NSCB Resolution No. 15
Series of 2002

ADOPTION OF AN OFFICIAL DEFINITION ON THE INFORMAL SECTOR

WHEREAS, the informal sector plays a significant role in the generation of output, employment and income as well as in the economic and social development of the country;

WHEREAS, there is a need for a standard conceptual and operational definition for the informal sector to measure its contribution to the economy and guide the development of policies, programs and interventions in providing assistance, increasing productivity and promoting social welfare;

WHEREAS, a standard definition will facilitate the collection of data about the sector;

WHEREAS, the 15th International Conference of Labor Statisticians (15th ICLS) in 1993 formulated a definition to guide countries in measuring the informal sector;

WHEREAS, the United Nations Expert Group on Informal Sector Statistics (Delhi Group) constituted in 1997 endeavoured to harmonize national definitions on the basis of the framework set by the ILO international definition;

WHEREAS, the International Labor Organization (ILO) - United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Project on the Development of Policy, Legislative and Institutional Reforms for the Promotion and Protection of Workers in the Informal Sector has also formulated a definition which was endorsed by its Project Advisory Committee to the NSCB for consideration;

WHEREAS, the NSCB Technical Staff held discussions to evaluate the definitions formulated by the 15th ILCS, the Delhi Group and the ILO-UNDP Project and presented its findings to the NSCB Management Committee;

WHEREAS, the Inter-Agency Committee on Labor, Income and Productivity Statistics (IACLIPS) and its Technical Working Group on Labor and Employment Statistics (TWGLES) also conducted meetings to evaluate the proposed definition;

WHEREAS, the NSCB Technical Staff, the IACLIPS and the TWGLES formulated a revised definition and agreed to recommend it for approval;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED AS IT IS HEREBY RESOLVED, that the Board approve the recommendation of the IACLIPS and the NSCB Technical Staff for adoption by concerned government agencies and instrumentalities, the official standard conceptual and operational definition of the informal sector as specified in Attachment 1;

BE IT RESOLVED FURTHER, that the IACLIPS, TWGLES and the NSCB Technical Staff study further the other cases for exclusion (i.e., units engaged in providing domestic services/household helpers; units engaged in professional services; farms managed by cooperatives; and farms with an area of three hectares or more) from the operational definition;

Approved this 6th day of November 2002, in Pasig City.