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Where no one counts: SCs in private employment

Private employers don’t report caste. What do official surveys, which ask people their own caste, show about SCs in salaried work and in owning a business?

By The Dalit ProjectUPDATED OCTOBER 11, 2026

Key takeaways

  • SCs held 14.6% of regular wage and salaried jobs in companies in 2023-24, against 20.0% in government and the public sector and 19.8% of all workers (our estimate from PLFS unit data). Exhibit 4
  • In companies, SC regular employees earned a median ₹14,630 (about US$180) a month, against ₹25,000 (about US$300) for the Others group (our estimate). Exhibit 7
  • In 2023-24, 33.2 of every 100 SC workers were casual labourers, against 19.8 of every 100 workers; the share in regular wage or salaried work was close, 20.6 against 21.7. Exhibit 1
  • SC-owned establishments were 8.8% of all establishments in 2005 and 10.2% in 2013-14; SCs owned 5.5% of unincorporated enterprises with hired workers in 2015-16. Exhibit 10
  • SEBI’s report format asks listed companies for employees by sex and disability, and nothing on caste. Exhibit 12

Workers by status in employment and social group, India, from the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation’s (MoSPI’s) Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2022-23 and 2023-24 and the National Sample Survey (NSS) 2011-12; enterprises by the owner’s social group from the Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), the NSS of 2015-16 and Udyam Registration, the Union Government’s registration of micro, small and medium enterprises (to March 2022); the workforce items in the Securities and Exchange Board of India’s (SEBI’s) report format for listed companies; and our own estimates from PLFS 2023-24 unit-level data of who employs SC regular employees, on what terms and for what pay. Caste is as the household or owner states it; none is inferred.

of regular jobs in companies were held by SCs in 2023-24, against 19.8% of all workers (our estimate)
14.6%
of every 100 SC workers were casual labourers in 2023-24, against 19.8 of all workers
33.2
of proprietary establishments were SC-owned in 2013-14; SCs were 16.6% of the population in 2011
11.4%

  1. Exhibit 1

    In 2023-24, 33.2 of every 100 SC workers were casual labourers, against 19.8 of every 100 workers; 20.6 and 21.7 were in regular wage or salaried work

    Share of workers in each status in employment (usual status, principal and subsidiary), %, SC workers and all workers, India, 2023-24 (July to June).

    1. Own-account worker or employerAll workersSC workers39 and 32
    2. Helper in household enterprise19 and 15
    3. Regular wage or salary22 and 21
    4. Casual labour20 and 33

    Note: PLFS and NSS record the social group of the household head, as the household reports it, for every member. Regular wage or salaried work counts government and private jobs together: no published table splits them by social group.

    Source: Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2023-24, Table (46), pp. A-330 to A-331, rural and urban, persons. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  2. Exhibit 2

    In towns and cities, 47.5 of every 100 SC workers and 47.5 of every 100 workers had regular wage or salaried work in 2023-24; 21.3 and 12.1 did casual labour, and 31.2 and 40.4 were self-employed

    Share of workers in each status in employment (usual status, principal and subsidiary), %, SC workers and all workers, rural and urban India, 2023-24 (July to June).

    1. Villages: self-employedAll workersSC workers65 and 50
    2. Villages: regular wage or salary13 and 13
    3. Villages: casual labour23 and 37
    4. Towns and cities: self-employed40 and 31
    5. Towns and cities: regular wage or salary48 and 48
    6. Towns and cities: casual labour12 and 21

    Note: Each area’s shares are of the workers in that area. PLFS and NSS record the social group of the household head, as the household reports it, for every member. Regular wage or salaried work counts government and private jobs together: no published table splits them by social group.

