Analysing female labour of the North East States and Union territories

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.