Ahmedabad: The state’s reputation as the land of entrepreneurs finds support in a recent report by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) on Labour Market Dynamics in Million-plus Cities. The report shows that in three of Gujarat’s four major cities namely Rajkot, Surat and Ahmedabad, more than 40% respondents identified themselves as self-employed. Rajkot recorded the highest share of self-employed persons at 50.4%, followed by Surat (42.4%) and Ahmedabad (41.4%)The figures were higher than the national average of 35.1% self-employed across 46 cities with more than 10 lakh population and national average of 40.4% in urban India.Share of self-employed respondents stood at 39.6% in Kolkata, 37.9% in Delhi, 32.8% in Greater Mumbai and 24.1% in Chennai. Cities with higher share than Rajkot included Gwalior (64.7%), Varanasi (64.2%), Prayagraj (55.9%) and Jodhpur (55.4%).Putting this trend in perspective, Gokul Jaykrishna, chairman, FICCI Gujarat, said, “An entrepreneurial mindset is part of Gujarat’s social fabric for generations. In cities such as Ahmedabad, Surat and Rajkot, many young people aspire to build their own ventures rather than opt for salaried jobs. Youth here has grown up seeing family businesses thrive. Thus, their risk appetite is high and has helped create a strong MSME ecosystem.”The report which surveyed 60,000 people across India and more than 8,000 in four major cities of Gujarat also highlighted dominance of proprietorship and partnership firms as employers in urban centres. In Surat, 83.2% of respondents worked for such enterprises, followed by Rajkot at 78.3%.Surat ranked fifth among the 46 cities on this parameter and is preceded by Agra (86.6%), Varanasi (86.5%), Prayagraj (84.1%) and Ludhiana (83.7%). Surat and Rajkot employed more people in proprietary-firms than 36 Indian cities.“Gujarat’s entrepreneurial mindset continues to shape its labour market. A strong startup policy and culture in the state is only further catalysing a rise in the number of proprietorship and partnership firms within this state. In fact, it is the state’s strong MSME ecosystem that is a primary engine of job creation as well,” said Pathik Patwari, chairman, ICC Gujarat.Manufacturing emerged as the largest employment sector in Surat, accounting for 51% of respondents, followed by Rajkot at 42.5% and Ahmedabad at 31%. Wholesale and retail trade was the second-largest employer, accounting for 20% of respondents in Surat, 16% in Ahmedabad and 15% in Rajkot. Together, manufacturing and trade generated between 47% and 71% of employment across the three cities.
