Term:
Informal sector
Definition:
The informal sector is broadly characterised as consisting of units engaged in the production of goods or services with the primary objective of generating employment and incomes to the persons concerned. These units typically operate at a low level of organisation, with little or no division between labour and capital as factors of production and on a small scale. Labour relations – where they exist – are based mostly on casual employment, kinship or personal and social relations rather than contractual arrangements with formal guarantees. The informal sector thus defined excludes households producing exclusively for own final use.
Domain:
Labour
Source:
Measuring the Non-Observed Economy: A Handbook, OECD, IMF, ILO, Interstate Statistical Committee of the Commonwealth of Independent States, 2002.