    Source: Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2023-24, Table (46), pp. A-330 to A-331, rural persons and urban persons. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  3. Exhibit 3

    Casual labour went from 47.9 to 33.2 of every 100 SC workers between 2011-12 and 2023-24, and regular wage or salaried work from 15.3 to 20.6; for workers in the Others group, regular work was 30.3 in 2023-24

    Share of workers in each status in employment (usual status, principal and subsidiary), %, by social group, India, 2011-12, 2022-23 and 2023-24, in the order the sources give the groups.

    YearSocial groupSelf-employedRegular wage or salaryCasual labour
    2011-12Scheduled Tribes53.6%8.7%37.6%
    2011-12Scheduled Castes36.7%15.3%47.9%
    2011-12Other Backward Classes55.3%15.8%28.9%
    2011-12Others57.7%26.4%15.9%
    2011-12All52.2%17.9%29.9%
    2022-23Scheduled Tribes60.8%12.3%26.9%
    2022-23Scheduled Castes44.4%20.3%35.3%
    2022-23Other Backward Classes61.1%19.8%19.1%
    2022-23Others59.1%26.8%14.1%
    2022-23All57.3%20.9%21.8%
    2023-24Scheduled Tribes60.4%12.6%27.0%
    2023-24Scheduled Castes46.2%20.6%33.2%
    2023-24Other Backward Classes62.3%20.2%17.4%
    2023-24Others60.1%30.3%9.5%
    2023-24All58.4%21.7%19.8%

    Note: 2011-12 comes from an earlier survey, the NSS Employment and Unemployment round, which printed per 1000 workers; it is shown here as a share, per 100. PLFS replaced it in 2017-18 with a different design, so the change across the two surveys is a broad comparison, not an exact one. PLFS and NSS record the social group of the household head, as the household reports it, for every member. Regular wage or salaried work counts government and private jobs together: no published table splits them by social group.

    Source: NSS Report No. 563, Employment and Unemployment Situation among Social Groups in India, NSS 68th round, Statement 3.19, pp. 44 to 45; Additional Tables of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2022-23, Table (14), pp. A-175 to A-176, rural and urban, persons; Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Annual Report 2023-24, Table (46), pp. A-330 to A-331, rural and urban, persons. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  4. Exhibit 4

    SCs held 14.6% of regular jobs in companies in 2023-24 and 20.0% in government and the public sector, against 19.8% of all workers

    SC employees as a share of all regular wage or salaried employees, by type of employer, %, India, July 2023 to June 2024, usual status (ps+ss). Companies are in the accent colour. The dashed line is the SC share of all workers.

    1. Government, public sector and autonomous bodies19.8% of all workers20.0%
    2. Public or private limited companies14.6%
    3. Proprietary and partnership enterprises19.7%
    4. Private households employing domestic workers29.1%
    5. Co-operatives, trusts and others16.4%
    6. All employers18.7%

    Note: Our estimate from survey unit data, not a figure MoSPI publishes. The method page gives the code, the weights and a check against MoSPI’s own tables. Each share is from a sample, give or take (95% margin): government, public sector and autonomous bodies ±1.3 points (13,812 employees sampled); public or private limited companies ±1.2 points (11,284 employees sampled); proprietary and partnership enterprises ±1.3 points (17,217 employees sampled); private households employing domestic workers ±3.2 points (2,697 employees sampled); co-operatives, trusts and others ±2.3 points (2,026 employees sampled). Government includes public sector enterprises and autonomous bodies; companies are public or private limited companies other than government companies. A person’s social group is their household’s.

    Source: The Dalit Project’s estimates from PLFS July 2023 to June 2024 unit-level data (MoSPI, first visit), with the survey’s weights. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  5. Exhibit 5

    Of every 100 SC regular employees, 22.1 worked for a company and 9.0 in a private household in 2023-24; of every 100 in the Others group, 36.0 and 5.5

    Regular wage or salaried employees of each social group by type of employer, % of the group, India, July 2023 to June 2024, usual status (ps+ss), in the survey’s order of social groups.

