{"id":111491,"date":"2026-07-06T11:07:16","date_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:37:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=111491"},"modified":"2026-07-06T11:07:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-06T05:37:16","slug":"plfs-and-asuse-2025-reports","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/plfs-and-asuse-2025-reports\/","title":{"rendered":"PLFS and ASUSE 2025 &#8211; Labour Market and Informal Enterprise Trends"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>PLFS and ASUSE Latest News<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The National Statistics Office (NSO) has released two new reports, <\/span><b>Labour Market Dynamics in Million-plus Cities<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Urban Unincorporated Enterprise Landscape: ASUSE 2025<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, providing the first comprehensive statistical profile of employment and informal enterprises across India&#8217;s 46 million-plus cities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is conducted by the <\/span><b><a href=\"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/national-statistical-office-nso\/\" target=\"_blank\">National Statistics Office<\/a> (NSO)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Introduced in <\/span><b>2017<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, it replaced the earlier Employment-Unemployment Surveys to provide more frequent and reliable labour market data.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><b>Objectives<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Estimate employment and unemployment indicators<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Measure labour force participation in rural and urban areas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Generate annual and quarterly labour market statistics<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Support evidence-based policymaking on employment and skill development<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Key Labour Market Indicators<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PLFS measures several important indicators:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Percentage of the population that is either employed or actively seeking work.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Worker Population Ratio (WPR):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Percentage of the population that is employed.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Unemployment Rate (UR):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Percentage of the labour force that is unemployed but actively seeking work.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><b>Current Weekly Status (CWS)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and <\/span><b>Usual Status (US):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> Two different reference periods used to estimate employment and unemployment.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">PLFS has become India&#8217;s principal source of official labour market statistics.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The <\/span><b>Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is another flagship survey conducted by the NSO.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It covers <\/span><b>unincorporated non-agricultural enterprises<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, excluding construction, and provides information on:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employment generation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Number of enterprises<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gross Value Added (GVA)<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Productivity<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Wages and emoluments<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Ownership patterns<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ASUSE primarily includes Manufacturing units, Trade establishments and Service enterprises.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Since the informal sector contributes significantly to India&#8217;s employment and urban economy, ASUSE serves as an important source of policy inputs for MSMEs, urban development, and labour reforms.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Key Findings from PLFS 2025<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report presents labour market estimates for persons aged <\/span><b>15 years and above<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> across India&#8217;s <\/span><b>46 cities with million-plus population<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Improving Labour Market Indicators<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey indicates steady improvements in urban labour market conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) in million-plus cities stood at 52.4%, slightly higher than 52.1% in other urban areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Worker Population Ratio (WPR) reached 49.8%, compared to 49.6% in other urban centres.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Unemployment Rate (UR) under the Usual Status declined to 4.9%, broadly comparable with the national urban average of 4.8%.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The report notes that unemployment in million-plus cities has shown a steady decline since 2017-18, reflecting improving labour market conditions.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Higher Female Participation<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">One of the most notable findings is the improvement in women&#8217;s participation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The female Worker Population Ratio increased from 17.9% in 2017-18 to 25.5% in 2025, an increase of 7.6 percentage points, exceeding the improvement recorded for men.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey also reports that million-plus cities have a lower proportion of youth (15\u201329 years) who are Not in Employment, Education or Training (NEET) than other urban areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Nature of Employment<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Employment in large cities is characterised by greater formalisation. According to the report:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">58.5% of workers were engaged in regular wage or salaried employment, compared to 42.9% in other urban areas.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Casual labour accounted for only 6.3% of employment, indicating relatively stable employment opportunities in larger cities.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Workers in million-plus cities also recorded higher average hours of work than workers in other urban areas.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Key Findings from ASUSE 2025<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ASUSE report provides the first city-level estimates for India&#8217;s informal non-agricultural sector.<\/span><\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Scale of the Informal Economy<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The survey estimates that India&#8217;s 46 million-plus cities account for:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">39 lakh unincorporated establishments.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.98 crore informal workers.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Nearly 13% of all informal establishments in the country.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Around 16% of total informal employment.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Approximately 21% of Gross Value Added (GVA) generated by India&#8217;s unincorporated non-agricultural sector.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These cities span 17 States and 1 Union Territory, highlighting the growing importance of urban informal enterprises.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Cities with the Highest Informal Employment<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Among million-plus cities:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greater Hyderabad recorded the highest number of informal workers (15.7 lakh).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Kolkata had the largest number of unincorporated enterprises (8.84 lakh).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Delhi, Bengaluru, Surat, Jaipur and Greater Mumbai also emerged as major informal employment centres.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Together, the six largest cities accounted for nearly 40% of all informal workers across the country&#8217;s million-plus cities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Women in the Informal Sector<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Women constituted approximately 52 lakh workers, representing 26% of the informal workforce in these cities.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, female participation varied significantly across cities:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Greater Visakhapatnam recorded the highest female workforce participation at 42.5%.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surat followed with 41.4%.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Srinagar recorded the lowest female participation at 10.5%, followed by Varanasi (12.1%).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">These differences reflect variations in local economic structures, industrial composition, and social factors.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li aria-level=\"1\"><b>Productivity and Wages<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Large cities also displayed higher productivity. According to ASUSE:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Pimpri-Chinchwad, Greater Hyderabad, and Delhi recorded the highest Gross Value Added (GVA) per worker.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Jaipur reported the highest average annual emoluments per hired worker at Rs. 2.33 lakh, followed by Greater Hyderabad (Rs. 2.14 lakh).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">On average, hired workers across the 46 cities received annual emoluments of around Rs. 1.51 lakh.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The findings indicate considerable differences in productivity and wage levels across urban India.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><strong>Policy Implications<\/strong><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The two reports offer valuable insights for policymaking. Key policy priorities include:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Promoting quality employment in urban areas<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Strengthening MSMEs and informal enterprises<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Increasing women&#8217;s labour force participation<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Enhancing urban skill development programmes<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Improving access to formal finance and social security for informal workers<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Supporting productivity enhancement in urban enterprises<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The reports also provide an important statistical foundation for initiatives linked to <\/span><b>Viksit Bharat<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, urban planning, and employment generation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b> <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.mospi.gov.in\/uploads\/latestReleases\/latest_release_1782725204673_8c25a276-1b11-4737-b5b9-82061dad2ff8_Million_+cities-combined_Press_note.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">MoSPI<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The latest PLFS and ASUSE 2025 reports provide new insights into employment, informal enterprises, productivity, and labour market trends.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":21,"featured_media":111513,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[60,8519,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-111491","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-mains-articles","9":"tag-plfs-and-asuse","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs-tag","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111491","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/21"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=111491"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111491\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":111515,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/111491\/revisions\/111515"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/111513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=111491"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=111491"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=111491"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}