IGI Logo

The Quarterly Estimates of the Unincorporated Non-Agricultural Sector for the quarter January to March 2026 has shown a 16.69% year-on-year (YoY) growth in the number of unincorporated establishments at 9.16 crore as compared with 7.85 crore unincorporated establishments in same quarter last year. The National Statistics Office (NSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation released the data. The growth in number establishments was primarily driven by the rural sector which registered 20.46% increase, while urban sector posted a growth of 12.59% during the period.

The data showed that the employment in unincorporated non-agricultural sector has rose by 15.51% YoY to 15.17 crore in January-March 2026, highlighting the sector’s growing significance in generating employment opportunities for a large section of the population across sectors. Besides, the largest share of the workforce is continued to dominated by working owners, accounting for 60.97% of total workers during the quarter, compared to 58.29% in the corresponding quarter of the previous year. In contrast, the share of hired workers witnessed a marginal decline, falling to 24.77% from 26.86% over the same period. The growing importance of unincorporated enterprises in supporting the rural economy was further reflected in the robust growth of the rural workforce, which recorded an increase of 21.65% during the period as against 10.39% growth in urban sector.

During the January to March quarter, the unincorporated establishments belonging to trade and manufacturing activities account for 29% and 27% of the total establishments, respectively, while the other activities accounts for 44%. The quarter witnessed significant growth in the unincorporated services sector, with significant expansion in both the number of establishments and employment compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous year. The number of establishments increased by 24.82%, while the workforce in the sector grew by 31.13% over the same period.