    Social groupGovernment, public sector and autonomous bodiesPublic or private limited companiesProprietary and partnership enterprisesPrivate households employing domestic workersCo-operatives, trusts and others
    ST37.6%21.9%32.4%5.4%2.8%
    SC24.8%22.1%40.3%9.0%3.8%
    OBC20.8%26.5%43.7%4.7%4.4%
    Others22.4%36.0%31.3%5.5%4.9%
    All regular employees23.2%28.4%38.3%5.8%4.3%

    Note: Our estimate from survey unit data, not a figure MoSPI publishes. The method page gives the code, the weights and a check against MoSPI’s own tables. Rows add to 100, give or take rounding. “Private households” are households that employ cooks, cleaners, drivers, guards and the like.

    Source: The Dalit Project’s estimates from PLFS July 2023 to June 2024 unit-level data (MoSPI, first visit), with the survey’s weights. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  6. Exhibit 6

    Outside government, 71.2% of SC regular employees had no social security benefit and 77.0% no written contract in 2023-24, against 54.9% and 62.3% in the Others group

    Regular wage or salaried employees outside agriculture, working for employers other than government and the public sector, by social group, % without each, India, July 2023 to June 2024, usual status (ps+ss), in the survey’s order of social groups.

    Social groupNo written job contractNot eligible for paid leaveNo social security benefitEmployees sampled
    ST75.9%64.3%72.4%2,216
    SC77.0%63.7%71.2%5,950
    OBC71.0%59.6%64.7%13,731
    Others62.3%47.9%54.9%10,613
    All69.5%56.7%63.0%32,510

    Note: Our estimate from survey unit data, not a figure MoSPI publishes. The method page gives the code, the weights and a check against MoSPI’s own tables. For all regular employees outside agriculture, the same method gives MoSPI’s published shares (Statement 9: 58.0%, 47.3% and 53.4%). In government and the public sector, 27.3% of SC employees had no social security benefit, against 22.0% of all. Social security means any of PF or pension, gratuity, and health care or maternity benefit.

    Source: The Dalit Project’s estimates from PLFS July 2023 to June 2024 unit-level data (MoSPI, first visit), with the survey’s weights. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  7. Exhibit 7

    In companies, SC regular employees earned a median ₹14,630 (about US$180) a month in 2023-24, against ₹25,000 (about US$300) for the Others group; in government, ₹21,000 (about US$250) against ₹35,000 (about US$420)

    Median and average earnings from regular wage or salaried work in the preceding calendar month, ₹ a month, by type of employer and social group, India, July 2023 to June 2024, in the survey’s order of social groups.

    EmployerSC, median₹Others, median₹All, median₹SC, average₹Others, average₹SC employees sampled
    Government and public sector21,00035,00030,00027,26437,9972,113
    Companies14,63025,00018,00017,61932,5601,655
    Other employers10,00012,00012,00011,29913,9024,138
    All regular work12,00018,00015,00016,51625,9578,076

    Note: Our estimate from survey unit data, not a figure MoSPI publishes. The method page gives the code, the weights and a check against MoSPI’s own tables. Earnings are what employees reported for the month before the survey; the type of employer is that of their usual principal job. These are differences in pay, not a measure of discrimination: jobs, places, skills and hours differ between groups. The average for all regular employees, ₹21,047 (about US$250), sits within MoSPI’s published quarterly averages for the year (Statement 10, ₹20,095 (about US$240) to ₹21,103 (about US$260)).

    Source: The Dalit Project’s estimates from PLFS July 2023 to June 2024 unit-level data (MoSPI, first visit), with the survey’s weights. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  8. Exhibit 8

    SCs owned 11.4% of proprietary establishments in 2013-14, 12.4% of unincorporated enterprises in 2015-16 and 6.8% of MSMEs registered on Udyam by March 2022; they were 16.6% of the population in 2011

    Enterprises whose owner (or major partner) is SC, as a share of all enterprises each source counts, %, India. The dashed line is the SC share of the population, Census 2011.

