Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Data Shows Improved Women Employment Indicators over Last Six Years. | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) Data Shows Improved Women Employment Indicators over Last Six Years.

Posted 19 Nov 2024

Updated 20 Nov 2024

2 min read

 PLFS (Conducted by Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation since 2017-18) aims to estimate key employment and unemployment indicators.

Key Trends in Women Labor Participation:

  • Increased female employment indicators(Between 2017-18 and 2023-24):
    • WPR for Women : Doubled from 22% in 2017-18 to 40% in 2023-24;
    • LFPR for Women:  Increased from ~23% to ~41%;
    • Unemployment Rate: Reduced from ~5.6% to 3.2%.
    • Rural Female LFPR : Increased significantly by 23 percentage points between 2017-18 and 2023-24 (~25% in 2017-18 and ~48% in 2023-24) 
  • Upward trend of educated women (post-graduate and above) in workforce : Increase from 35 percent in 2017-18 to 40 percent in 2023-24.
  • Earnings Growth for self-employed: Female self-employed workers saw steady growth in earnings.

Key Indicators used in PLFS

  • Worker Population Ratio (WPR): Percentage of employed persons in the population.
  • Labor Force Participation Rate (LFPR): Percentage of persons in labor force (i.e. working or seeking or available for work) in the population.
  • Unemployment Rate (UR): Percentage of persons unemployed among persons in the labour force

Barriers in Women Labor Force Participation:

  • Social : Child care/personal commitments in home making; Fertility rates and the age of marriage; 
  • Economic  : lack of employment opportunities; Effect of household income on participation;
  • Education : Continuing focus on higher qualifications; 
  • Other: Poor infrastructure, rural residence, and inadequate care and support systems etc.

Government initiatives promoting Women LFPR:

  • Legislative Actions: Maternity Benefit (Amendment) Act, 2017; The Equal Remuneration Act, 1976 etc.
  • Schemes:  Skill India Mission; Stand up India; National Rural Livelihood Mission etc.
  • Tags :
  • Female Workforce Participation
  • PLFS
  • Worker Population Ratio
  • Labor Force Participation Rate
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