Guess the number
Tailoring units with hired workers add how many times the value of one-person units?
About 11 times: ₹7.57 lakh a year against ₹66,164.
Key facts
- India has about 89.3 lakh small tailoring and garment businesses, 12.2% of all small businesses: the second-largest activity after retail.
- 95.1% have no hired workers; 60% are in rural areas.
- The few that hire add ₹7,56,746 a year in value, 11.4 times the ₹66,164 added by one-person units.
- Urban units add ₹1,56,928 a year, 2.5 times rural units (₹62,496).
The tailoring business in India is one of the country’s largest and least visible economies. MoSPI’s Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2023-24 counts 89.3 lakh small businesses making and altering clothes, from village tailors and home-based stitching units to small garment workshops, second only to retail shops.
Published November 2026. All figures: MoSPI, ASUSE 2023-24 full report (survey October 2023 to September 2024), activity "wearing apparel" (tailoring and garments). Value added is output minus the cost of inputs, not profit.
The tailoring economy at a glance
Table of Contents
| Tailoring and garments | |
|---|---|
| Small businesses | 89.3 lakh |
| Share of all small businesses | 12.2% (rank 2 of 46 activities) |
| People working in them | 1.11 crore |
| People per business | 1.24 |
| Without hired workers | 95.1% |
| In rural areas | 60% |
| Value added per business a year, urban | ₹1,56,928 |
| Value added per business a year, rural | ₹62,496 |
| Pay per hired worker a year | ₹1,28,371 (about ₹10,698 a month) |
The 11x gap between solo tailors and small workshops
| Type of unit | Value added per business a year |
|---|---|
| With hired workers (about 4.9% of units) | ₹7,56,746 |
| Without hired workers (about 95.1% of units) | ₹66,164 |
| All units | ₹1,00,269 |
A tailoring unit that employs people adds 11.4 times as much value as a one-person unit. The survey does not explain the gap, but units with hired workers are, by definition, larger operations with more people producing.
What it means
- This is a vast but low-value sector: a typical one-person unit adds about ₹66,164 a year, about ₹5,514 a month.
- The leap from solo tailor to small workshop is where value and jobs grow; credit for machines, orders from retailers and online sales are the usual routes.
- For apparel brands and retailers, India’s 89.3 lakh tailoring units are a large, flexible production network.
- India also has 22.2 lakh small textile businesses (weaving, spinning and similar), most also run without hired workers.
Explore the data
- Tailoring and garment small businesses
- Clothing and apparel industry statistics
- India has 7.9 crore small businesses, and 87% have no hired workers
Questions
How many tailoring businesses are there in India?
About 89.3 lakh small tailoring and garment businesses (ASUSE 2023-24).
How much does a tailoring business add in value?
About ₹1,00,269 a year on average: ₹1,56,928 in urban areas and ₹62,496 in rural areas.
Do tailoring businesses employ people?
Only about 4.9% have hired workers; those add ₹7,56,746 a year each, 11.4 times one-person units.
Sources
- MoSPI, Annual Survey of Unincorporated Sector Enterprises (ASUSE) 2023-24, full report, Appendix A tables (activity-wise establishments, workers, gross value added by type of establishment).
See our methodology. Cite as: Advanton (2026), "The Tailoring Economy".
Last reviewed November 12, 2026. Startup costs are estimates; check local prices, licensing and tax rules before you commit money.