The high incidence of informality is dominating the job markets in South and South-Eastern Asia, according to the World Employment and Social Outlook – Trends 2018.
“Indeed, informality affects around 90 per cent of all workers in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India and Nepal,” said the report released by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).
“Such a high incidence of informality is only partially driven by the high shares of employment in agriculture – a sector in which informality is typically higher than in the rest of the economy,” it added.
ILO was of the view that informality in these countries remained pervasive in the non-agriculture sectors, such as construction, wholesale and retail trade, and accommodation and food service industries.
The report, published on Monday, also pointed out that informality continues to affect more than half of all workers in China, with no significant discernible difference between the agriculture sector and the rest of the economy.
ILO observed that the high incidence of informality continues to undermine the prospects of further reducing working poverty, especially in South and South-Eastern Asia.