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Blogs: Informal economy workers tell of COVID-19 crucial issues Workers in the informal economy lost close to 80 per cent of their earnings as the pandemic took hold. This blog describes some of the most crucial issues workers faced during the pandemic, based on the interviews conducted for WIEGO’s COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy study as lockdowns were imposed worldwide. English Español Français Building Momentum to Expand Social Protection WIEGO’s Mike Rogan and Laura Alfers discuss how the pandemic has underscored the importance of social protection and public services to guarantee the livelihoods of women and men working in the informal economy. English Español Français Informal Workers See a Long Road to Recovery Ahead — Unless Governments Act Data from the first round of the WIEGO-led COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy Study in 12 cities point to three common patterns across worker groups and continents. The first is a sudden and massive drop in earnings. Given that many informal workers earn day-to-day to meet basic needs, and given the links between informal work and poverty even before the pandemic, this disruption in earnings had severe consequences for workers and their households. Second, the reach of emergency cash transfers and food relief in the initial months of the crisis was limited and uneven. Third, as a consequence, workers have resorted to coping strategies that erode any assets they may have accumulated, leaving a long road to recovery ahead. English Español Français We need to listen to the workers: WIEGO partners conduct COVID-19 Global Impact Study There are no economic indicators so important or revealing as the words of workers. Today, the voices of informal economy workers, who constitute 60 per cent of the world’s workforce, are helping us unpack the hardship, injustice, and possibility for transformation within our economic system, laid bare by COVID-19. WIEGO and our partners are listening long and hard to informal economy workers through our study: COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy. English Español Français Media Requests: General: Media@wiego.org Contact (English): Nicole Pryor, nicole.pryor@wiego.org or +64 27 239 2575 (NZT) Contact (Spanish): Graciela Mora, graciela.mora@wiego.org or +506 8358 5592 (UTC/GMT -6 HOURS) COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy Study