![Page 1: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri
Discussant Derek Blades
![Page 2: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
ILO definitions• Informal enterprises (unincorporated,
unregistered, do not pay taxes)
• Informal employment ( working in informal enterprises, own account workers for own final use only)
• Informal jobs (no written contract, no social security)
![Page 3: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
ILO Indicators
• % informal enterprises
• % informal employment
• % informal GDP
• % of informal/unprotected employment
• Kinds of activity of informal enterprises
• Occupations of informal employees
![Page 4: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
Data problems
• Problems common to most countries– No dedicated surveys of informal sector– Amount of detail from surveys decreases as
enterprises get smaller• Conflict– Gaza excluded from population census– Gaza destruction– Disruption of economic life in the West Bank by
occupation
![Page 5: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
1 – 2 Survey• First survey is Labour Force Survey
• Identifies persons/households employed in informal jobs
• Second survey focuses on these persons/households
• Sampling and weighting issues
• LFS first modified to 1-2 format in Q4 2008
• Some preliminary results
![Page 6: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
Some results
• 37% of all enterprises are informal
• 45% of all private sector enterprises are informal
• Informal sector employed 22% of total employment
• Informal value added represents 8% of GDP
• 54% of employees are unprotected
![Page 7: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
Some results: employment
Informal employment
Formal employment
Total
Informal sector
141 200(41%)
Zero(0%)
141 200(22%)
Formal sector 205 500(59%)
295 300(100%)
500 800(78%)
Total 346 700(100%)
295 300(100%)
642 000(100%)
![Page 8: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
Why measure informal?ILO Approach
• Standard definitions for enterprises, employment, jobs
• Standard indicators of size of informal sector, informal employment
• International comparability
Broader approach
• Improve labour statistics• Exhaustive national
accounts• Looser definitions adapted
to each country• No measure of “informal
sector” as such. • Information for policy
purposes.
![Page 9: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
Information for policy
• Survival strategy or business opportunity• Kinds of activity• Main or secondary source of income• Labour productivity• Age, gender, education of informal workers• Access to bank credit• Barriers to growth
![Page 10: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
Taxes are a delicate matter
• Can we ask – “Do you pay taxes?”
• Can we ask – “Does your employer pay taxes?”
• Should we ask these questions?
• Reliability of answers?
• Danger of linking statistical office with the tax
authorities
![Page 11: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
Four questions
• What is meant by “projects”? • What are “inside” and “outside”
enterprises?• What lessons for the next 1-2 survey• What is informal employment in the
formal sector?
![Page 12: Measurement of Informal Sector and Employment: Case study of Palestine Saleh Alkafri](https://reader036.vdocuments.us/reader036/viewer/2022083006/568139c4550346895da16b34/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
Some results: employment
Informal employment
Formal employment
Total
Informal sector
141 200(41%)
Zero(0%)
141 200(22%)
Formal sector 205 500(59%)
295 300(100%)
500 800(78%)
Total 346 700(100%)
295 300(100%)
642 000(100%)