Trends in Wages of Casual Workers in India's Informal Sector: Evidence from PLFS (2020-2024)

This paper attempts to examine the trend of average daily wage earnings (₹ per day) of casual labourers engaged in work other than public works in the CWS category at the all-India level.The main objective of the study is to analyse the wage trend from 2020-21 to 2023-24.The study is based on secondary data collected from reliable and authentic sources such as the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) published by the Government of India, MoSPI.Simple statistical tools such as tables and line graphs analysis have been used to analyse the data.The findings reveal that during the period 2020-21 to 2023-24, wages showed a consistent increase with only minor fluctuations.However, in the prevailing inflationary situation, the wage levels of casual workers remain insufficient to ensure a decent standard of living.