COVID‐19: Impact on Working Hours and Income of Severely Disabled Informal Sector Workers in Indonesia

ABSTRACT The COVID‐19 pandemic, which spread in Indonesia in 2020, significantly altered the structure of informal workers, particularly those with severe disabilities. While previous studies in Indonesia focused on the pandemic's impact on overall employment, research on its effects on severely disabled informal workers remains limited. This study has two main objectives: (1) to analyze the impact of severe disability on working hours and income in the informal sector during COVID‐19 and (2) to examine how working hours influence income. Using pooled cross‐sectional data from The National Labour Force Survey or SAKERNAS (2020–2022), this study applies ordinary least squares, logistic regression, propensity score matching and instrumental variable methods. The findings indicate that severely disabled informal workers in Indonesia have lower working hours and monthly income than their nondisabled or mildly disabled counterparts. These results remain consistent across worker heterogeneity analyses. Moreover, using ‘severe disability’ as an instrument confirms that working hours significantly affect income, demonstrating robust results across various models.