Hyderabad: Telangana has emerged as one of India’s more industrialised labour markets, ranking fifth among the 22 states covered in the latest Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) state-level estimates in terms of the share of workers employed in industry. The survey found that 30.7% of employed persons aged 15 and above in the state were engaged in industry, significantly higher than the national average of 26.7%.The April-June 2026 PLFS data show that only Haryana (37.5%), Chhattisgarh (32.9%), Odisha (32.4%) and Tamil Nadu (32.1%) had a higher share of industrial employment than Telangana among the states covered in the survey. Telangana was ahead of Gujarat (29.2%), Andhra Pradesh (28.6%), Kerala (25.4%) and Karnataka (21.6%).The survey highlights Telangana’s comparatively lower dependence on agriculture. While agriculture accounted for 38.7% of employment nationally, only 30.7% of the state’s employed workforce was engaged in the sector. At the same time, the services sector remained Telangana’s largest employer, accounting for 38.7% of workers, compared with 34.6% nationally.The figures indicate that nearly seven out of every 10 workers in Telangana are employed outside agriculture, underscoring a more diversified economic structure than that of the country as a whole. Nationally, agriculture remains the largest source of employment, whereas Telangana’s workforce is more evenly distributed between agriculture and industry, with services accounting for the largest share.Among southern states, Telangana trails only Tamil Nadu in industrial employment share and outperforms Andhra Pradesh, Kerala and Karnataka. The state’s strong industrial presence is reflected in sectors such as manufacturing, construction, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, logistics and allied activities, which have expanded in recent years. The PLFS data also show Telangana performing better than the national average on other labour market indicators. The state’s labour force participation rate stood at 58.2%, compared to 54.6% nationally, while its worker population ratio was 54.9% against the all-India figure of 51.7%.Economists generally regard a rising share of industrial and service-sector jobs, coupled with declining dependence on agriculture, as a sign of structural transformation. The latest survey suggests that Telangana’s workforce is more diversified than the national average, with a stronger non-farm employment base than most of the states covered by the survey.
