The unincorporated non-agricultural sector recorded a notable 15.5% year-on-year growth in employment during the January-March quarter of 2026 compared with the corresponding quarter of 2025. The surge was primarily driven by the “Other Services” sector, which posted more than 31% YoY employment growth, according to quarterly data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Thursday. Employment in the informal sector also grew 23.6% over the previous quarter.
The informal sector employed 151.70 million workers in the Jan-Mar quarter, up from 131.33 million in the corresponding quarter of 2025 and 122.72 million in the October-December quarter of 2025.
The sector plays a crucial role in expanding employment opportunities, promoting grassroots entrepreneurship, and contributing significantly to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The number of establishments grew 16.7% year-on-year to 91.6 million, driven by a 20.46% rise in the rural sector. The urban sector recorded 12.59% growth during the same period.
According to the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025, the unincorporated sector had an estimated 79.2 million establishments and 128 million workers.
The proportion of establishments employing hired workers stood at 13.54% in the Jan-Mar quarter. The percentage of workers hired on a fairly regular basis was estimated at 24.77%. Working owners continued to form the largest share of the workforce, accounting for 60.97% of total workers, up from 58.29% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.
The data showed that 41.37% of establishments reported registration under at least one Act or authority in the Jan-Mar quarter.
Indicators of digital adoption improved sharply, with around 81% of establishments using the internet for entrepreneurial purposes and adopting cashless modes of transaction. This is a significant jump from 48% of establishments using the internet in the October-December quarter.
Women’s share in the workforce stood at over 29% in the January-March quarter, MoSPI said.
The survey covered unincorporated non-agricultural establishments in three broad sectors: Manufacturing, Trade, and Other Services. The “Other Services” sector accounted for the largest share of both establishments (40.6 million) and workers (66.1 million), followed by Trade and Manufacturing.
At the all-India level, 5,998 First Stage Units and 1,72,845 establishments were surveyed during the quarter.
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