Of all workers, what share has regular salaried jobs (as opposed to self-employment or casual labour). The Muslim share has trailed the all-India share in every survey round for two decades, and the gap is wider today than in 2004.
higher is better
vs all communities: -3.7pp behind
| Community | Latest value |
|---|---|
| Muslim | 18.0% |
| Hindu | 21.9% |
| Christian | 27.6% |
| Sikh | 26.7% |
| All communities | 21.7% |
Of all workers, the share holding a regular GOVERNMENT salaried job (government, local bodies and public-sector undertakings), computed from PLFS 2023-24 microdata. About 2.8% of Muslim workers hold a public-sector job, against 5.0% of Hindus and 4.9% nationally, the lowest of any major community. Set against the host card: of the 18% of Muslim workers who are salaried, only about a sixth are in the secure public sector, so most of the Muslim salaried shortfall sits in government jobs, a long-standing Sachar Committee finding. Private salaried work is the rest.
| Community | In govt jobs |
|---|---|
| Muslim | 2.8% |
| Buddhist | 11.6% |
| Christian | 9.0% |
| Other | 6.4% |
| Sikh | 5.6% |
| Jain | 5.2% |
| Hindu | 5.0% |
| All communities | 4.9% |
From microdata Reproduce this view. This figure is recomputed from the unit-level survey microdata, the raw NSS or PLFS records behind the linked source. Source: PLFS microdata 2017-24. Each value is computed from the data file · transform code; every row records its own source and method.
Average monthly pay in regular salaried jobs (gross, preceding month, age 15+). Muslim salaried workers earned INR 17,747 a month in 2023 against the all-India INR 21,067, about 16% less, and the gap has stayed at 16-23% in every round since 2017-18. Rupees are nominal, so the rising lines mostly track inflation; the gap between the lines is the comparable story.
| Community | Overall | Urban | Rural |
|---|---|---|---|
| Muslim | INR 17,747 | INR 18,396 | INR 16,811 |
| Christian | INR 25,093 | INR 28,010 | INR 21,176 |
| Hindu | INR 21,344 | INR 25,032 | INR 16,528 |
| Sikh | INR 17,055 | INR 22,349 | INR 13,783 |
| All communities | INR 21,067 | INR 24,440 | INR 16,658 |
From microdata Reproduce this view. This figure is recomputed from the unit-level survey microdata, the raw NSS or PLFS records behind the linked source. Source: PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24. Each value is computed from the data file · transform code; every row records its own source and method.
| Community | Male | Female |
|---|---|---|
| Muslim | 20.8% | 10.9% |
| Hindu | 25.3% | 15.8% |
| Christian | 28.4% | 26.3% |
| Sikh | 26.7% | 26.9% |
| All communities | 24.9% | 15.9% |
From microdata Reproduce this view. This figure is recomputed from the unit-level survey microdata, the raw NSS or PLFS records behind the linked source. Source: PLFS 2023-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th). Each value is computed from the data file · transform code; every row records its own source and method.
| Community | Urban | Rural |
|---|---|---|
| Muslim | 32.7% | 11.0% |
| Hindu | 50.0% | 12.7% |
| Christian | 52.4% | 16.8% |
| Sikh | 45.7% | 21.4% |
| All communities | 47.5% | 12.7% |
From microdata Reproduce this view. This figure is recomputed from the unit-level survey microdata, the raw NSS or PLFS records behind the linked source. Source: PLFS 2023-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · PLFS microdata 2017-24 · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th) · EUS microdata 2004-12 (NSS 61st/66th/68th). Each value is computed from the data file · transform code; every row records its own source and method.
Just 18% of Muslim workers hold a regular salaried job, against 22% of Hindus; most Muslims work for themselves or as casual labour. The gap is starkest in cities, where salaried work is common: there, about a third of Muslim workers are salaried, against half of Hindus.
The chart tracks the share of workers in regular salaried jobs over two decades, with the 2017 dashed break marking the move to the PLFS survey. The Urban vs rural tab carries the real story: the salaried gap is small in villages but very wide in towns. What it pays compares earnings inside those salaried jobs, and By sex splits the rate by gender.
A regular salaried job means a predictable wage, and often paid leave, provident fund and some security. The shortage of such jobs is the core of the Muslim economic disadvantage: not that Muslims do not work, but that their work is more often informal, self-run and insecure.
Behindgap widening
Muslim 18.0% vs Hindu 21.9% in 2023, 3.9pp behind. The salaried share has risen for Muslims over twenty years, but the gap with Hindus has held, and it stays widest exactly where formal jobs are most available, in the cities.
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