FY24 profits outpaced wage growth, worker productivity dipped

Corporate profits rose faster than wages in 2023-24 as companies chose to deploy more resources into capital than labour, according to the latest Annual Survey of Industries (ASI), confirming a divergence that was also flagged in the Economic Survey 2024-25.

- HIMANSHI BHARDWAJ

While corporate profits per factory rose 7 per cent to₹ 41.3 million in FY24, the average wages paid per worker increased 5.5 per cent to ₹2,16,000, the same pace of growth recorded in the previous year, as per the ASI 2023-24 (FY24). "Corporate profitability soared to a 15-year peak in FY24. While profits surged, wages lagged," the Economic Survey had noted.

Earlier, corporate profits had grown 28.7 per cent in FY21, followed by 55.1 per cent in FY22, while wages paid per worker only increased by 0.8 per cent and 9.9 per cent in those two years, respectively. FY23 had marked an exception to this post-pandemic trend when profits rose 1.34 per cent, while wages grew 5.5 per cent.