Workers in India's 46 million-plus cities are earning significantly higher wages compared to their counterparts in other urban areas, according to a new report released by the National Statistical Office (NSO). According to reports from The Times of India, self-employed workers in major cities including Delhi, Bengaluru, Patna, Ahmedabad, Surat and Mumbai earned an average of ₹30,858 per month in 2025, representing a 34% premium over workers in other urban areas. Regular salaried employees in these cities earned ₹28,808 per month, which is 10% higher than their counterparts in other urban areas, while casual labourers earned ₹624 per day, compared with ₹550 in other urban areas.
Despite overall employment improvements, state-level data reveals concerning trends for urban women's employment. According to the latest NSO report, Bihar's urban female unemployment rate has risen at a compound annual growth rate of 15.3% between 2017-18 and 2025, increasing from 6.2% to 16.8% even as the state's overall jobless rate has almost halved. Similarly, Rajasthan's urban female unemployment rate has risen by 5.71% annually, climbing from 9.9% to 14.6%, while Himachal Pradesh saw urban female joblessness increase at a CAGR of 4.2%, rising from 13.7% to 18.3% over the same period. The all-India urban female unemployment rate has fallen from 10.8% to 6.4% over the same period, but several states continue to struggle with high female unemployment rates.
Kolkata, Surat, and Greater Hyderabad have emerged as the leading centres of entrepreneurial activity, jointly accounting for more than 22% of the total estimated establishments across all million-plus cities. According to the latest NSO report, the proportion of establishments employing at least one hired worker — referred to as Hired Worker Establishments (HWEs) — was higher in million-plus cities at 24% compared to other urban areas at 19%. The employment landscape in major cities shows distinct characteristics with more than 55% of workers engaged in regular salaried wage employment, while these cities also exhibit higher productivity levels, employment generation potential and entrepreneurship opportunities in the unincorporated sector.
Labour market indicators in large cities have shown significant improvement over the past decade. According to the NSO report cited by The Times of India, the unemployment rate in large cities stood at 4.9% in 2025, compared with 5.8% in 2021-22 and 7.9% in 2017-18. The labour force participation rate has also risen to 52.4% in 2025, compared with 47.7% in 2017-18, driven in part by a rise in female labour force participation to 27.2% from 19.8% over the same period. These improvements reflect the enhanced economic opportunities and employment generation capabilities in India's major urban agglomerations.
The comprehensive report was based on data from the National Statistical Office's periodic labour force survey (PLFS) and annual survey on unincorporated sector enterprises (ASUSE). As reported by The Times of India, the analysis covered major urban agglomerations across India, providing insights into the wage premium enjoyed by workers in these metropolitan areas compared to their counterparts in other urban areas of the country. The report also revealed that workers in these cities had a higher share of workers engaged in public and private limited companies at 24.3% compared to urban India's 17.2%.
