Updated
Updated · The Financial Express · Aug 21
India's Informal Sector Employment Rises 6.6% to 137 Million as Services Jobs Jump 21%
Updated
Updated · The Financial Express · Aug 21

India's Informal Sector Employment Rises 6.6% to 137 Million as Services Jobs Jump 21%

1 articles · Updated · The Financial Express · Aug 21

Summary

  • 137 million workers were employed in India’s unincorporated non-agricultural sector in April-June, up from 129 million a year earlier, according to MoSPI’s quarterly bulletin.
  • 21% growth in services employment led the expansion, while manufacturing also grew; the number of informal establishments rose 9.2% year on year to 86.73 million, driven by a 15.3% urban increase.
  • 9.7% quarter-on-quarter decline in employment and slower growth than January-March’s 15.5% rise suggest momentum cooled during the quarter amid global uncertainty.
  • 22.8% of workers were hired on a fairly regular basis, down from 24.4% a year earlier, while working owners made up 62.4% of the workforce and women accounted for more than 30%.
  • 82% of establishments used the internet for business, nearly 80% accepted cashless payments, and the share reporting registration rose 7 percentage points to 42.5%, pointing to deeper formal integration.

Insights

Why are regular jobs vanishing in India's booming informal sector despite massive digital adoption and record growth?
Could the sudden surge in self-employed workers actually mask a hidden crisis in India's rural manufacturing economy?
With informal businesses rapidly going cashless, what invisible barrier is still blocking their access to formal credit?