Career Predilections and Options to Opt Occupation for the Youth in Pakistan

The aim of this study is to find the employment options and career choices of young people in a developing country, Pakistan. In this regard, an exploratory approach is used to conduct this study. The findings of the study show that there are formal and informal options for the youth to choose occupations. Formal includes the employment opportunities provided by the government which include in the long term and short term in their services; however, informal employment includes different kinds of work in the different sectors. Overseas employment is the external option of the career choice for the youth. However, a business incubation center is an internal source of career for university students and graduates who want to opt for entrepreneurship as their career choice. This study provides implications for the government and non-government organizations to create different kinds of employment opportunities to accommodate the huge youth population and make them productive for the economic development of the country and reduce the rate of unemployment.

INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT AS A FORM OF SOCIAL AND LABOR RELATIONS

The article discusses the theoretical aspects of the definition of informal employment in the system of social and labor relations. The content analysis of the international state documents defining this concept is carried out. The author's definition of informal employment is given as a set of social and labor relations related to hiring and performing labor duties without a corresponding legally stipulated formalization of labor relations.It is concluded that the monitoring of informal employment and the analysis of its quantitative and qualitative indicators can be useful both for the development of non-shadow social and labor relations, the development of effective labor standards, and for the normalization and institutionalization of specific types of informal employment.

Pandemic impact boosts Latin American food insecurity

Significance While the pandemic undoubtedly played a significant role, the situation also resulted from structural factors and was worsened by LAC’s high levels of economic inequality. Impacts Deteriorating food security will put further pressure on local health systems at a time when the pandemic is far from over. The prevalence of informal employment will make much of the population vulnerable to food insecurity as their income remains uncertain. The situation will add to the factors that fuel migration from Central America and the Caribbean towards North America.

Informal Economies

The expressions, “informal economy,” “informal sector,” and “informal employment” reflect statistical terms and definitions used to describe various aspects of informality. They are the result of several decades of work to develop a framework that adequately represents the multifaceted nature of informality as it applies not only to developing countries, but also to other transition and developed economies. The informal sector is generally viewed as the set of activities of small unregistered enterprises, while informal employment refers to employment within the formal or informal sector that lacks any form of protection, whether legal or social.1 The informal economy is a broader concept that encompasses all of these elements in their different forms, including their outputs and outcomes. The many different views about the drivers and composition of the informal economy in Africa have influenced various prescriptions and policy responses. On the one hand, some have viewed informality as being inimical to investment and growth, given that the activities undertaken usually fall outside of official regulation and control. The policy response has, therefore, often been to clamp down on or formalize the activities and relationships within the informal economy. On the other hand, informality is sometimes viewed as critical for growth and poverty reduction, given that the informal economy is inextricably linked to the formal economy while also serving as an important source of livelihood for millions of people. As a result of this, some effort has recently gone into providing a more supportive environment to enhance productivity within the informal economy and minimize its inherent vulnerabilities in the last decade. In the face of increasing globalization and access to new technologies that will drive the future of work, there is concern about the future of informal economic activities. Whether new technologies lead to a decline or upscaling of the informal economy in Africa will depend on several elements. Technology will not only shape how informality in Africa is viewed, but will influence the kind of activities undertaken, its links with the formal economy, and ultimately, the public policy response, which will itself be shaped by advances in technology.

Informal employment and poor self-perceived health in Latin America and the Caribbean: a gender-based comparison between countries and welfare states in a pooled analysis of 176,786 workers

Background More than half of the working population in Latin American and Caribbean (LAC) countries is engaged in informal employment. The few previous studies indicate that this employment condition could have negative consequences for workers’ health. The aim of the present study was to estimate the association between self-perceived health and informality in LAC countries according to gender and welfare state type. Methods The cross-sectional study based on different working conditions and health national surveys was carried out in 13 LAC countries between 2012 and 2018. A sample of 176,786 workers was selected from these surveys. The association between health and informality was estimated using Poisson regression. Finally, a random effects meta-analysis was carried out by country. All results were stratified by sex and type of welfare state (statalist or familialist). Results Informal workers reported significantly worse health than formal workers, for both women (1.28 [95% CI 1.14-1.43]) and men (1.30 [1.12-1.50]). This difference was broader and more significant in countries with statalist welfare state regimes, among both women (1.40 [1.22-1.60]) and men (1.51 [1.30-1.74]), than in familialist regime countries (1.19 [1.03-1.38] and 1.24 [1.03-1.49], respectively). Conclusions This study provides strong evidence of the association between informal employment and worker health. Welfare states appear to have a modifying effect on this association. The transition from the informal to the formal labour market in LAC is essential to improving the health of the population.

THE RISING IMPACT OF INFORMAL EMPLOYMENT IN MALAYSIA: POST COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the informal employment sector has been experiencing steadily increasing popularity. Although market trends and most workers enjoy the flexibility and challenges of informal employment, such employment does have its own risks, especially now, amid the COVID-19 pandemic crisis, employee protection have been side-lined for more important considerations such as businesses and/ or employers struggling to stay afloat and not file for bankruptcy proceedings and/or being wound-up. Extenuating circumstances such as economic sustenance, employer-reduced mobility for expansion, employee movement, etc. have all contributed to the more precarious position of informal employees. Yet, there is a great advantage of informal employment in the new norm. This paper aims to address current, prominent issues relating to women and children amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. It seeks to examine their roles and status in informal employment, their contributions in mobilizing the county’s fiscal economy, and eventually its permanence in the country’s employment landscape.

INFORMAL EMPLOYEE: THEIR IMPORTANCE AND PROTECTION UNDER MALAYSIAN LABOUR LAWS

This paper aims to address the issue of informal employees in Malaysia. The informal employee is the employee that works for wages in an informal and/ or formal employment setting. Most informal employees have no formal contracts, social benefits, and basic employment legal protection as enjoyed by formal employees. It is important that we identify and address the issues of informal employment as there seems to be an increasing trend towards this kind of employment in the current market economy. The methodology that will be adopted in conducting this study would be a qualitative analysis of all local labour legislations that will provide an insight into the social and legal protection afforded to these informal employees. The findings/ results so far show that none of the local labour legislation provides nor addresses specifically the issues of social and legal protection for the informal employee. We hope to recommend through this paper either specific legislation is created to address the social and legal protection for the informal employee or to propose amendments to the current local labour legislation to incorporate the informal employee in their protection.

Human Capital as a Factor of Informal Employment in Azerbaijan

Discussed are the theory of sustainable development of society and the concept of national wealth which are based on the recognition of man as the driving force of social development. The formation and development of human capital, the use of its potential is becoming, along with the development of technology, a key factor in the development of the productive forces of society. A person, possessing a combination of various forces and abilities, is a factor of economic growth. The aim of the work is to study the development of human capital and the growth of its role in modern society. In accordance with the set goal, the following tasks are solved: clarification of the content of the concept of “human capital”, consideration of the theory of human capital within the framework of historical development and disclosure of its function, identifying the types of human capital and factors affecting it, analysis of the state of human capital in Azerbaijan, identification of risks and challenges, recommendations for improving human capital in the country.