Employment in unincorporated sector rises 6.18% in 2025; 74.52 lakh new jobs added: Govt report

Employment grew 6.18% to 12.80 crore in the unincorporated enterprises sector in 2025, adding more than 74.52 lakh new jobs during the period, according to a government survey.

The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) for 2025, released on Tuesday, showed that the number of workers in the unincorporated sector rose to 12,80,51,800 in 2025 from 12,05,99,800 during the October 2023–September 2024 period.

The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has released the results of ASUSE for 2025 for the reference period January 2025 - December 2025, referred to as ASUSE 2025.

The total number of establishments in the sector increased substantially from 7.34 crore in ASUSE 2023-24 (October 23 – September 24) to 7.92 crore in ASUSE 2025 (January 2025 -December 2025), representing a healthy 7.97% growth.

Among the broad sectors covered, the number of establishments in the "Other Services" sector recorded a robust growth of 10.29%, followed by a 6.48% increase witnessed by the manufacturing sector and 6.18% by the trade sector.

This increase reflects broad-based expansion across sectors and highlights the steady growth of the unincorporated non-agricultural sector.

During the same period, the gross value added (GVA), which is a key indicator of economic performance, surged 10.87%, driven by 16.77% growth in the trade sector, followed by 8.52% growth in manufacturing and 7.36% in other services sectors.

Among the broad sectors, however, the other services sector had the highest share in GVA (42%), followed by trade (37%) and manufacturing (21%).

Gross Value Added (GVA) per worker, which is a measure of labour productivity of the sector, rose to ₹1,56,539 in 2025 from ₹1,49,742 in 2023-24 in current prices, showing a 4.54% increase.

During the same period, the Gross Value Added (GVA) per establishment also increased from ₹2,45,687 to ₹2,52,699.

About the labour market performance, it stated the sector employed about 12.81 crore workers during January-December 2025, adding more than 74.52 lakh jobs from 2023-24 (October 2023 – September 2024), reflecting robust labour market expansion.

Among the broad activities, the "Other Services" sector showed the highest growth of 7.40%, generating about 35 lakh new employment.

The percentage of female-owned proprietary establishments increased marginally from 26.2% in 2023–24 to 27% in ASUSE 2025, pointing to an encouraging trend in women-led enterprises.

The emolument per hired worker increased by 3.88% in 2025 compared to the previous ASUSE 2023-24, signalling improvements in wage levels.

The highest increase in this metric was observed in the trade sector, which recorded a growth of about 8.5%.

About the digital penetration, it stated that the percentage of establishments using the internet has also grown significantly from 26.7% in 2023-24 to 39.4% in ASUSE 2025.

This substantial growth reflects a strong trend toward digital adoption among establishments, highlighting the increasing reliance on the internet for business operations.

In ASUSE 2025, data were collected from a total of 6,70,289 establishments (2,94,144 in rural and 3,76,145 in urban), pertaining to 24,153 surveyed First Stage Units (10,219 in rural and 13,934 in urban).