Book Chapter
South Africa’s Informal Economy and COVID-19

This chapter seeks to identify the differentiated impacts of the COVID-19 crisis on specific groups of informal workers. The analysis draws on official, nationally representative labour force surveys collected quarterly by Statistics South Africa. 

The chapter aims to identify the labour market impacts of the first three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic and of one of the world’s strictest lockdowns. The research focuses on the different impacts by gender, sector, and status in employment. The findings show that job losses have been greater in the informal economy. 

The data suggest uneven impacts within the informal economy, with women being particularly hard hit. The pandemic period has thus widened pre-existing inequalities and fault lines. In policy terms, this suggests that the informal economy should be a priority in economic recovery efforts but also that support requires differentiated approaches and a range of measures.