Factory wages in India rose in 2024-25, but Jharkhand was the only state where workers were paid less on average, according to the latest Annual Survey of Industries.
Wages per worker in the eastern state fell 5.2%, even as the national average climbed 5.3% to Rs 2.28 lakh from Rs 2.16 lakh a year earlier.
Jharkhand's Fall
Jharkhand's factory workers still earn far more than the national average. The state's average wage stood at Rs 3.04 lakh in 2024-25, behind only Sikkim at Rs 4.06 lakh and Goa at Rs 3.14 lakh.
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Wages in the state had been the highest in the country in 2022-23 and 2023-24, at Rs 3.17 lakh and Rs 3.2 lakh respectively. The latest fall appears to be a correction after those peaks.
The state also added workers. Factory employment in Jharkhand rose 9% to 2.08 lakh, even though the number of factories fell by nine to 2,880.
Bihar Leads On Wage Growth
Neighbouring Bihar recorded the sharpest wage rise among major states, at 16.7%, taking the average to Rs 1.63 lakh. The jump came as the workforce shrank 2% to 1.15 lakh, while factories edged up 1% to 3,426.
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Factories Keep Growing
The survey, based on inputs from 86,547 units, estimates that India's factories rose 2.6% to 2.7 lakh. After a 2.7% rise in 2023-24, this is the first time in over a decade that the number has grown by more than 2% in consecutive years.
Factory workers increased 7.3% to 1.67 crore.
Uttar Pradesh saw the largest rise in factories, at 12.8% to 24,964. It still trails Tamil Nadu, 41,221, Gujarat, 33,084 and Maharashtra, 27,379. Tamil Nadu and Maharashtra each added about 3%, while Gujarat saw a 1% reduction.
Shifting Shares
Uttar Pradesh raised its share of the country's factories by almost a full percentage point to 9.4%, the biggest gain of any state. Gujarat's share fell the most, by 0.4 percentage points to 12.4%. Tamil Nadu retained the top spot at 15.4%, unchanged.
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Tamil Nadu also has the most factory workers, with a 5% rise to 26.1 lakh. Uttar Pradesh's workforce grew 14%, second only to Haryana's 15% among major states.
Wage Growth Across States
Uttar Pradesh's average wage rose 6.7%, above the national rate, as did Maharashtra's at 6.1%. Tamil Nadu's grew 5.6%. Gujarat lagged at 2%, less than half the all-India figure of 5.3%.
The ASI, conducted by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation, covers the formal manufacturing sector and feeds into GDP calculations and policy planning.
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