Publications on informal economy

  1. World Employment and Social Outlook 2021

    The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work

    23 February 2021

    This ILO flagship report explores how the contemporary platform economy is transforming the way work is organized, and analyses the impact of digital labour platforms on enterprises, workers and society as a whole.

  2. World Employment and Social Outlook 2021

    The role of digital labour platforms in transforming the world of work [Summary]

    23 February 2021

    This report examines how digital labour platforms are transforming the world of work and how that affects employers and workers. It focuses on two main types of digital labour platform: online web-based platforms, where tasks are performed online and remotely by workers, and location-based platforms, where tasks are performed at a specified physical location by individuals, such as taxi drivers and delivery workers.

  3. Policy Brief

    Working from Home: Estimating the worldwide potential

    07 May 2020

    Staying in one’s job but performing work remotely is an excellent strategy for mitigating job losses and allowing for the continuation of many of our economies’ functions, but also for keeping the population safe. The objective of this brief is to estimate the potential share of workers across the different regions of the world who could perform their activities from home, if needed, as well as to discuss some of the policy issues associated with working from home.

  4. Issue Brief no. 5 - Labour Relations and Collective Bargaining

    Negotiating for decent working time - a review of practice

    10 December 2019

    This Issue Brief gives an overview of the regulation of working time through collective agreements in different regions of the world and outlines innovative solutions by the bargaining partners. It presents practices from various countries, which can advance a human-centered approach to the regulation of working time through collective bargaining.

  5. Publication

    Telework in the 21st century: An evolutionary perspective (online pdf)

    15 November 2019

  6. Publication

    Telework in the 21st century: An evolutionary perspective

    15 November 2019

    A new conceptual framework explaining the evolution of telework over four decades.

  7. Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 106

    Regulatory options for conflicts of law and jurisdictional issues in the on-demand economy

    08 July 2019

    Provides a global framework for thinking about the on-demand business model and assorted conflicts of law and jurisdictional issues.

  8. Publication

    Women and men in the informal economy: A statistical picture. Third edition

    30 April 2018

    This publication provides for the first time comparable estimates on the size of the informal economy and a statistical profile of informality in all its diversity at the global and regional levels.

  9. Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 103

    On-call work in the Netherlands: trends, impact, and policy solutions

    23 April 2018

    Flexible work has steadily increased in the Dutch labour market and on-call employment represents the fastest growing group. Although on-call work is both the largest and the least institutionally regulated form of flexible employment, little is known on its developments and impacts.

  10. Conditions of Work and Employment Series No. 102

    On-call and related forms of casual work in New Zealand and Australia

    23 April 2018