GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2950
TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026
INCLUSION OF GIG WORKERS IN PLFS DATA
2950. SHRI ABHISHEK BANERJEE:
Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME
IMPLEMENTATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether gig workers have not been included as a separate
category under the Periodic Labour Force Survey...
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2950 TO BE ANSWERED ON 05.08.2026 INCLUSION OF GIG WORKERS IN PLFS DATA
2950. SHRI ABHISHEK BANERJEE:
Will the Minister of STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME
IMPLEMENTATION be pleased to state:
(a) whether gig workers have not been included as a separate category under the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) and if so, the details along with the reasons therefor;
(b) whether the Government proposes to classify gig workers as a distinct category in future PLFS rounds to better capture their economic contribution and if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether the Government proposes to undertake special surveys to reflect the task-based nature of gig work and if so, the details thereof; and
(d) the average monthly earnings of gig workers as of 2026? ANSWER MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF STATISTICS AND PROGRAMME IMPLEMENTATION; MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF PLANNING AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF CULTURE [RAO INDERJIT SINGH]
(a): National Statistics Office (NSO) under Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) conducts Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) to estimate various labour market indicators in the country. In PLFS, the persons engaged as ‘gig and platform- based workers’ are not specifically identified. However, all marketactivities i.e. activities performed for pay or profit which result in production of goods and services for exchange are included under the domain of economic activity considered in PLFS. Hence, even the persons engaged as ‘gig and platform-based workers’ for pay & profit are covered in PLFS.
(b) to (c): Separate classification of gig workers as a distinct category in PLFS is presently not under consideration of MoSPI.
However, in PLFS 2026, collection of information on ‘digital platform workers’, a subset of gig workers, which inter-alia includes identifying persons engaged in or undertaking platform work in the usual status, along with capturing key characteristics associated with platform work, has been introduced.
(d): The information related to average monthly earnings of gig workers is not available from PLFS. *****