Health and Healthcare Systems

This is how COVID-19 is affecting informal workers

A health worker asks a resident questions during door to door screening in an attempt to contain the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Jika Joe informal settlement in Pietermaritzburg, South Africa, April 16, 2020. REUTERS/Rogan Ward - RC2Q5G9NVVD9

Informal workers face the most risks from the economic fallout of the pandemic. Image: REUTERS/Rogan Ward

Sean Fleming
Senior Writer, Forum Agenda
  • More than 60% of the global workforce is classed as informally employed.
  • They lack access to a lot of the support they need to cope with the coronavirus downturn.
  • In poorer countries, they may not even be able to keep themselves safe with basic hygiene.

There are more than 2 billion people working informally, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). That’s around 62% of the global workforce. And they’re at the greatest risk from the economic fallout created by the coronavirus pandemic.

Have you read?

According to the World Bank: “Informal workers on average have incomes 19% lower than formal workers and have limited savings.”

They are also less likely to qualify for government programmes to help people and businesses through the crisis, which have added up to around $9 trillion worldwide so far.

Coronavirus virus health healthcare who world health organization disease deaths pandemic epidemic worries concerns Health virus contagious contagion viruses diseases disease lab laboratory doctor health dr nurse medical medicine drugs vaccines vaccinations inoculations technology testing test medicinal biotechnology biotech biology chemistry physics microscope research influenza flu cold common cold bug risk symptomes respiratory china iran italy europe asia america south america north washing hands wash hands coughs sneezes spread spreading precaution precautions health warning covid 19 cov SARS 2019ncov wuhan sarscow wuhanpneumonia  pneumonia outbreak patients unhealthy fatality mortality elderly old elder age serious death deathly deadly
The mounting cost of the pandemic. Image: IMF

Those with the least are suffering most

Although it exists in all economies – whether developed or developing, high- or low-income – informal working is particularly prevalent in lower-income countries.

Between 2010 and 2016, informal work made up around 40% of GDP across Sub-Saharan Africa, Europe and Central Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. A key indicator of the relative size of the informal work sector is how many people are classed as self-employed. The World Bank estimates 50%-60% of workers are self-employed in Sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific.

These also tend to be parts of the world without established social security safety nets. “In the one-third of EMDEs [emerging market and developing economies] with the most pervasive informality, unemployment benefits, on average, are only available to less than 2.5% of the population,” the World Bank warns.

Informal workers are also less likely to have their own financial cushion, the ILO says, leaving them with stark choices: “‘To die from hunger or from the virus’ is the all-too-real dilemma faced by many informal economy workers.”

Hunger, disease and water insecurity

The cumulative effect of informal work, lack of support structures and the coronavirus pandemic is that chronic hunger is becoming a way of life for millions more people. The World Food Programme estimates the number of people suffering from profound hunger could grow to 270 million by the end of the year. That’s an 82% increase on pre-pandemic levels. Meanwhile, Oxfam is warning that 12,000 people per day could die from hunger caused by the COVID-19 crisis.

Poverty and disease go all too often hand in hand. In many low-income countries, water scarcity is a daily battle. Climate change, conflict, and a lack of infrastructure mean millions of people don’t have a source of safe water close to where they live.

If there’s no clean water, you can’t wash your hands – one of the most abiding pieces of advice regarding coronavirus containment. And once again, there is a link between sanitation and informal working.

Access to medical resources and sanitation and hygiene facilities. Image: World Bank

In those developing/emerging economies with the highest levels of informal working, “sanitation facilities are accessible to only 34% of the population”, the World Bank says. That compares to 80% in similar countries with fewer informal workers.

Joined-up thinking

Combating the threat to the informal sector calls for joined-up thinking, the ILO advises. Health and finance concerns should not be separated from one another but addressed by a coherent plan of action.

Ensuring adequate financial support is an important factor. It will, of course, make it possible for people to remain in their homes and provide for themselves and their dependents. But they also need to be given swift access to medical services as well as advice on how to limit the likelihood of them spreading the virus.

Loading...
Loading...
Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

Sign up for free

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

Stay up to date:

Future of Work

Related topics:
Health and Healthcare SystemsJobs and the Future of Work
Share:
The Big Picture
Explore and monitor how Future of Work is affecting economies, industries and global issues
A hand holding a looking glass by a lake
Crowdsource Innovation
Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale
World Economic Forum logo
Global Agenda

The Agenda Weekly

A weekly update of the most important issues driving the global agenda

Subscribe today

You can unsubscribe at any time using the link in our emails. For more details, review our privacy policy.

COPD kills more than lung and breast cancer combined. It's time to change that

Nitin Kapoor

November 22, 2024

A historic leap in cancer vaccines – here’s what you need to know

About us

Engage with us

  • Sign in
  • Partner with us
  • Become a member
  • Sign up for our press releases
  • Subscribe to our newsletters
  • Contact us

Quick links

Language editions

Privacy Policy & Terms of Service

Sitemap

© 2024 World Economic Forum