Informality dataset

Background

Informal employment is a structural characteristic of labor markets in most Latin American countries that may lead to poor mental health outcomes, although research on this relationship is limited. In Ecuador, around 58% of non-agricultural workers are informal. This study aims to examine the association between informal employment and depressive symptoms in the Ecuadorian working population by type of labor relationship (dependent or independent) and gender.

Methods

This cross-sectional study used data from 28,096 non-agricultural workers from the Sixth Ecuadorian Living Conditions Survey (2013/14). Employment profiles were categorized as dependent formal (reference), independent formal, dependent informal, and independent informal. Depressive symptoms were assessed using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Adjusted prevalence ratios (PRa) for the association between employment profiles and depressive symptoms were calculated using Poisson regression models with robust variance. All analyses were performed using Stata v.17.

Results

Depressive symptoms were more prevalent among dependent and independent informal workers than dependent formal workers, both in men (PRa=1.24, 95%CI: 1.09–1.41; PRa=1.22, 95%CI: 1.07–1.39, respectively) and in women (PRa=1.35, 95%CI: 1.19–1.53; PRa=1.30, 95%CI: 1.14–1.48, respectively). Depressive symptoms were more prevalent among men in independent formal jobs than men in dependent formal jobs. Additionally, informal female workers showed the highest prevalence of depressive symptoms across all groups.

Conclusions

These findings suggest that informal employment is a key determinant of mental health inequities in the Ecuadorian working population, especially in women, where informal employment has the highest mental health burden. Further research should consider the heterogeneity of informal employment and integrate a gender perspective using cohort studies.