The fragility and insecurity of informal employment
is reflected in labour market statistics. As most labour
forces are absorbed into household-based activities
or micro-enterprises, the share of wage earners in the
labour force (with or without permanent contracts)
was around 2–3 per cent in the mid-2000s, even in
some of the continent’s relatively more dynamic
economies like Ghana, Rwanda and Tanzania (Lin,
2011). The fragility of these activities is also evident
in the very high share of vulnerable employment and
working poor in total employment for Central, East,
Southern and West Africa, along with South Asia,
compared with other regions (table 2.1).