.

In Asia, informal work shifts but remains massive

09 August 2007

Despite a GDP growth rate twice the world average, more than 1 billion Asians still work in the informal economy. Most lack basic social protection and hold unproductive jobs with low earnings. An ILO report prepared for the Asian Employment Forum held on 13-15 August says the rapid shift from rural and agricultural employment to urban-based manufacturing and service-oriented work in developing Asia will continue and in some countries accelerate. ILO Online reports.

ILO