Informal employment in Northern America

Northern America: Informal employment was 14,647 in 2027. ▲ Rising

Latest (2027)
14,647
Change on year
down 1.3%
Rank
57th
of 87 groups
All-time high
15,068
in 2024
All-time low
13,042
in 2004
Years of data
24
2004–2027

Informal employment in Northern America, 2004–2027

05.0k10.0k15.0k2004201520272004: 13.0k2005: 13.3k2006: 13.5k2007: 13.6k2008: 13.5k2009: 13.1k2010: 13.2k2011: 13.2k2012: 13.5k2013: 13.6k2014: 13.8k2015: 14.1k2016: 14.3k2017: 14.6k2018: 14.8k2019: 15.0k2020: 13.4k2021: 14.0k2022: 14.9k2023: 15.0k2024: 15.1k2025: 15.1k2026: 14.8k2027: 14.6k

Source: International Labour Organization.

Analysis

Northern America recorded 14,647 for informal employment in 2027.

The figure is down 1.3% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, informal employment in Northern America peaked at 15,068 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 13,042, in 2004.

Northern America ranks 57th of 87 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.

Informal employment in Northern America, year by year

Annual values for Informal employment (ILO modelled estimates) in Northern America, 2004 to 2027.
Year Value Change
2004 13,042 —
2005 13,257 +1.6%
2006 13,511 +1.9%
2007 13,600 +0.7%
2008 13,543 -0.4%
2009 13,138 -3.0%
2010 13,158 +0.2%
2011 13,212 +0.4%
2012 13,502 +2.2%
2013 13,610 +0.8%
2014 13,847 +1.7%
2015 14,093 +1.8%
2016 14,286 +1.4%
2017 14,560 +1.9%
2018 14,806 +1.7%
2019 15,007 +1.4%
2020 13,434 -10.5%
2021 13,976 +4.0%
2022 14,872 +6.4%
2023 14,991 +0.8%
2024 15,068 +0.5%
2025 15,059 -0.1%
2026 14,833 -1.5%
2027 14,647 -1.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 13,348 13,042 13,600 6
2010s 14,008 13,158 15,007 10
2020s 14,610 13,434 15,068 8

More work & labour data for Northern America

All data for Northern America →

Frequently asked questions

What is informal employment in Northern America?
Informal employment in Northern America was 14,647 in 2027, according to International Labour Organization.
What is the highest informal employment recorded in Northern America?
The highest recorded value was 15,068 in 2024.
What is the lowest informal employment recorded in Northern America?
The lowest recorded value was 13,042 in 2004.
How does Northern America rank for informal employment?
Northern America ranks 57th out of 87 groups with data for 2027.
Is informal employment rising or falling in Northern America?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Northern America data come from?
The figures come from International Labour Organization, published as part of Informal employment (ILO modelled estimates). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Informal employment in Northern America. Statizoid, drawing on International Labour Organization. Retrieved 28 September 2026, from https://labour.statizoid.com/stat/informal-employment-ilo-modelled-estimates/northern-america/

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About this data

Indicator
Informal employment (ILO modelled estimates)
Source
International Labour Organization
Licence
ILO Terms of Use (attribution required)
Coverage
87 places, 2,088 data points, 2004–2027
Last refreshed

Imputed observations are not based on national data, are subject to high uncertainty and should not be used for country comparisons or rankings. This series is based on the 13th ICLS definitions. Informal employment comprises persons who in their main or secondary jobs were (a) own-account workers, employers and members of producers' cooperatives employed in their own informal sector enterprises; (b) own-account workers engaged in the production of goods exclusively for own final use by their household (e.g. subsistence farming); (c) contributing family workers, regardless of whether they work in formal or informal sector enterprises; or (d) employees holding informal jobs, whether employed by formal sector enterprises, informal sector enterprises, or as paid domestic workers by households. For more information, refer to the ILO Modelled Estimates (ILOEST) database description.