COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Sector: Informal Workers in Bangkok, Thailand

Abstract

COVID-19 Crisis and the Informal Economy is a WIEGO-led 12-city longitudinal study that assesses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on specific groups of Informal Workers and their households. Using a survey questionnaire and in-depth interviews, Round 1 assessed the impact of the crisis in April 2020(the period of peak restrictions in most cities) and in June/July 2020 (when restrictions had eased in most cities) in comparison to December 2019 (pre-COVID-19). Round 2 will assess continuing impacts versus signs of recovery in the first half of 2021, compared to the pre-COVID-19 period and Round 1. This report presents the summary findings of Round 1 of the study in Bangkok, Thailand. Researchers in Bangkok surveyed and interviewed home-based workers, domestic workers, street vendors, and motorcycle taxi drivers whose organizations are affiliates of the Federation of Informal Workers of Thailand (FIT)1, as well as massage therapists from Jaravee Association for the Conservation of Thai Massage, and waste pickers from Poonsap Community in Sai Mai District and Soi Sua Yai Uthit in Chatuchak District.