Occupational structure refers to distribution of working persons across different industries and sectors.
The two salient features of India's pre-independence are :
(i) Pre-dominance of Primary Occupation: The agricultural sector accounted for the largest share of workforce with approximately 75%. The manufacturing and service sector accounted for the remaining 10% and 15% respectively.
(ii) Regional Variation : Another striking respect was the growing regional variation.
(a) The states of Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, Maharashtra and West Bengal witnessed a decline in dependence of workforce on agricultural sector with a commensurate increase in the manufacturing and service sector.
(b) During the same time, there had been an increase in the workforce's share in agriculture in states such as Odisha, Rajasthan and Punjab.