India’s Jobs Story: More People at Work, But Are They Getting Good Jobs?

 

BUSINESS • MARKETS • PEOPLE • INSIGHT

More people at work—but are they getting good jobs?

India’s latest labour survey shows a workforce dominated by self-employment, a modest rise in regular salaried work and persistent differences in participation and earnings. The harder question is whether work delivers adequate income, security and purchasing power.

By Biz Masala | 20 October 2026

Hero photograph: Garment workers on a factory production floor. Image supplied by the editor; original source and publication rights must be confirmed before publication.

At a glance: India’s labour market in 2025

Indicator	PLFS 2025 figure
Labour-force participation rate, age 15+	59.3%
Worker population ratio, age 15+	57.4%
Unemployment rate, age 15+ (usual status)	3.1%
Workers self-employed	56.2%
Workers regular wage/salaried	23.6%
Workers casual labour	20.2%
Agriculture share of workers	43.0%
Manufacturing share of workers	12.1%
Women’s nominal earnings growth: self-employed / salaried / casual	8.8% / 7.2% / 5.4%

Source: MoSPI, Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025. Indicators use the report’s stated definitions; they are not all interchangeable. The survey’s design changed in January 2025, so direct comparison with earlier PLFS annual estimates requires caution.

The headline unemployment rate does not tell the whole story

India’s Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for calendar 2025 put the usual-status unemployment rate for people aged 15 and above at 3.1%. The same report estimated the labour-force participation rate at 59.3% and the worker population ratio at 57.4%. These measures answer different questions: unemployment counts people in the labour force who are without work and seeking or available for work; participation measures the share working or seeking work; and the worker-population ratio measures the share actually working.

A low unemployment rate therefore does not, by itself, prove that enough well-paid jobs are available. People may be self-employed, helping in a family enterprise, working casually or doing work that provides irregular earnings. Some people who would prefer a job may not be counted as unemployed if they are not actively seeking work or are not available under the survey definition.

The survey also shows why definitions matter. PLFS moved to a redesigned sample and a January–December reporting year from 2025. MoSPI explicitly cautions that 2025 annual estimates may not be strictly comparable with earlier annual reports because sampling and estimation methods changed. Any long historical chart must account for that break rather than present a seamless trend.

Chart 1. Labour-force participation rate by sex, age 15+, usual status, 2025. Source: MoSPI PLFS 2025.

What kind of work are Indians doing?

Photograph: Industrial workers in a factory setting. Image supplied by the editor; original source and publication rights must be confirmed before publication.

Self-employment remained the largest category in 2025, accounting for 56.2% of workers in usual status. Regular wage or salaried employment represented 23.6%, while casual labour accounted for 20.2%. The share in regular salaried work was higher than the 22.4% reported for 2024, while the self-employed share fell from 57.5%.

Chart 2. Share of workers by broad employment status, 2025. Source: MoSPI PLFS 2025.

The rise in the salaried share is worth watching, but it does not alone establish that work is secure or adequately paid. ‘Self-employed’ covers very different situations—from established entrepreneurs to small own-account workers and unpaid helpers in household enterprises. Salaried jobs also vary widely in pay, benefits, contract terms and stability. The quality question requires evidence on earnings, hours, social protection and job continuity.

Wages are rising in money terms. What about purchasing power?

Photograph: Women working on a garment production line. Image supplied by the editor; original source and publication rights must be confirmed before publication.

MoSPI reported that women’s average nominal earnings increased between 2024 and 2025 across the three broad work categories: 8.8% for self-employed women, 7.2% for women in regular wage or salaried work, and 5.4% for women in casual labour. These are nominal changes: they describe earnings in rupees, not how much more those rupees can buy.

Chart 3. Reported nominal earnings growth for women, 2024–25. Source: MoSPI PLFS 2025.

To judge purchasing power, earnings growth must be compared with an appropriate inflation measure for the same period and, where possible, the same population. Household budgets differ by location and income: food, rent, transport, school costs and healthcare can weigh differently on rural and urban workers. This draft does not claim that the reported increases represent real wage gains; that calculation requires aligned earnings and price series.

