News on informal economy

  1. Azerbaijan

    Get formal, be successful: Supporting the transition to formality of youth-led enterprises in Azerbaijan

    08 June 2015

    Read about a pilot programme that is helping young Azerbaijani entrepreneurs build successful formal businesses of all kinds.

  2. © Thomas Sennett / World Bank 2024

    ECLAC-ILO report

    Unemployment rate in Latin America and the Caribbean could rise 0.2 percentage point

    13 May 2015

    The ILO and ECLAC forecast that unemployment will reach 6.2% this year, due to an unencouraging economic outlook.

  3. News

    27 million Latin American and Caribbean youth in the informal economy

    22 April 2015

    The International Labour Organization (ILO) calls for urgent action to help youth in the region move from the informal to the formal economy.

  4. 323rd session of the ILO Governing Body

    Luc Cortebeeck, President of the Workers’ Group: “The right to strike has been recognized and the ILO supervisory mechanism is back in operation”

    13 April 2015

    The 323rd session of the ILO Governing Body has just finished in Geneva. In this interview, President of the Workers’ Group Luc Cortebeeck discusses the outcomes achieved at this session, in particular on the issue of the right to strike. He also talks about the solutions the trade unions have in mind for the protection of vulnerable workers and the expectations of the Workers’ Group for the forthcoming discussions on transitioning from the informal to the formal economy due to take place at the International Labour Conference in June 2015.

  5. ILO research project

    How microfinance develops decent work

    17 February 2015

    An ILO research project shows how microfinance moves small enterprises out of the informal economy and into profit.

  6. © Tabitha Ross/ILO 2024

    Press release

    New study sheds light on plight of working street-based children in Lebanon

    16 February 2015

    Study is the first of its kind to comprehensively profile the size and magnitude of street-based child labour in Lebanon

  7. International agencies' meeting

    Guy Ryder: Better jobs and higher wages can reverse slow-growth trap

    17 October 2014

    ILO Director-General warns of “slow-growth trap” for global economy and urges leaders to reverse the trend through a renewed focus on higher wages and better jobs.

  8. ECLAC / ILO Report

    Unemployment could fall to 6.0% in Latin America and the Caribbean despite limited job creation

    15 October 2014

    ECLAC-ILO study says employment formalization has contributed to a reduction in income inequality.

  9. 18th American Regional Meeting

    ILO Director-General calls for the Americas to work towards social justice

    13 October 2014

    Guy Ryder warns the informal economy poses a formidable challenge to moving towards fair and sustainable development in the Americas and says it is not about the quantity, but the quality of jobs, at the opening of the 18th American Regional Meeting of the ILO.

  10. 18th American Regional Meeting

    Guy Ryder: Formalization of the informal economy a priority for the Americas

    13 October 2014

    ILO Director-General tells American Regional Meeting that 47 per cent informality rate is still steep.