Context:

Recently, the Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister (EAC-PM) highlighted in the working paper that India’s female labour force participation rate (LFPR) has increased from 2017-18 to 2022-23.

More on the News

• The new working paper is titled: - Female Labour Force Participation Rate: An Observational Analysis of the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2017–18 to 2022–23, and co-authored by EAC-PM Member Shamika Ravi and Mudit Mapoor of EPU, ISI–Delhi.
• It pointed out that even after excluding all the unpaid family workers or helpers in household enterprises from 2004-05 until 2022-23, the overall trends for an increase in female LFPR remain the same as before.

Key Highlights of the Report

• LFPR has increased in almost all states in India during 2017-18 to 2022-23, with rural areas seeing larger gains than urban areas.
• Rural female LFPR rose to 41.5% (around 69% growth) from 24.6% during 2017-18 to 2022-23.
• In urban areas, the female LFPR increased from 20.4% to 25.4% during the same period, a growth of nearly 25%. 
• The increase is more pronounced in states like Gujarat, Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Assam, Telangana, and the Northeastern states of Arunachal Pradesh and Nagaland.
• The only two places where female LFPR seems to have declined marginally are Goa and Lakshadweep. 
• Across most states, the highest growth in female LFPR has been in rural areas among presently married women.
• Female LFPR typically shows a bell-shaped curve across most states, peaking at 30-40 years of age and declining sharply after. 
• Northeastern states also experienced impressive growth, with Nagaland’s female LFPR increasing from 15.7% to 71.1%.
• Married men have significantly higher LFPR across all ages and rural and urban areas in all states of India.
• Marriage lowers the LFPR of women significantly – but the decline is much higher in urban areas compared to rural areas.

Labour force participation rate (LFPR)

• LFPR is defined as the number of persons/ person-days in the labour force per 1000 persons /person-days.
• Marital status is a significant determinant of LFPR for both women and men
• By analyzing changes in the LFPR, policymakers, and economists can identify trends like increased or decreased workforce participation among specific demographics.