THE LAST FACTORY TOWNS: How India’s million-plus cities earn their living: evidence from PLFS 2025

This report examines how people earn their living across India’s million-plus non-metro cities, using PLFS 2025 data. It looks at the balance between industrial and service-sector employment across 38 cities. While only Ludhiana, Surat and Rajkot remain industry-led, services dominate employment in most cities. The report also highlight strong gender division, with women’s employment that is concentrated more heavily in services in most of the cities.