India is planning major changes to its employment survey to improve the measurement of gig workers and recognise unpaid household activities, including caregiving and domestic work. The Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) has proposed revisions to the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), with the new framework scheduled to take effect from January 2027.
The changes aim to provide a more comprehensive picture of India’s labour market, including forms of work that existing employment statistics may not adequately capture.
Separate Category for Digital Platform Workers
Under the proposed changes, the National Statistics Office (NSO) will introduce a separate sampling category for households with digital-platform workers. These include people working through services such as ride-hailing, food delivery, online marketplaces and other digital platforms.
The government began collecting information about digital-platform workers on an experimental basis in January 2026. However, the initial survey arrangements did not capture enough workers from this segment.
The revised approach will include questions for rural and urban households to identify whether any member has engaged in digital-platform work during the specified reference period. The changes are intended to improve coverage and help authorities understand this expanding segment of the workforce.
India’s gig workforce has been growing rapidly. The government’s Economic Survey previously reported a 55% increase in gig workers over five years through 2025-26, estimating that they could account for around 2% of the country’s workforce.
Unpaid Household Work to Be Recorded
Another significant change involves measuring activities that are often excluded from conventional employment statistics.
The revised survey will include questions about producing goods for household consumption, unpaid domestic work, caregiving, volunteering and unpaid trainee work.
These activities contribute to household and community well-being but do not necessarily generate wages. Their inclusion could help researchers better understand how people spend their time and contribute to society outside formal employment.
The changes may also improve understanding of the distribution of unpaid responsibilities between men and women, particularly in households where caregiving and domestic duties affect participation in paid work.
However, recording these activities in the survey does not automatically mean that they will be classified as paid employment or counted as jobs in the conventional sense.
Changes Could Affect Comparisons With Earlier Data
The revised methodology may affect comparisons between future employment figures and historical data. Changes in sampling arrangements and survey questions can alter how workers and different forms of work are identified.
The government plans to introduce a fresh sample for the 2027-28 survey cycle, using an updated sampling framework. A transition period during the first three months of 2027 is intended to support continuity in the publication of employment estimates.
The NSO has invited comments and suggestions from policymakers, researchers, academic institutions and the public on the proposed changes.
Why the Changes Matter
The PLFS is India’s principal source of official statistics on employment, unemployment and labour-force participation. More comprehensive data could help policymakers assess the changing nature of work and design policies for emerging employment categories.
For gig workers, better representation in official statistics could improve understanding of their numbers and working patterns. Recording unpaid activities could also make the contribution of household labour more visible.
The effectiveness of the revised survey will ultimately depend on how accurately it captures workers across different regions, occupations and employment arrangements.
