by Occupational pattern of rural people also has an impact on the nature of income generation, which will in turn affect the expenditure pattern. Purchase behavior of the rural consumers depends upon the nature of occupation and the consistency in the generation of income.
| Occupation | Proportion of Rural Population |
| Agriculture | 50 |
| Agriculture Labour | 27 |
| Business | 10 |
| Non-Agricultural Labour | 9 |
| Salary Earners | 2 |
| Not gainfully employed | 2 |
| Total | 100 |
A major section of the rural population relies on agriculture and allied activities for occupation. So, the income in the hands of rural people is very much conditioned by the status of agriculture and other allied activities.
Agricultural and allied activities are the main occupation for the rural people. An allied activity includes Horticulture, Forestry, Fishery, Animal Husbandry (dairy, poultry, and goat), Floriculture etc., the everyday needs of the villagers are also met by many other types of occupations. In rural sector, agri-based occupation can be different types.
The occupations which can be generally seen in the villages are:
- Farm laborer
- Milkman
- Washer man
- Pot maker
- Blacksmith
- Barber
- Carpenter
- Cobbler
- Priest
- Weaver.
Other rural occupation which are non-agricultural and support agricultural requirements and the rural people in their daily life are:
- Village doctor
- Policemen
- Traditional village nurse
- Anganwadi workers
- Teacher
- Peon
- Grocer
- Mechanic
- Cyber cafe owner
- Venders
- Agricultural experts
- Electricians etc.
Census of 2001 reports that, this agri-based occupational trend is slowly changing and a gradual shift towards non-agri based work has been taken place. As per the NSSO Rounds Survey, for the year of 1999-2000, rural India’s Primary sector workforce accounts for 76.1%, Secondary sector 11.3%, Tertiary sector 12.5% and finally non-farm sector hits 23.8%, which is next to the Primary sector.
