1. Informal Sector Statistics
Timor-Leste
Informal Sector Statistics
Informal Sector Statistics Training
Bangkok, Thailand | November 2017

2. Outline of presentation
Definition of informal sector
Status of the informal sector in Timor-Leste
Country policies for informal sector
Current statistics being produced
National Accounts and the informal sector
Country specific issues in statistics
Development plans
How development partners can help

3. Definitions Definition of informal sector – a policy perspective
The informal sector represents an important part of the economy, and certainly of the labor market, in many countries and plays a major role in employment creation, production and income generation.
In Timor-Leste those industries which considered to be engaged in the informal economy is categorized as other informal activities.
Other informal activities
Activities which are not covered in the Business Activity Survey (BAS) of which all informal and other activities by households and unincorporated businesses, such as: informal mining and quarrying, piecemeal manufacturing, and own account construction by HHs, street vendors, agricultural markets, own-operator transport operations

4. Definitions
Definition of informal sector – statistical definitions adopted in the 2013 LFS
In line with the international statistical standards (15th ICLS,1993), informal employment is defined to include:
Employees with no formal relationship with their employers. For operational purposes, informal employees are defined as those who do not benefit from paid sick leave and paid annual leave.
Employers and own-account workers of informal sector enterprises. For operational purposes, informal sector enterprises are defined as all economic units engaging fewer than 5 workers and are not registered under specific forms of national legislation (tax office and procurement office).
All contributing family workers.

5. Status of informal sector statistics
As recalled from the National Accounts results, the share of informal sector over the GDP (GDP-P) can be seen as follows:
Informal Industries
% of total GDP
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
Agriculture, forestry and fishing
Subsistence Ag. Less Coffee
20.9
17.0
17.9
17.4
17.2
15.8
Mining
Informal Mining and Quarrying
0.00
0.09
0.08
Manufacturing
Piecemeal Manufacturing
0.19
0.18
0.17
Construction
Own account construction by households
0.37
0.34
0.31
0.29
0.27
Retail and Wholesale
Agricultural Markets
2.2
1.7
1.8
1.5
Street Vendors
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
Transport
Owner-operator taxis
1.3
1.6
Owner-operator trucks
2.0
1.9
Total Share of Informal Sector of the GDP
27.26
23.21
24.37
23.64
23.54
21.82
% of GDP, % of labour force, nature of employment
Key indicators
SDG 8 & 10 – indicator status

6. Status of informal sector statistics
Further results in the LFS 2013 show that:
There were 136,600 people in informal employment, representing more than 71% of the employed population.
In addition to informal own-account workers (36.7%) and contributing family workers (18.8%), informal employment included many informal employees (25.1%) and informal employers (1.9%).
Comparing with the LFS 2010, persons who are engaged in informal employment based on their main activity are 45,000, representing only 17.8% of the employed population.
informal employees are those who do not benefit from paid sick leave and paid annual leave. Employers and own-account workers in informal sector enterprises are those operating economic units engaging less than five workers and are not registered under specific forms of national legislation.
% of GDP, % of labour force, nature of employment
Key indicators
SDG 8 & 10 – indicator status

7. Country polices
According to National Employment Strategy , started from , there were 50,643 job had been created but only 16.4% of that were in formal sector, the rest 83.6% were in informal sector. Looking from the demographic view, Timor-Leste’s economically-active population will increase from 696,300 until 913,800 in it means that there will be 200,000 economically active persons in the next 10 years.
Country policies and development plans for the informal Sector

8. Country polices
Creating larger numbers of formal sector jobs will not happen automatically. The Government of Timor-Leste needs to put in place policies, legislation, programmes and activities that can maximize the employment impact of economic growth and that target both men and women. Maximizing employment will require all Government, civil society, trade unions and private sector to work together.
A large number of micro and small enterprises operate in the informal sector and their legalization or formalization is not easy. Commercial law requires obligations for the formalization of companies. This is addressed in the scope of the new Commercial Companies Law approved in the first quarter of 2017, which aims to facilitate the creation of trading companies
Country policies and development plans for the informal Sector

9. Country polices
The 2017 – 2030 NES builds on the previous NES, approved by Council of Ministers in 2011 but never fully implemented, and as such, it keeps the same structure of the three pillars:
Country policies and development plans for the informal Sector

10. Data sources Labor Force Survey (2010, 2013)
Timor-Leste Living Standard Survey (2007,2014)
Population Census (2004, 2010, 2015)
Existing data collection activities and methodologies/ or plans
Details of survey collections (survey methodology, sample design & frequency.)

11. National Accounts
In TL-NA, informal sector was categorized as other informal activities that cover all informal and other economic activities by households and unincorporated businesses that were not covered by the BAS, or reflected under other sectors, such as public administration, NPISHs, agriculture, forestry and fishery, and owner occupied dwelling services, or elsewhere as described above.

12. Industry
Source
Procedure
Informal Mining and Quarrying
2010 LFS
Value added was calculated as 700 persons with an estimate of $150 per month ($1800 per year) assuming that VA = IC, the output was found to be $2.5M
Piecemeal Manufacturing
2010 Census
The 2010 VA for piecemeal and other informal manufacturing is estimated as 4000 persons engaged in this activity with an estimate of $50 per month ($600 per year) giving a total estimate of $2.4 million. The intermediate consumption is assumed as being equal to the value added, suggesting the value of output of $4.8M
Own account construction by households
TL-SLS 2007
The base estimate for own account construction by households for 2007 is derived from GDP-E estimates on GFCF, calculated as follows: 2007 TL-SLS data on expenses on renovation of destroyed house of M$2.6, plus an estimate of another M$2.6 (1:1 ratio) for unpaid expenses on intermediate consumption (IC) goods, and of M$5.2 for provided labor inputs (2:1 VA to IC ratio). The output was then estimated at M$10.4 ( ) and the value added at M$5.2 through deduction of intermediate consumption of M$5.2 (paid and expenses by households on IC goods). The approach adopted is consistent with 2008 SNA (paragraph 6.127)

13. Industry
Source
Procedure
Agricultural markets
FAO
The output at market prices of trading activities on agricultural markets is estimated at about 7 percent of agricultural output at purchaser prices on farm food crops, livestock, forestry and fishery. The intermediate consumption is then assumed at the rate of 10 percent of the output.
Owner-Operator Transport Operations
DNTT
The data on the output and value added of owner taxis, microlets and trucks are data model
based estimates that use the data of the Ministry of Infrastructure on state registration
of vehicles by type (micro-lets, taxis, and light and heavy cargo vehicles); number of
Street Vendors
2010 Census
The 2010 value added for the component of street venders is estimated as 12,000 persons engaged in this activity (from 2010 population census) and an estimate of $50 per month ($600 per year) value added per person giving a total estimate of $7.2 million of value added. The output is then assumed at the rate of 10 percent for intermediate consumption.

14. Issues
There is no social security currently being applied in most businesses of private sector
Most of small scale businesses are still operating in the informal sector
There is no specific survey to collect information regarding informal sector. Thus the contribution of informal sector towards economy is not clearly seen.
To GDS, need to align the indicators of SDG goal 8 and 10 with NSDP , thus it is necessary to put the indicators-related question in survey questionnaire and some administrative data collection must be held in order to obtain information that is necessary to compile those indicators.

15. Development plans for NSO
The agricultural census (2018) will provide basic data to improve the estimation of informal production in the agriculture
The priorities for the development of informal sector statistics are:
Agriculture Census
Updating yearly indicator for Labor Force Survey

16. Development partners
The Development Partners can help the NSO in terms of:
Best practices, methods, concepts, etc.

17. Q&A