Every 4th unincorporated establishment is owned by a woman, a survey report released by Statistics Ministry said on Tuesday. The ‘Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE)‘ also highlighted that the total number of unincorporated establishments rose by around 13 per cent during October 2023 and September 2024.

Chief Economic Advisor, V. Anantha Nageswaran said growth in such establishments had a positive impact on the economy during fiscal year 2023-24. “Unincorporated does not mean informal sector,” he clarified while adding that the growth of such entities, especially the rise in women entrepreneurs, also reflects the success of schemes such as Start-Up and Stand Up.

An unincorporated establishment refers to an entity not registered under Companies Act 1956 or Companies Act 2013. Also, these do not include Limited Liability Partnership (LLP) firms. These could include shops, small businesses, micro industrial units etc, which could be under a State specific law such as shop and establishment act.

“These establishments have three important roles. They are source of livelihood. They are important part of supply chain and they provide employment to large number of people,” Saurabh Garg, Secretary in the Ministry of Statistics and Program Implementation (MoSPI) said while releasing the survey.

The total number of establishments in the sector increased to 7.34 crore in 2023-24 as against 6.5 crore in 2022-23 representing a healthy 12.84 per cent growth. Among the broad sectors covered, the number of establishments in the “Other Services” sector recorded a growth of 23.5 per cent followed by a 13 per cent increase witnessed by the manufacturing sector. “This significant increase highlights consistent sectoral expansion and reinforces the sector’s critical role in driving the overall growth of the unincorporated sector,” the survey said.

The percentage of female-owned proprietary establishments has increased to 26.2 per cent from around 23 per cent. “This trend indicates a positive shift in the participation of women in business ownership, highlighting an increase in the female entrepreneurship over the given period,” the result said.

The sector employed more than 12 crore workers between October 2023 and September 2024, marking an increase of more than one crore workers from 2022-23 and reflecting robust labour market growth. Among the broad activities, “Other Services” sector showed the highest annual growth of 17.86 per cent followed by 10 per cent by the manufacturing sector.

The average emolument per hired worker also increased 13 per cent, signalling improvements in wage levels. “This wage growth serves as a catalyst, strengthening the labour market, enhancing productivity, and fuelling broader economic demand,” the survey results showed. The highest increase in this metric was observed in manufacturing sector with a growth of little more than 16 per cent.

During the same period, the Gross Value Added (GVA),  a key indicator of economic performance rose 16.52 per cent driven by a 26.17 per cent growth in other services sector. GVA per worker which is a measure of labour productivity of the sector rose to around ₹1.5 lakh as against ₹1.42 lakh showing a 5.62 per cent increase.