Average earnings also hide the spread between workers. A national mean can rise even if some workers see little change. The next reporting step is to compare rural and urban pay, sex, work status and state-level earnings, while clearly identifying whether figures are daily wages, monthly earnings or annual income.

Women’s work: participation is not the same as equality

Photograph: Agricultural workers planting rice. Image supplied by the editor; original source and publication rights must be confirmed before publication.

The 2025 survey put the female labour-force participation rate for people aged 15 and above at 40.0%, compared with 79.1% for men. These are participation rates, not employment rates and not measures of equal opportunity. They include people working or seeking/available for work under the survey’s definition.

Women’s nominal earnings growth was faster than men’s in some reported categories, but faster percentage growth does not mean the underlying earnings gap has disappeared. A smaller starting amount can produce a higher growth rate while the rupee difference remains substantial. Nor does an average gap automatically measure unequal pay for the same job: occupation, hours, seniority, industry and work status all matter.

The survey also records that domestic responsibilities and care are important reasons some women are outside the labour force. Better analysis therefore needs to look beyond the headline rate: access to safe transport, childcare, flexible work, skills and local employment opportunities can affect whether paid work is feasible.

Andhra Pradesh and Telangana: ask the same questions locally

Photograph: An automotive assembly line. Image supplied by the editor; original source and publication rights must be confirmed before publication.

National averages can conceal large differences between states and between rural and urban districts. For Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, a useful comparison should place the same measures side by side: labour-force participation, worker-population ratio, unemployment, employment status, sector of work and earnings. Where possible, the analysis should separate rural and urban areas and men and women.

Wage comparisons require extra care. A daily agricultural wage cannot be compared directly with a monthly salaried income, and neither should be multiplied mechanically into an annual income without accounting for days worked, seasonality, unpaid periods and benefits. Per-capita state income is also not the same thing as an average worker’s salary.

For a state-level follow-up, Biz Masala should combine the PLFS state tables with Labour Bureau wage data and state economic surveys. The result should identify not just which state has a higher average, but the kind of work behind the number and the purchasing power it provides.

What the data can—and cannot—say

What the data support	What they do not prove by themselves
Regular salaried work accounted for 23.6% of workers in 2025.	That every salaried job is secure, formal or well-paid.
Nominal earnings for women increased in three categories.	That women’s real purchasing power rose by the same percentages.
The usual-status unemployment rate was 3.1%.	That everyone who wants a suitable job can find one.
Self-employment accounted for 56.2% of workers.	That all self-employment is either distress-driven or entrepreneurial success.

The bottom line

India’s labour market cannot be judged by one number. The 2025 PLFS shows that most workers were self-employed, less than one-quarter were in regular wage or salaried work, and women’s participation remained far below men’s. Nominal earnings rose in reported categories, but the purchasing-power question requires a separate inflation-adjusted calculation.

The policy and business challenge is to create more productive work with reliable earnings, safer conditions, skills progression and access to social protection. For Biz Masala, the next step is a state-by-state investigation of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, followed by a deeper look at real wages. The aim is not to label the employment picture a success or failure in advance, but to measure what workers actually experience.

Sources and notes

·       MoSPI, Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025 (official report) — https://mospi.gov.in/uploads/publications_reports/publications_reports1780040415321_0624fb13-fb47-40bc-b470-7c7e9635c3ef_PLFS_2025_F_REV_29052026.pdf

·       PIB, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, PLFS 2025 release, 27 March 2026 — https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2246009&lang=2&reg=48

·       MoSPI, explanation of the 2025 PLFS methodological changes — https://www.mospi.gov.in/sites/default/files/publication_reports/PLFS_Changes-in-2025_rev.pdf

·       MoSPI Consumer Price Index portal for inflation series — https://cpi.mospi.gov.in/

Editorial note: This is a first-cut feature based on official survey releases. Figures are attributed to PLFS 2025 and use its definitions. Comparisons with earlier PLFS rounds need methodological caution. All five visuals are labelled editorial illustrations; charts use the stated official figures. Real wage growth and detailed AP–Telangana comparisons are identified as follow-up reporting rather than asserted without aligned data. Photographs were supplied by the editor; verify original provenance, photographer credits and republication permissions before publishing.

 

BIZ MASALA

Business. Markets. People. Insight.

Business journalism with context, evidence and accountability