Women's Labour Force Participation Falls in Rural, Urban India

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 Women's Labour Force Participation

Falls in Rural, Urban India


The Ministry of Statistics & Programme Implementation (MOSPI) recently released data from the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) for June 2025, indicating a decline in women's Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) across both rural and urban areas in India.

Key Data from PLFS (June 2025)

The overall LFPR for persons aged 15 years and above was 54.2% in June 2025, a slight dip from 54.8% in May 2025.

For females aged 15 years and above, the LFPR in rural areas was 35.2% in June 2025, down from 36.9% in May 2025 and 38.2% in April 2025.

In urban areas, the LFPR for females aged 15 years and above was 25.2% in June 2025, a marginal decrease from 25.3% in May 2025.

The Worker Population Ratio (WPR), which measures the share of employed individuals in the population, also saw a marginal decline for women. The overall female WPR for the 15+ age group was 30.2% in June 2025, falling from 31.3% in May 2025.

The share of rural female workers in agriculture also dropped from 70.2% in May 2025 to 69.8% in June 2025.

What is Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR):

LFPR is the percentage of the working-age population (15 years and above) that is either:
It measures the extent of active participation in the labour market.

Gender Disparity:

  •  In India, female LFPR is significantly lower than male LFPR.
  •  Reasons include:

Socio-cultural barriers:*Patriarchal norms, restrictions on mobility.

Safety and infrastructure:Lack of safe transportation, toilets, or crèches at workplaces.

Informality of jobs: Women often find only seasonal or irregular work, leading to underreporting.

Domestic burden: Unpaid care work and household duties discourage labour market entry.

What is Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR)?

The labor force participation rate (LFPR) is a measure that refers to the percentage of the working-age population (typically defined as individuals aged 15 years and above) either;

  • Employed (working for pay or profit), or
  • Unemployed but actively seeking work.

It is a commonly used indicator to understand the level of engagement of a country's population in the labor market.

To calculate the LFPR, the number of individuals in the labor force (which includes both employed and unemployed individuals actively seeking work) is divided by the total working-age population and multiplied by 100 to express it as a percentage.

The labor force includes people who are currently employed, as well as those who are unemployed but actively looking for work.

It does not include individuals who are not in the labor force, such as students, retirees, homemakers, or individuals who are not actively seeking employment

The LFPR provides insights into the proportion of the population that is economically active, which is important for assessing the level of labor market engagement, estimating potential labor supply, and evaluating changes in workforce dynamics over time.

About Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS):

The PLFS was initiated by the National Statistical Office in 2017 for frequent labour force data.

The inaugural annual report was published in 2019, utilising data from July 2017 to June 2018.

PLFS's objective is to estimate vital employment and unemployment indicators like the Labour Force Participation Rate every three months in urban areas.

It also aims to provide yearly estimates for both rural and urban regions.

It follows a current weekly status approach, where people are considered unemployed if they did not work for at least one hour during the week but actively sought work.

Key Indicators

Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR): the percentage of persons in the labour forced

(working or seeking or available for work) in the population.

Worker Population Ratio (WPR): defined as the percentage of employed persons in the population.

Unemployment Rate (UR): UR is the percentage of persons unemployed among the persons in the labour force.

According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), unemployment involves being jobless when actively seeking employment. Thus, unemployment is not synonymous with joblessness.

Activity Status

Usual Status: Usual activity status is determined based on the reference period of the last 365 days preceding the survey date.

Current Weekly Status (CWS): According to CWS, the labour force is the number of persons either employed or unemployed on average in the week preceding the survey date.

Usual status unemployment rates will always be lower than CWS rates (because there is a greater probability that an individual would find work over a year compared to a week).

Women and the Informal Sector:
High Dependence on Informal Jobs:

  •  Over 90% of Indian women in the workforce are in informal employment, especially in rural areas.

Types of Work:

 Agricultural labour, construction, domestic work, home-based crafts.

Unpaid and Seasonal Nature:

  • Women's contributions are often unrecognized and unremunerated.
  • Informal jobs fluctuate seasonally, making participation erratic and invisible in official surveys.

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