Employment Survey
Employment in unincorporated sector rose marginally in Q2, shows statistics ministry survey
This story was originally published at 17:03 IST on 25 November 2025
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--MoSPI: Q2 unincorporated sector establishments at 79.7 mln vs 79.4 mln Q1
--MoSPI: Workers in unincorporated sector at 128.60 mln Q2 vs 128.57 mln Q1
NEW DELHI – The number of establishments and overall employment in India's unincorporated non-agricultural sector increased marginally in the September quarter, despite trade-related uncertainties, led by an improvement in the manufacturing sector, according to Quarterly Bulletin of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation Tuesday.
The sector employed 128.60 million workers in the September quarter, marginally higher than 128.57 million in the June quarter, the survey showed. The statistics ministry now conducts a quarterly survey for unincorporated sector enterprises as against the previous practice of only an annual survey. The last annual survey was held in 2023-24 (Oct-Sept), which showed the informal sector employed 120.60 million workers, up 10.0% from a year ago.
The number of establishments in the informal sector rose to 79.72 million in the September quarter from 79.42 million a quarter ago. In 2023-24 (Oct-Sept), there were 73.40 million establishments in the informal sector.
The women workforce in the informal sector increased in the September quarter, constituting 28.70% of total employment in the sector, higher than the previous two quarters and the annual survey for 2023-24 (Oct-Sept), the ministry said.
The services sector continued to have the highest number of establishments and workers employed in the September quarter. The sector accounted for 43% of the total unincorporated establishments, followed by the trade sector at 30% and the manufacturing sector at 27%. Services sector also employed 39% of the total informal workforce in Jul-Sept followed by trade at 33% and manufacturing at 28%, which was higher than 26% in the June quarter.
"The quarter marked a notable recovery in the unincorporated manufacturing sector, with improvements in both employment and establishment numbers over the last quarter," the ministry said. While the number of establishments increased 5.29%, the workforce grew 7.20% in the September quarter. "Many unincorporated manufacturing units depend on casual labour, migrant workers, and helpers who often shift to seasonal agricultural work in the preceding quarter and return when manufacturing activity strengthens, leading to a rise in employment rather than in the number of establishments," the ministry said.
The use of internet among unincorporated sector enterprises increased in the September quarter, indicating more establishments are using online platforms for business operations and transactions, the ministry said. End
Reported by Shubham Rana
Edited by Vandana Hingorani
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