The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) 2025 report shows a clear increase in Female Labour Force Participation (FLFPR) since 2019–20. The rise was more pronounced in rural areas, where the percentage increased from 33% to 45.9%, than in urban areas, where it rose from 23.3% to 27.7%. This difference calls for a closer look at the northeastern States, where female labour force participation is higher, and Union Territories (UTs) to understand how female labour force participation changed in rural and urban areas.
The chart below presents the Average Annual Percentage Point (AAPP) change in rural Female Labour Force Participation Rate (FLFPR) for each State between 2019–20 and 2025.
The AAPP is used to indicate the pace of improvement. It shows that major rural northeastern States and UTs are above this benchmark. Arunachal Pradesh records the highest increase, at 8.28 percentage points per year, more than three times the all-India benchmark of 2.58. At the other end, FLFPR declined in Delhi and Lakshadweep. The difference between the highest and lowest AAPP is more than 10 percentage points, from +8.28 in Arunachal Pradesh to −2.34 in Lakshadweep. This means that the national average of 2.58 points conceals substantial State-level variation.
The chart below shows that Arunachal Pradesh stands out again, with an AAPP of 5.24 points above the all-India urban AAPP of 0.88 pp, followed by Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Chandigarh, A&N Islands, Assam, Tripura and Jammu & Kashmir.
But Puducherry, Ladakh, Delhi and Lakshadweep recorded negative AAPP. The urban range, from +5.24 to −1.30 percentage points, remains considerable, even though the national average is much lower than in rural areas.
The rural all-India AAPP is therefore 1.7 percentage points higher per year than the urban figure. For a statistical analysis, this is important: the national direction and the State-level distribution are two different stories. While the aggregate shows an increase, it does so across the NE States, while the UTs are far more heterogeneous.
However, AAPP alone is insufficient to evaluate the performance of northeastern States and UTs, as it measures only the pace of change and does not consider the level of female labour force participation from which a State started. Therefore, the 2019–20 FLFPR for each State is used as the baseline. Combining the baseline level with the subsequent AAPP provides a more meaningful assessment of whether States are catching up from a lower base, sustaining improvements at higher levels, or making slow progress.
In the chart below, the upper-left portion of the rural scatter contains Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Tripura.
These States had an FLFPR below the all-India 2019-20 benchmark but recorded AAPP above the national average, indicating faster improvement, whereas Delhi recorded an AAPP below the all-India average.
At the other end, Nagaland, Meghalaya, Andaman & Nicobar and J&K began with their FLFPR above benchmark and recorded AAPP above the national average. This indicates that faster improvement is not confined to States starting from a low base. Ladakh, Sikkim, Puducherry, Mizoram and Lakshadweep had relatively high female LFPR in 2019-20 but recorded AAPP below the All-India benchmark.
The chart below shows that in urban areas, Arunachal Pradesh, Chandigarh, Assam and Tripura started from relatively low baseline levels but recorded AAPP above the all-India average, indicating relatively faster improvement.
In contrast, Delhi also started from relatively low levels but recorded an AAPP below the all-India average. Among States with relatively higher baselines, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, and J&K had above-average AAPP, showing that some States with already higher participation levels continued to make relatively rapid gains. However, Ladakh, Sikkim, Puducherry, Mizoram and Lakshadweep had relatively high female LFPR in 2019-20 but recorded AAPP below the All-India benchmark.
The four charts tell an interesting story rather than a simple statement that female labour-force participation has increased. The geography of female labour-force participation is changing, but not at a uniform pace. The increase is highly uneven across the Northeastern States and UTs. Combining the 2019–20 baseline with the subsequent pace of improvement therefore provides a more nuanced picture of the catch-up pattern in female labour force participation across India since the pandemic.
The writer is an Indian Statistical Service Officer. Views expressed are personal.
The data for the charts were sourced from the Periodic Labour Force Survey of 2025