The Union government will modify the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) from January 2027 to better capture digital platform work, unpaid household and caregiving work, volunteer work and trainee work.
The National Sample Survey Office (NSSO) under the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) will change the survey design and schedule.
A separate Second Stage Stratum (SSS) will identify households having at least one digital platform worker, improving coverage of gig workers.
The survey will add questions on unpaid household and caregiving work, including cooking, cleaning, childcare and caring for elderly, sick or disabled persons.
It will also record own-use production, volunteer work and unpaid trainee work, which were not separately captured earlier in the PLFS.
The sample allocation and stratification will also be updated to improve population representation and make sample selection more efficient.