India to get city-level jobs and enterprise data for first time

In a first for India, the government plans to develop and release dedicated statistical reports for 47 cities with a population of over one million, covering two key indicators: labour force participation and the status of enterprises.

The initiative, led by the National Statistics Office (NSO) under the ministry of statistics and programme implementation (MoSPI), aims to make detailed urban data more readily available and provide a stronger evidence base for urban policy and planning.

The proposal comes at a time when the country is experiencing rapid urbanisation, with cities increasingly driving economic growth, employment generation, and structural transformation. Despite this, official statistics at the city level remain limited, constraining evidence-based urban policy and planning, a statement from the MoSPI said.

The city-level statistical report would address this gap. These reports will be based on existing data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE), both of which already allow statistically robust estimation at the city level.

MosPI has proposed two annual thematic reports on Indian cities. The first will present the employment profile of million- plus cities, providing key labour market indicators such as labour force participation rate, worker population ratio, and unemployment rate. The second will present a city-level profile of unincorporated sector enterprises, capturing the scale, structure, employment, and economic performance of the urban informal sector.

The proposed development of city-level statistical reports marks an important step in aligning India’s statistical system with the realities of a rapidly urbanising economy. By bringing cities into sharper analytical focus, the initiative seeks to bridge critical data gaps and support informed decision-making at all levels of governance.

Reliable city-level data will support targeted interventions in employment and enterprise development, contribute to the development of city-level gross domestic product (GDP) estimates, and improve understanding of urban labour markets and the unincorporated sector, MoSPI said. It will also facilitate academic research and contribute to informed public discourse, the statement added.

The reports will be prepared annually and released through official platforms in the public domain. The outputs will be presented in user-friendly formats, including analytical narratives, tabular datasets, and summary highlights, to ensure accessibility for policymakers, researchers, and the general public.

MoSPI has issued a consultation paper seeking stakeholder views on the proposed framework, including the adequacy of coverage, the relevance and comprehensiveness of the proposed indicators, and the need for additional disaggregation, such as gender, sector, or enterprise characteristics, consistent with available data in Periodic Labour Force Survey and the Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises.

Suggestions have also been sought on methodological aspects, including ways to improve the reliability and comparability of estimates and on dissemination formats, potential use cases in policy formulation, research, and planning, and any other aspects relevant to the proposed initiative.

Based on the feedback received, the framework and indicators will be further refined, MoSPI said.