New Delhi, March 24 Employment grew by 6.18 per cent 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 per cent growth.
Among the broad sectors covered, the number of establishments in the "Other Services" sector recorded a robust growth of 10.29 per cent, followed by a 6.48 per cent increase witnessed by the manufacturing sector and 6.18 per cent 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 per cent, driven by 16.77 per cent growth in the trade sector, followed by 8.52 per cent growth in manufacturing and 7.36 per cent in other services sectors.
Among the broad sectors, however, the other services sector had the highest share in GVA (42 per cent), followed by trade (37 per cent) and manufacturing (21 per cent).
Gross Value Added (GVA) per worker, which is a measure of labour productivity of the sector, rose to Rs 1,56,539 in 2025 from Rs 1,49,742 in 2023-24 in current prices, showing a 4.54 per cent increase.
During the same period, the Gross Value Added (GVA) per establishment also increased from Rs 2,45,687 to Rs 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 per cent, generating about 35 lakh new employment.
The percentage of female-owned proprietary establishments increased marginally from 26.2 per cent in 2023–24 to 27 per cent in ASUSE 2025, pointing to an encouraging trend in women-led enterprises.
The emolument per hired worker increased by 3.88 per cent 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 per cent.
About the digital penetration, it stated that the percentage of establishments using the internet has also grown significantly from 26.7 per cent in 2023-24 to 39.4 per cent 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).