Loading
Announcements
Problem
According to the India Employment Report 2024 (ILO and IHD), the average monthly real earnings of regular salaried workers fell from Rs 12,100 in 2012 to Rs 11,155 in 2019 and Rs 10,925 in 2022. Self-employed real earnings fell from Rs 7,017 in 2019 to Rs 6,843 in 2022. Casual workers' real earnings rose from Rs 3,701 in 2012 to Rs 4,364 in 2019 and Rs 4,712 in 2022. The report's nominal 2022 averages are Rs 19,010 for regular workers, Rs 11,973 for self-employed (gross) and Rs 8,267 for casual workers. Asked in the Lok Sabha on 9 March 2026 about rural real wages, the Ministry of Labour and Employment replied that it does not maintain centrally compiled data on the average real wages of agriculture labourers, non-agriculture labourers and construction workers. What these do not show: 'Real' means adjusted for consumer prices by the report's authors, using a price index not checked here, and the series joins different survey rounds with different designs. The data end in 2022: later nominal PLFS figures exist (for example regular-salaried men Rs 22,891 in 2024 and Rs 24,217 in 2025 in the MoSPI note) but have not been adjusted for prices here. The figures are averages, so they hide changes in who is in each group. This entry does not show causes. In plain words: after allowing for price rises, salaried workers earned less on average in 2022 than in 2012, while casual workers earned a little more; the Labour Ministry itself does not track real wages. Evidence confidence: Medium: published estimate from a supporting (non-official) source for 2012-2022; High that the Ministry replied it holds no such data.
This is the most specific entry on this branch of the catalogue. The evidence behind it is below.
PLFS 2025 average earnings (as reported in the press note, p. 9): regular wage/salaried work, men Rs 24,217 and women Rs 18,353 (women at about 76% of men); self-employment, men Rs 17,914 and women Rs 6,374 (about 36%); casual labour (other than public works), men Rs 455 and women Rs 315 (about 69%). The percentages are my arithmetic on the published figures. The note reports that women's earnings grew faster than men's between 2024 and 2025 in all three categories. What these do not show: whether men and women do the same work for the same hours or hold the same experience (the same note reports men working more hours per week), the reference period of each figure (casual-labour figures read as daily, the others are not labelled in the text read), differences below the national average, or whether any wage is below a legal minimum. This entry is about an earnings gap, not about minimum-wage compliance. In plain words: women in paid work earn noticeably less on average than men, and the gap is widest for women who work for themselves. Evidence confidence: High for the published averages; Low for the cause of the gap.
The India Employment Report 2024 (ILO and IHD) compared PLFS 2022 earnings with the average daily minimum wage prescribed for unskilled agricultural workers. At the all-India level, 40.8% of regular workers and 51.9% of casual workers did not receive that wage. Among construction workers, measured against the minimum wage for unskilled construction work, the shares were 39.3% of regular and 69.5% of casual workers. The executive summary states that 62% of unskilled casual agriculture workers and 70% of such workers in construction did not receive the prescribed daily minimum wage in 2022. For reference the central minimum wage for unskilled agricultural work has since been set at Rs 500, Rs 457 and Rs 452 a day in Areas A, B and C (1 October 2024). What these do not show: this is a research estimate on PLFS data, not an inspection finding, and it is not proof that any employer broke the law. The benchmark is a central-sphere rate: the report cites Rs 300 (unskilled farm work) and Rs 350 (unskilled construction, type C areas) 'as of January 2017' and does not state how it was updated to 2022, while minimum wages for most workers are set by State Governments and differ. Reported earnings may include part-time work. The estimate has not been reproduced here. Compliance cases actually found by labour officers are in separate entries. In plain words: a research estimate based on the national survey suggests that about half of casual workers earned less than the lowest official daily wage for farm work in 2022; the figure shows a pay problem but not who is responsible. Evidence confidence: Medium: published estimate from a joint ILO/IHD report using PLFS unit-level data; a supporting rather than primary source, and not independently reproduced.
Do you support action on this problem?
