Psychosocial Risks in Informal Employment: A Scoping Review

Background: This review examines informal employment—defined here following ILO Recommendation No. 204 as remunerated and unremunerated jobs not effectively covered by formal arrangements—and its association with psychosocial risks. While particularly prevalent in low- and middle-income countries, informal employment is also a structural feature of high-income labor markets, affecting approximately 2 billion workers worldwide who lack regulation, security and social protection. These factors disproportionately affect vulnerable groups such as immigrants and women. Method: A scoping review was conducted across four databases (ScienceDirect, Scopus, Web of Science, PubMed) following the PRISMA-ScR extension. Eligibility was limited to primary studies on psychosocial risk factors in informal employment and their association with mental health (CRD420261280859) Prior systematic reviews were excluded from the evidence units and used only as back-ground literature. Results: The search yielded 257 initial articles, reduced after applying the eligibility criteria and after excluding prior systematic reviews and one out-of-scope study, to a final set of 12 primary studies. The review found a consistent association between informal employment and increased symptoms of stress, depression and anxiety, especially among women and undocumented immigrants. Conclusions: The findings support the extension of labor and social protection to informal workers, including unpaid caregivers, to reduce the adverse mental health effects of precarious employment. Socioeconomic exclusion, lack of labor rights and occupational decline increase vulnerability, underscoring the importance of addressing structural inequalities.