Real wages for self-employed and salaried workers in 2023-24 remain below 2017-18 levels: Economic Survey
New Delhi: The Economic Survey 2024-25 has highlighted that real average monthly wages for both self-employed and salaried workers in 2023-24 were below 2017-18 levels.
For self-employed men, real wages declined by 9.1 percent to Rs 8,591 in 2023-24 from Rs 9,454 in 2017-18.
The decline was steeper for self-employed women, with wages falling 32 percent to Rs 2,950 in 2023-24.
Salaried workers also saw a drop in earnings, with male employees earning Rs 11,858 per month in 2023-24—a 6.4 percent decline from Rs 12,665 in 2017-18.
Female salaried workers experienced a 12.5 percent decrease, with wages dropping from Rs 10,116 in 2017-18 to Rs 8,855 in 2023-24.
Meanwhile, the female labour force participation rate (FLFPR) increased significantly, rising to 41.7 percent in 2023-24 from 23.3 percent in 2017-18.
In rural areas, the share of women working as "own account workers/employers" surged to 31.2 percent from 19 percent, which experts interpret as an indicator of economic distress.
The survey, however, described this shift as a significant step toward independent work and entrepreneurship.
In contrast, casual workers saw an increase in wages.
The average daily wage for male casual workers rose 19.2 percent to Rs 242 in 2023-24 from Rs 203 in 2017-18, while female casual workers saw a 24 percent rise, earning Rs 159 per day compared to Rs 128 earlier.
Business Standard quoted former Jawaharlal Nehru University professor Arun Kumar as saying that the decline in the wages of self-employed and salaried workers occurred due to a series of economic policy shocks, including demonetisation and the Covid lockdown, followed by persistent inflation due to supply constraints, which led to an erosion of earnings.
He further pointed out that while profitability in the private sector had remained high over the years, workers' earnings had not increased proportionally.
The high unemployment rate during the pandemic recovery period forced many to accept significantly lower wages, he added.
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