In the July–September 2026 quarter, the informal employment rate increased 0.2 percentage points (pp) year on year to stand at 26.4%, according to information from the latest Bulletin of Labour Informality, produced by the National Statistics Institute (INE).

In the same period, the number of informally employed persons fell 0.3% year on year to 2,451,443.

By sex, the decrease in the informally employed can exclusively be attributed to the fall in men (-0.8%) because the number of women in this category increased 0.3%. By age bracket, the decrease can mainly be attributed to the falls in the brackets 15–24 years (-13.1%) and 25–34 years (-1.7%).

By economic sector, the decrease can mainly be attributed to the falls in commerce (-6.0%) and other service activities (-10.8%).

By occupational group, the principal influences on the year-on-year decrease in informally employed persons (-0.3%) were the falls in service and sales workers (-3.0%) and agriculture and fishery workers (-15.6%).

By occupational category (ICSE-93), the decrease in the informally employed can mainly be attributed to own-account workers (-1.9%), wage earners of the private sector (-0.6%), and employers (-4.1%).

In contrast, increases were observed in the number of domestic workers (11.3%), unpaid family workers (13.8%), and wage earners of the public sector (2.8%).

Own-account workers and wage earners of the private sector accounted for 85.6% of the total number of informally employed persons, and their informal employment rates were 62.1% and 15.9%, respectively.

The year-on-year decrease in informal own-account workers (-1.9%) was driven by the falls in women (-3.3%) and men (-0.8%) as well as by the falls in commerce (-9.5%) and other service activities (-10.7%).

When is someone informally employed?

Informally employed persons are dependent workers whose employment relationship does not provide access to social security (healthcare and pension). The informally employed include those who work independently in a company, business, or activity that belongs to the informal sector. Unpaid family workers are also considered to be informally employed. 

See:

Labour informality bulletin no. 36: July–September 2026 (English translation)