What’s in the news?

• The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) is releasing the key results of the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) for the reference periods of April 2021 to March 2022 (ASUSE 2021-22) and October 2022 to September 2023 (ASUSE 2022-23). 
• The unincorporated non-agricultural sector plays a pivotal role in the Indian economy contributing significantly to employment, Gross Domestic Product and the overall socio-economic landscape. 
• The sector also supports the incorporated sector by acting as suppliers and service providers, thereby forming an integral part of the domestic value chain.

Key highlights from ASUSE 2021-22 and ASUSE 2022-23 results

Resilient Growth of Unincorporated Sector: 

• The results exhibit the resilience shown by the unincorporated sector after the COVID pandemic shock. 
• The total number of establishments in the sector increased from 5.97 crore in 2021-22 to 6.50 crore in 2022-23, representing a 5.88% annual growth.

Expanding Labour Market and Employment opportunities:

• The unincorporated non-agricultural sector employed about 11 crore workers from October 2022 to September 2023, up from 9.8 crore in 2021-22, showing a healthy labour market growth. 
• Majority of the workers in the non-agricultural unincorporated sector are informal workers. The survey shows that the average annual earnings for informal workers rose to Rs. 1,10,982 in 2022-23 from Rs. 1,06,381 in 2021-22. This reflects an improved wage conditions in the informal sector. 

Improved Productivity:

• Gross Value Added (GVA) per worker, which is a measure of labour productivity of the sector, rose to Rs. 1,41,769 in 2022-23 from Rs. 1,38,207 in 2021-22. 
• This indicates an increased productivity with more efficient use of resources including labour, which is critical for sustained economic growth and competitiveness.

https://pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2025340