Measuring informal employment

9 November - 18 December 2020 OBJECTIVES The main objective of the course was to “enhance national capacities to produce, collect and analyze data on informal employment (size, composition and working conditions of workers) as part of the diagnostic phase of formalization strategies. The course also aims to promote the collection of data on the number of entrepreneurs and economic units in the informal sector, and their characteristics, as an integral part of national labour statistics, following R.204 guidelines on promoting formalization at national level for evidence-based labour market policies.” Learning Objectives The specific learning objectives of the course included: • Comprehensive understanding of the key international concepts, terminology, guiding principles; • Comprehensive understanding the operational definitions of Informal sector and informal employment; • Better understanding of the data collection process and sources in relation to informal employment and informal sector and understand the various measurement mechanisms; • Comprehensive understanding of the various indicators to assess the extent and composition of informal employment and of the informal sector and how to link indicators to policies; • Improve understanding about the relationship between informality and working conditions; • Ample understanding of the national diagnostic of informality and how it supports decision-making; • Better understanding of the main economic and environmental drivers that support transition to formality. CONTENT The course content focused on: • The definition of the informal economy and how it relates to the statistical concepts; • Statistical definitions: Operational definition of the informal sector; • Statistical definitions: Operational definition of informal employment; • Data collection instruments; • From data to derived variables: Going from derived variables to indicators on work in the informal economy; • Informality and working conditions: to what extent decent work deficits are more critical in the informal economy?; • National diagnostic of informality or how data support decisions about priorities and inform the development and monitoring of policy; • Contextualizing data and indicators, analysis of other drivers and conditions as part of the economic and institutional environment to support transition to formality. ACHIEVEMENT This course was a 60 learning hour course; hence, it qualified for a Certificate of Achievement. The criteria used to assess the participants was active attendance of weekly group discussion webinars and participation in the weekly group presentations. Participants who attended more than 60% of the weekly group discussion webinars and weekly group presentations were granted a Certificate of Achievement. Those who scored a total attendance grade below 60% were awarded a Certificate of Participation.