The Informal Workers and Social Protection background note outlines the options for providing social protection to informal workers, with a particular focus on the implications for COVID-19 response and urban settings.

In order to do so, it provides information on the impacts of COVID-19 on earnings and wellbeing among informal economy workers, considering the opportunities the crisis presents for reform to more efficiently link informal workers with social protection systems.

Given the extent to which COVID-19 has affected urban livelihoods, this analysis focuses primarily on challenges faced by urban informal workers. Of course, much of it also applies to informal workers in rural areas, particularly those who are not involved in agriculture (e.g. household enterprises).