Subsidiary status
Topic: Employment, Unemployment and Informalisation · NCERT: Beyond NCERT
Meaning
Subsidiary status is a rule used in labour surveys. It counts economic work that a person did for at least 30 days in the past 365 days when that person's main activity was something else. The main activity is called the principal status. It is the one the person spent the major part of the year on, such as studying or housework. Subsidiary work is added to principal status to give usual status (UPSS, "ps+ss"). This means people who work only part of the year are still counted as workers.
Example
A college student in Punjab studies most of the year but works on the wheat harvest for a month. The student's principal status is "not in labour force". Because of the month of harvest work, the student is still counted as a worker under usual status (ps+ss).
Don't confuse with
- Principal status: this is the activity a person spent the major part of the year on. Subsidiary status is extra work of 30 days or more alongside it.
- Marginal worker (Census): this is a Census 2011 category for anyone who worked less than 183 days in the year. It has nothing to do with a 30-day minimum.
Related concepts
- Labour force
- Not in labour force
- Discouraged workers
- Labour force participation rate
- Worker population ratio
- Unemployment rate
- Usual status
- Principal status
- Current weekly status
- Current daily status