Key Details
The release marks the first time India’s official statistical system has generated city-level labour market and enterprise estimates for all 46 million-plus cities, creating a stronger evidence base for urban governance and economic policymaking.
Key Area | Update | Why It Matters |
|---|---|---|
New Statistical Capability | First official PLFS and ASUSE estimates for 46 million-plus cities | Enables city-specific policymaking instead of relying only on national and state averages |
Labour Market | LFPR rose to 52.4% while unemployment declined to 4.9% in 2025 | Indicates improving labour market conditions across India’s largest cities |
Women’s Employment | Female LFPR increased to 27.2% and female WPR to 25.5% | Strengthens evidence on women’s participation in urban labour markets |
Urban Enterprise Economy | Million-plus cities account for 13% of establishments, 16% of employment and 21% of GVA in the unincorporated non-agricultural sector | Highlights the economic importance of India’s largest urban centres |
Enterprise Productivity | Cities recorded higher GVA per worker, GVA per establishment and greater female entrepreneurship than other urban areas | Provides evidence on productivity and enterprise competitiveness |
Statistical Modernisation | PLFS and ASUSE methodology expanded to support robust city-level estimates | Strengthens India’s official urban statistical architecture |
Summary
India’s Official Urban Statistics Have Reached the City Level
The National Statistics Office (NSO) has significantly expanded India’s official statistical system by publishing, for the first time, labour-market and enterprise estimates for the country’s 46 million-plus cities. Drawing on the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025 and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2025, the reports provide city-level evidence on employment, earnings and enterprise performance that was previously unavailable.
The release marks an important institutional development because policymakers can now assess the economic performance of individual metropolitan areas rather than relying primarily on national, state or aggregate urban statistics.
Labour Market Indicators Show Improvement
The new estimates indicate that labour market conditions strengthened between 2017–18 and 2025. The Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) increased from 47.7% to 52.4%, while the Worker Population Ratio (WPR) rose from 43.9% to 49.8%. Over the same period, the Unemployment Rate (UR) declined from 7.9% to 4.9%, suggesting improved labour-market absorption across India’s largest urban centres.
The reports also show that over 55% of workers in million-plus cities were engaged in regular wage or salaried employment, while the share of casual labour remained substantially lower than in other urban areas. Average earnings across self-employment, salaried work and casual labour were consistently higher than the corresponding urban India averages.
Women’s Participation Continues to Increase
One of the most significant trends is the improvement in women’s labour force participation. Female LFPR increased from 19.8% in 2017–18 to 27.2% in 2025, while the female WPR rose from 17.9% to 25.5%.
The enterprise survey also points to growing women’s entrepreneurship. In 32 of the 46 million-plus cities, more than 20% of proprietary establishments were owned by women, while Surat, Vadodara and Pune reported women-owned enterprises exceeding 40%. Women accounted for more than 30% of the workforce in the unincorporated sector across 19 cities.
Large Cities Are Major Drivers of India’s Urban Enterprise Economy
The ASUSE 2025 findings underline the growing economic importance of India’s largest cities. Together, the 46 million-plus cities account for 13% of all unincorporated non-agricultural establishments, 16% of employment and 21% of Gross Value Added (GVA) in the sector.
Compared with other urban areas, these cities recorded higher GVA per worker, higher GVA per establishment, higher emoluments per hired worker and a greater share of establishments employing hired workers, indicating stronger enterprise productivity and more developed urban business ecosystems.
Statistical Reforms Made the New Estimates Possible
The reports also reflect recent improvements to India’s statistical system. PLFS 2025 adopted a calendar-year reference period and revised sampling methodology, while ASUSE 2025 expanded its sample size by around 1.5 times and shifted to quarterly sample selection. These methodological changes have enabled the production of robust city-level estimates for India’s largest urban economies, significantly strengthening the evidence available for urban planning and policy design.
What are PLFS and ASUSE?
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) is India’s principal survey on employment, unemployment and labour-market conditions. The Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) measures the performance of unincorporated non-agricultural enterprises, covering establishments, employment, productivity and Gross Value Added.
Policy Relevance
Introduces an official city-level statistical layer within India’s national statistical system, enabling policymakers to analyse labour markets and enterprise performance beyond state averages.
Strengthens evidence-based urban governance by allowing city administrations to benchmark employment, productivity and enterprise performance against comparable metropolitan economies.
Supports more targeted labour-market, MSME and women’s economic participation policies through city-specific evidence rather than aggregated urban indicators.
Provides a stronger empirical foundation for planning investments in urban infrastructure, employment generation and local economic development across India’s fastest-growing cities.
Demonstrates MoSPI’s broader programme of statistical modernisation, complementing recent initiatives such as the Data Harmonisation: A Practitioner’s Handbook and methodological upgrades to the Index of Industrial Production (IIP), which together are improving both the architecture and quality of India’s official statistics.
Creates a more robust evidence base for monitoring urbanisation, productivity and structural transformation as India’s million-plus cities become increasingly important drivers of national economic growth.
Follow the Full Release Here: Labour Market Dynamics in Million-Plus Cities (2025)