India’s unincorporated enterprises rise to 7.97 crore; jobs touch 12.86 crore: NSO

Ziraat Times News Desk

New Delhi, November 25: India’s unincorporated non-agricultural sector continued to display resilience amid global economic uncertainty, with both establishments and employment seeing marginal growth in the July–September 2025 quarter, according to the Quarterly Bulletin of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (QBUSE) released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Tuesday.

The total number of establishments rose from 7.94 crore in April–June 2025 to 7.97 crore in the latest quarter. This marks a sharp rise compared to the 7.34 crore establishments estimated under the annual ASUSE 2023–24.

Employment stood at 12.86 crore, reflecting a slight increase from the previous quarter and a significant jump from the 12.06 crore workers reported in ASUSE 2023–24. The share of establishments employing hired workers also rose marginally to 13.41%.

Manufacturing Sector Rebounds

The bulletin highlights a strong recovery in the unincorporated manufacturing segment. Establishments in manufacturing increased by 5.29%, while employment grew by 7.20% over the previous quarter. Manufacturing’s share in total establishments rose from 26% to 27%, and its share in employment climbed from 26% to 28%.

NSO noted that many units rely on casual and migrant labourers who return from agricultural work during this period, explaining the sharper rise in employment.

Women and Urban Workforce Gain Ground

Women continued to occupy a substantial portion of the workforce, constituting 28.70% of total employment—higher than earlier quarters and last year’s levels.

Urban employment saw a notable rise from 6.61 crore to 6.91 crore, signalling stronger economic activity and labour absorption in cities.

Digital Uptake Continues to Climb

Digital adoption remained a strong trend:

• 34.20% enterprises used the internet in Jan–March 2025

• 36.03% in April–June 2025

• 38.99% in July–September 2025

NSO said the rising use of online platforms indicates progressing formalisation and improved technological integration.

Key Indicators (July–September 2025)

• Establishments: 7,97,198 (in ’00)

• Workers: 12,85,956 (in ’00)

• Proprietary & partnership firms: 94.86%

• Establishments with hired workers: 13.41%

• Working owners: 59.98%

• Hired workers: 25.91%

• Other workers (including unpaid family members): 14.11%

About QBUSE

QBUSE is the quarterly extension of the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), covering manufacturing, trade, and services. The new sampling design under ASUSE 2025 enables quarterly estimation while maintaining annual comparability.

For the July–September quarter, NSO surveyed 5,880 first-stage units and 1,65,842 establishments across rural and urban India (excluding certain difficult areas).

NSO cautioned that quarterly figures may reflect short-term fluctuations due to a smaller sample size compared to annual surveys.

The full bulletin is available on the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation website.