KUALA LUMPUR, Feb. 26 -- The World Bank has projected that informal employment is likely to persist over time in Malaysia, although the extent of informal employment will depend on the growth of productivity and labour costs.

According to its report titled "Informal Employment in Malaysia: Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Reform" launched today, it said the share of informal employment would only fall along with the rise of gross domestic product (GDP) if the total factor productivity grows higher compared to the growth of labour costs.

"Moving forward Malaysia can enhance the protection of informally employed workers by a combination of measures to increase the coverage of social insurance, leverage private sector instruments, ...