Abstract: Informal employment in its diverse forms is gaining increasing attention within global and national development agendas. Informality is difficult to measure, particularly in rural areas, where labour statistics and data are often not collected. From this point of view, the study aims to reconsider existing national and international research regarding informal employment, with a particular focus on the rural areas with the intent of having a clear understanding of the working age population outside the labour force in the rural areas, as well as those that are underemployed, and/or informally employed. Moreover, it aims to highlight institutional arrangements as they relate to employment services and the social and health insurance schemes, considering the difficulties / implications posed by the systems themselves as well as the related procedures in terms of registration as unemployed job-seekers. The author brought together in group discussions with stakeholders to gain a better understanding of the employment challenges faced in rural areas. The proposed methodology was developed through Desktop Research and direct interviews with focus groups.