Main worker
Topic: Employment, Unemployment and Informalisation · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 4 "Presentation of Data"
Meaning
A main worker is a Census category. It is a person who did economic work for 183 days (six months) or more in the reference year. The Census uses this split to separate people with steady, year-round work from those with only occasional work.
Example
A factory worker who worked for 250 days in the year is a main worker, because 250 is more than 183.
Don't confuse with
- Marginal worker: did some economic work, but for less than 183 days in the year.
- Principal status: a survey concept (NSO/PLFS), not a Census one. It is the activity on which a person spent the major part of the past 365 days, whether that activity was working, being unemployed or being out of the labour force.
Related concepts
- Labour force
- Not in labour force
- Discouraged workers
- Labour force participation rate
- Worker population ratio
- Unemployment rate
- Usual status
- Principal status
- Subsidiary status
- Current weekly status