Developing labour market information system for informal sector in Pakistan

Abstract

The Informal Sector (IFS) is being advocated as having the potential to address the growing unemployment problem in Pakistan. Despite this realisation, however, adequate information on the size, structure and nature of activities underway in this sector is not forthcoming. This information lag is also found for the unemployed and annual flows to different regional and local labour markets. The non-responsiveness of labour market information system (LMIS) is considered as the main contributing factor. This also acts as a hindrance towards the realisation of this potential. This exercise studies how LMIS can be developed for the IFS. After briefly discussing what is needed from an LMIS, existing deliveries of this system for the IFS in Pakistan are identified. There are some institutions which possess important information on this sector, especially on the nature of activities by different urban localities, but presently such information remains unnoticed and/or unprocessed. In the process of developing an LMIS for the IFS, target groups needing services are identified as: unemployed and new entrants into the labour market; home-based enterprises; women workers; returning migrants; micro- and small-scale entrepreneurs; DFIs, policy-makers; development support programme makers and managers, and education and training institutions. There is a comment by I.Haque on pp 1368-1370. -from Author