Informal Employment (Edexcel IGCSE Geography): Revision Note
Exam code: 4GE1
Causes of Informal Employment
Informal employment is any employment which is unregulated and unofficial
It is estimated that more than 60% of the world's employed population work in informal employment
As much as 93% of informal employment is in developing and emerging countries
Levels of underemployment and unemployment are high in these areas
Most informal employment is work in the tertiary sector
Examples of jobs in the informal economy include:
shoe shining
rubbish collecting
selling fruit or other products on the street
para-transit - including rickshaws and tuk-tuks
There are several causes of informal employment
Impacts of Informal Employment
People working in the informal economy:
Have no healthcare benefits
Are often exposed to health or safety risks
Have no contracts or guaranteed pay
Have no holiday or sick pay
Paratransit often causes congestion and if motorised they cause additional pollution
Lack of regulations means workers are often exploited by employers
Many children working in informal employment do not get the opportunity to go to school
Children may be exposed to health risks, drugs, violence and crime
Governments collect less in tax because the jobs are not official
Case Study: Informal Employment in Dhaka
Case Study
Dhaka is the capital of Bangladesh
It is a megacity with a population of 22.5 million people
Approximately 400,000 people migrate to Dhaka each year
Estimates suggest that over 75% of the population are engaged in informal employment:
500,000 rickshaw drivers
80,000 waste related workers
Workers in small workshops
Casual workers in restaurants and hotels
Day labourers in construction
Informal employment also includes children with over 690,000 children in Dhaka involved in informal employment
Many of Dhaka's informal workers live in informal settlements
Characteristics of Dhaka's Informal Sector
Low pay
Long working hours
Temporary or part-time work
Underemployment
No benefits such as holiday pay or sick pay
Poor and unhealthy working conditions
Health and safety risks
No training
Exploitation by employers
No legal protection
Worked Example
Study Figure 1 which shows examples of informal employment in India
Figure 1 - Examples of Informal Employment in India
Explain one piece of evidence that there is informal employment in this city
(2 Marks)
Answer
There is a man selling goods from a cart (1) because he doesn't have a shop to sell his goods from (1)
OR
There is a motorised rickshaw or TukTuk (1) these are not part of the public transport system (1)
Examiner Tips and Tricks
Remember underemployment and unemployment are not the same. Underemployment is when a person has work but is not working as many hours as they want to. Unemployment is when a person is not working.
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