Problem
According to the India Employment Report 2024 (ILO and IHD), the average monthly real earnings of regular salaried workers fell from Rs 12,100 in 2012 to Rs 11,155 in 2019 and Rs 10,925 in 2022. Self-employed real earnings fell from Rs 7,017 in 2019 to Rs 6,843 in 2022. Casual workers' real earnings rose from Rs 3,701 in 2012 to Rs 4,364 in 2019 and Rs 4,712 in 2022. The report's nominal 2022 averages are Rs 19,010 for regular workers, Rs 11,973 for self-employed (gross) and Rs 8,267 for casual workers. Asked in the Lok Sabha on 9 March 2026 about rural real wages, the Ministry of Labour and Employment replied that it does not maintain centrally compiled data on the average real wages of agriculture labourers, non-agriculture labourers and construction workers. What these do not show: 'Real' means adjusted for consumer prices by the report's authors, using a price index not checked here, and the series joins different survey rounds with different designs. The data end in 2022: later nominal PLFS figures exist (for example regular-salaried men Rs 22,891 in 2024 and Rs 24,217 in 2025 in the MoSPI note) but have not been adjusted for prices here. The figures are averages, so they hide changes in who is in each group. This entry does not show causes. In plain words: after allowing for price rises, salaried workers earned less on average in 2022 than in 2012, while casual workers earned a little more; the Labour Ministry itself does not track real wages. Evidence confidence: Medium: published estimate from a supporting (non-official) source for 2012-2022; High that the Ministry replied it holds no such data.
This is the most specific entry on this branch of the catalogue. The evidence behind it is below.
PLFS 2025 average earnings (as reported in the press note, p. 9): regular wage/salaried work, men Rs 24,217 and women Rs 18,353 (women at about 76% of men); self-employment, men Rs 17,914 and women Rs 6,374 (about 36%); casual labour (other than public works), men Rs 455 and women Rs 315 (about 69%). The percentages are my arithmetic on the published figures. The note reports that women's earnings grew faster than men's between 2024 and 2025 in all three categories. What these do not show: whether men and women do the same work for the same hours or hold the same experience (the same note reports men working more hours per week), the reference period of each figure (casual-labour figures read as daily, the others are not labelled in the text read), differences below the national average, or whether any wage is below a legal minimum. This entry is about an earnings gap, not about minimum-wage compliance. In plain words: women in paid work earn noticeably less on average than men, and the gap is widest for women who work for themselves. Evidence confidence: High for the published averages; Low for the cause of the gap.
The India Employment Report 2024 (ILO and IHD) compared PLFS 2022 earnings with the average daily minimum wage prescribed for unskilled agricultural workers. At the all-India level, 40.8% of regular workers and 51.9% of casual workers did not receive that wage. Among construction workers, measured against the minimum wage for unskilled construction work, the shares were 39.3% of regular and 69.5% of casual workers. The executive summary states that 62% of unskilled casual agriculture workers and 70% of such workers in construction did not receive the prescribed daily minimum wage in 2022. For reference the central minimum wage for unskilled agricultural work has since been set at Rs 500, Rs 457 and Rs 452 a day in Areas A, B and C (1 October 2024). What these do not show: this is a research estimate on PLFS data, not an inspection finding, and it is not proof that any employer broke the law. The benchmark is a central-sphere rate: the report cites Rs 300 (unskilled farm work) and Rs 350 (unskilled construction, type C areas) 'as of January 2017' and does not state how it was updated to 2022, while minimum wages for most workers are set by State Governments and differ. Reported earnings may include part-time work. The estimate has not been reproduced here. Compliance cases actually found by labour officers are in separate entries. In plain words: a research estimate based on the national survey suggests that about half of casual workers earned less than the lowest official daily wage for farm work in 2022; the figure shows a pay problem but not who is responsible. Evidence confidence: Medium: published estimate from a joint ILO/IHD report using PLFS unit-level data; a supporting rather than primary source, and not independently reproduced.
Do you support action on this problem?
If this describes something you or people near you face, tell us. Reports are private: they go to a queue our team reads, and nothing you write here is published.
Prefer a full page? Open the report page.
If this describes something you or people near you face, tell us. Reports are private: they go to a queue our team reads, and nothing you write here is published.
Prefer a full page? Open the report page.