India’s unorganised sector got more enterprises but fewer employees in the April-June period, the first Quarterly Bulletin of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (QBUSE), released on September 3, said.
“The share of working owners rose from 58.29 percent in January to March quarter to 60.18 percent in the subsequent quarter, suggesting a shift towards self-employment and entrepreneurial activities. The shift was particularly evident in manufacturing, where the share of hired workers saw the steepest decline, accompanied by the highest increase in working owners, signalling a strong move towards owner-driven enterprises,” the ministry of statistics and programme implementation said.
Between January–March and April–June, the number of enterprises edged up from 78.5 million to 79.4 million, even as total employment fell from 131.3 million to 128.6 million, a 2.1 percent quarter-on-quarter drop.
That divergence shows more firms operating with leaner teams or solely with proprietors. Establishments employing hired workers became slightly less prevalent, slipping from 14.04 percent to 13.25 percent.
The composition of the workforce tilted decisively toward owners. Working owners’ share rose 1.9 percentage points to 60.18 percent, while hired workers’ share fell 2.5 percentage points to 24.38 percent.
The share of “other workers”, including unpaid family labour, rose to 15.44 percent from 14.85 percent, hinting at greater reliance on household support as firms adjust costs.
The digitisation trend continued to gather pace. Nearly 36 percent of firms reported using the internet in the June quarter, up from 34.2 percent in the January-March period, as small, informal enterprises adopt basic digital tools.
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