NEW DELHI, Oct 23 (Reuters) - India has proposed changes to its employment survey to sharpen data on gig workers and include unpaid household jobs, the statistics ministry said on Friday.
The revisions come amid a debate over whether official jobs data reflects underemployment and quality of jobs in the world's most populous country, where the headline unemployment stands at 5%.
While changes to surveys affect comparisons with past data, India is aiming to tweak how it defines and measures employment while expanding the ambit of the survey.
Labour economist K.R. Shyam Sundar called the changes "half a step," saying many workers operate outside digital platforms. However, he said that measuring unpaid work could eventually prompt changes in how national income is calculated.
Key changes proposed in the survey include:
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The changes will kick in from January 2027, with fresh samples for 2027-28
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The survey will add a separate category for digital platform workers as the existing method did not capture enough platform workers
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Fresh data will reflect urbanisation, changes in district boundaries and creation, splitting or merger of administrative units
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Data will better represent population changes and reduce operational difficulties
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The survey will ask rural and urban households if members are engaged in digital platform work
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Survey will add queries about "own-use production" of goods, unpaid household work, caregiving, volunteer work and unpaid trainee work
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The government has invited public and expert feedback on the proposals within 15 days
Reporting by Shubham Batra in New Delhi; Editing by Mrigank Dhaniwala
Source: Reuters