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Labour survey proposes better coverage of platform workers and unpaid work

English हिंदी ಕನ್ನಡ മലയാളം தமிழ் తెలుగు

First brief 25 Oct, 12:37 pm IST Updated 25 Oct, 12:37 pm IST 0 developments 3 min read

Household survey, platform work and care. — Clarity · Illustration

Where it stands

India plans to change how its labour survey finds platform workers and records unpaid work from January 2027. The National Statistical Office published the proposal on 23 October 2026 and invited public comments. These are proposed changes to measurement, rather than new employment figures. The survey began collecting experimental information on platform workers in January 2026. However, its existing household sample found too few such workers for reliable estimates. The proposed design would place households with platform workers in a separate sampling group. That should make this work easier to study, instead of depending on chance encounters within other groups. The proposal also adds questions about unpaid household care, volunteering and some other forms of unpaid work. These activities can take substantial time even when no employer pays a wage. Recording them would make their contribution more visible. It would not automatically classify unpaid domestic care as paid employment or create a payment entitlement. The change would help policymakers understand kinds of work that ordinary employment totals do not fully describe. Its usefulness will depend on the final questionnaire, the sample and the quality of responses.

Background

A labour survey asks selected households about the work their members do. Surveyors cannot visit every household each month, so the selection must represent the wider population. A group can be missed or poorly measured when too few of its members enter the sample. Platform work shows why that matters. A delivery rider may receive jobs through an app, while a driver may find passengers through another platform. Both earn through work arranged digitally. If a survey interviews very few such workers, their answers provide a weak basis for estimating the whole group. Separating households into sampling groups helps address this problem. Survey designers can ensure that a particular group receives enough attention. The result still needs statistical weighting: interviewing more platform-worker households does not mean their population share has suddenly increased. There is another gap between work and employment. Someone caring for children without pay performs useful work, but that activity is outside employment measured as work for pay or profit. Counting such care separately helps explain how households function and why some people have less time for paid jobs. It also prevents a rise in measured unpaid work from being mistaken for a rise in paid employment.

How it developed

23 October 2026

How it started
A new sample and extra questions are proposed for January

The proposal would introduce a separate sampling group for households with platform workers in the new survey panel. It also adds questions on unpaid activities for people aged 15 and above. Those questions would be asked during the first visit and used in annual reporting. The transition would combine old and new sampling frames during January–March 2027. The ministry says relative standard errors will not be released for those three months. Readers should therefore examine the survey notes before comparing estimates across the redesign.

PIB / Statistics Ministry International Labour Organization Business Standard

Why it matters for UPSC

GS3 · EmploymentGS1 · Women and work

Distinguish work from employment and a survey redesign from a real change in jobs. Explain how sampling affects visibility of platform work. Connect unpaid care with women’s access to paid work, without treating measurement as a new wage or welfare entitlement.

Key terms

Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS)India’s household survey of employment and unemployment, run by the National Statistical Office. Selected households answer questions about work. Their responses are weighted to estimate the wider population, so the sample and the definitions both affect what the results mean.

Platform workerA person whose work is arranged through a digital platform, such as an app connecting drivers with passengers. Platform work is a part of the wider gig economy. Its size cannot be inferred simply from how many apps exist or how many accounts are registered.

Sampling group or stratumA category of households used when selecting a survey sample. Creating a separate category can help a small group appear often enough for meaningful study. Survey weights then account for its actual share of the population.

Sampling frameThe list or organised set of areas from which a survey selects households. Updating the frame helps the sample reflect changes in settlements and population. A new frame can also affect comparisons with earlier results.

Unpaid domestic and care workActivities such as cooking for one’s household or caring for family members without payment. They support household life and can limit time available for paid jobs. Measuring them separately makes their contribution visible without calling them paid employment.

Relative standard errorA measure of sampling uncertainty compared with the size of an estimate. A smaller value generally indicates greater precision. It concerns uncertainty from surveying a sample, rather than proving that every response or classification is correct.

Sources (3)

PIB / Statistics Ministry · official · Proposed changes to PLFS from January 202725 Oct, 5:30 am
International Labour Organization · official · Employment and other forms of work25 Oct, 5:30 am
Business Standard · PLFS to expand coverage of platform workers and unpaid work25 Oct, 5:30 am