    1. Proprietary establishments, 2013-1416.6% of the population11.4%
    2. Unincorporated enterprises, 2015-1612.4%
    3. … of them with hired workers5.5%
    4. MSMEs registered on Udyam, to March 20226.8%
    5. … of them small enterprises1.0%
    6. … of them medium enterprises0.4%
    7. … of them set up 2019-20 to 2021-228.5%

    Note: The 16.6% is the SC share of India’s population in Census 2011, the latest count; it is fifteen years old. Each source covers different enterprises: the Economic Census, proprietary establishments only; NSS, unincorporated non-agricultural enterprises outside construction; Udyam, the MSMEs that registered, with category recorded from 1 July 2020. Registration is voluntary, and the newer units are those that registered; the higher share among them may reflect who registers as much as who starts a business.

    Source: MoSPI, All India Report of Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), Tables 3.5 and 4.8 (our sum); NSS Report No. 581, Statement 15.0; Ministry of MSME, Udyam Registration Publication 2020-22, Table 7, as on 31 March 2022, and Table 13 (units set up 2019-20 to 2021-22); Census of India 2011, Data Highlights: SC and ST. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  9. Exhibit 9

    Establishments owned by SCs were 11.4% of proprietary establishments in 2013-14 and employed 10.0% of the 103,060,706 people working in them: 1.72 workers each, against 1.97 for all

    Proprietary establishments, agricultural and non-agricultural together, and the people working in them, by social group of the owner, India, Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), in the order the report gives the groups.

    Owner’s social groupEstablishmentsShare of establishmentsWorkersShare of workersWorkers per establishment
    SC5,972,67111.4%10,300,51010.0%1.72
    ST2,812,8525.4%5,126,1845.0%1.82
    OBC21,328,51140.8%39,061,53637.9%1.83
    Others22,176,48942.4%48,572,47647.1%2.19
    All proprietary establishments52,290,523100.0%103,060,706100.0%1.97

    Note: The census recorded the owner’s social group for proprietary establishments only, which the report says were 89.39% of all establishments; it counts establishments and workers, not turnover. The report’s own text gives 11.4% for SC owners.

    Source: MoSPI, All India Report of Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), Table 3.5 (agricultural) and Table 4.8 (non-agricultural), added together by us. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  10. Exhibit 10

    SC-owned establishments were 8.8% of all establishments in 2005 and 10.2% in 2013-14

    Establishments with an SC owner, India, Fifth (2005) and Sixth (2013-14) Economic Census, against all establishments and against the privately owned establishments whose owner’s social group each census recorded.

    Economic CensusSC share of allSC share of narrower baseNarrower baseSC-owned establishmentsAll establishments
    Fifth, 20058.8%9.8%Private Others, 37,588,1513,690,26041,826,989
    Sixth, 2013-1410.2%11.4%Proprietary, 52,290,5235,972,67158,495,359

    Note: Both censuses leave out crop production and plantation; the Sixth also leaves out public administration and defence. The narrower base differs: in 2005 it is “Private Others” (privately owned, outside companies, cooperatives and non-profits), in 2013-14 proprietary establishments, so read the last column with care. The 2005 report’s text calls its 8.82% a share of “Private Others”; its own table gives it as a share of all establishments. The Fourth Economic Census (1998) table is a scanned image this piece’s script cannot read, so 1998 is not shown.

    Source: MoSPI, All India Report of Fifth Economic Census (2005), Table 2.6; All India Report of Sixth Economic Census (2013-14), Table 2.1 and Tables 3.5 and 4.8 (our sum). Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  11. Exhibit 11

    SCs were 4.0% of teachers in state private universities and 4.6% in private deemed universities in 2023-24, against 11.7% in state public and 11.1% in central universities; they were 8.9% of those awarded a PhD that year

    SC teachers as a share of all teachers in university teaching departments, by type of university, %, India, 2023-24, in the order AISHE gives the types. Private universities are in the accent colour. The dashed line is the SC share of PhD out-turn in 2023-24.

