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There is often debate about working hours in India. People in India get less money in comparison to the working hours, whereas people in America and Europe get more money. Now a report has come out which shows that after the Corona epidemic, the availability of work in India has reduced and people’s income has decreased. Due to this, working hours have also reduced in India. According to the Periodic Labor Force Survey, people who were working 49.6 hours a week before the Corona epidemic are now working only 39.6 hours, i.e. a decrease of 10 hours.

This report shows that self-employed people and people working in home industries constitute 56 percent of the total workforce. If their working hours are compared, then those who were working 46.6 hours a week from July 2018 to June 2019, were working only 39.6 hours between January 2025 and December 2025.

Not only this, the people of casual class who were working 43.1 hours in the first week are now working only 41.2 hours and the people of salaried class who were working 50.2 hours are now working only 48.8 hours. According to a report by Times of India, experts believe that the reduction in working hours means that the demand for work has reduced after the Corona epidemic.

More work and less earning in India

According to a report by IND Money, people working 46.7 hours every week in India get an average of Rs 8 thousand. In comparison, if we look at China, a person working there for 48.5 hours in a week gets Rs 68,423. Similarly, in Japan one gets Rs 78,075 for 40 hours of work, in Germany one gets Rs 1,14,075 for 40 hours and in America one gets Rs 1,40,130 for 34.2 hours of work.

These figures show that in India we get less money for more work. For this reason wages are cheap in India. However, despite this, the reduction in working hours and people’s earnings in the last 5 years is worrying.

Actual earnings also decreased

The report shows that there has been a slight increase in the real earnings of self-employed people in the year 2025 as compared to the year 2018-19. Earlier this earning was Rs 7336 every month, which has increased to Rs 7617. At the same time, the earnings of salaried employees have decreased. Earlier his monthly earning was Rs 11,634 which has now reduced to Rs 11,289. If we look at the daily wage, it has increased from Rs 198 to Rs 232.

The data show that working hours have declined for both men and women. Whereas men were working 48.9 hours a week earlier, they are now working only 45.9 hours. At the same time, women who used to work 39.4 hours a week are working only 34.1 hours.

There has been a significant reduction in the working hours of women in rural areas. Earlier she was working 38.2 hours a week whereas now she is working only 32.6 hours. Interestingly, the Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR), which indicates willingness to work, has almost doubled from 18.2 percent to 34.6 percent in five years.