While the age distribution of the LPR for men has been largely stable through the economic shocks since 2016, this is not the case for women, CMIE notes. The female LPR curve was the highest in 2016, which means female participation in the labour force has constantly declined in subsequent years. The levels saw a substantial decline in 2018 compared to 2016, it shows.

Female LPR levels see “a small but significant departure” in 2020. While the levels remain below 2018, LPR for women of the 20-24 age group grew to 12.91% in 2020 from 10.91% two years ago as young women had started to come back to the labour markets in greater numbers during 2018-2019.

“The trend of young women entering the labour markets in larger proportions began after the wave of May-August 2018 when the female LPR was 10.28%. From here it climbed steadily in every subsequent wave to reach 14.31% in the wave of September-December 2019. This was the last wave before the pandemic,” CMIE states.

“The pandemic and the lockdowns arrested the steady growth in the LPR of women in the 20-24 age bracket. The ratio fell to its lowest at 8.7% in May-August 2020. Its recovery to 10.9% during September-December 2020 was promising. But, the further progress of young women of 20-24 years joining the labour markets has since stalled at around 10.5%,” it further adds.

The period between 2018 and 2019 also saw decline in female LPR in ages around 40 years even as it grew sharply in the 20-24 age group and then continued to grow till the late thirties.

“Post 2018, while the LPR shot up better in the 20-24 age bracket, it slid back during the age group 25-34 years before rising again in the late thirties and then beginning its decline. Female LPR in the 25-29 years age bracket is lower than it is in the 20-24 years group. This retreat of a young female work force is worth investigating,” the report says.

women labour force participation

Women missing from India’s workforce: CMIE