    1. Central University8.9% of PhDs awarded11.1%
    2. Central Open University12.8%
    3. Institute of National Importance8.3%
    4. State Public University11.7%
    5. State Open University15.9%
    6. State Private University4.0%
    7. Institute under State Legislature Act8.4%
    8. Deemed University, Government6.3%
    9. Deemed University, Government Aided7.8%
    10. Deemed University, Private4.6%

    Note: AISHE counts what institutions report (“based on actual response”). Universities differ in where they are, which subjects they teach and what they pay, so the gap between types is a description, not a measure of how any one university hires. PhD out-turn is one year’s graduates, not everyone qualified to teach.

    Source: All India Survey on Higher Education (AISHE) 2023-24, Final Report, Table 30(a) (teachers) and Table 35 (PhD out-turn, as read for “Leaks in the pipeline”). Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

  12. Exhibit 12

    SEBI’s report format asks listed companies to count employees and workers by sex and by disability; no field asks for caste or social category

    The workforce items in Section A of the Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report (BRSR) that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) requires of listed companies, and what each is broken down by.

    ItemWhat it countsBroken down by
    18(a)Employees and workers (including differently abled)Male and Female
    18(b)Differently abled employees and workersMale and Female
    19Participation/Inclusion/Representation of womenFemale
    20Turnover rate for permanent employees and workersMale and Female
    No itemCaste or social category of employees and workersNot asked

    Note: A search of the whole format for “caste”, “scheduled caste”, “SC/ST”, “social category”, “social group” finds none of them. Marginalised groups appear only pooled, outside the workforce: as stakeholders, suppliers and beneficiaries of CSR projects (Principles 4 and 8).

    Source: Business Responsibility and Sustainability Report format, Annexure I to circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CMD-2/P/CIR/2021/562 of 10 May 2021, Section A, items 18 to 20. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026.

What’s next

The next update

We will update these figures on release of a PLFS report with status in employment by social group. This is version 1.0.

What the data can’t tell us yet

How many SCs hold private-sector jobs, or what they earn: no published table splits private from government work, or gives earnings, by social group, and companies report no caste.

What you can do

  • Cite this piece.
  • Ask the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) for the number of regular wage or salaried employees by social group and type of enterprise (government or private), and their average earnings by social group, from PLFS, under the Right to Information Act: rtionline.gov.in.
  • Found an error? Tell us how to correct it.

About this data

What this shows
What official surveys and censuses, in which people state their own caste, show about SC workers’ kind of work, the employers of SC salaried workers and their pay, and SC ownership of enterprises, and what listed companies are asked to report.
Source
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), National Statistics Office; National Sample Survey Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI); Central Statistics Office, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI); Office of the Development Commissioner (MSME), Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Department of Higher Education, Ministry of Education; Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner, India, Ministry of Home Affairs; Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), 13 documents, Table (46), pp. A-330 to A-331; Statement 10, Table (14), pp. A-175 to A-176, Files hhv1 and perv1 (first visit), as laid out in Data_LayoutPLFS_2023-24, Statement 3.19, pp. 44 to 45, Table 2.1, p. 20; Section 2.6, pp. 27 to 28, Table 3.5, p. 40, Table 4.8, p. 76, Table 2.6, p. 18, Statement 15.0, p. 68, Table 7, p. 16, Table 30(a), Proportion of SC/ST Population, India – 2001, 2011 and Section A, items 18 to 20. Analysis by The Dalit Project, as on 11 Oct 2026. Every source
What it does not show
How many SCs hold private-sector jobs, or what they earn: no published table splits private from government work, or gives earnings, by social group, and companies report no caste.
Last updated
11 Oct 2026 · Next expected update: on release of a PLFS report with status in employment by social group
Corrections
Changelog (version 1.0) · Corrections policy

Sources, caveats and definitions