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Source: This post on Trends in Male and Female LFPR has been created based on the article “Does India need to worry about a decline in its male workforce?” published in “Live Mint” on 9th January 2024.
UPSC Syllabus Topic: GS Paper 3 Indian Economy – Issues relating to employment.
News: The article discusses gender-based employment trends presented in the 2022-23 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS).
The 2022-23 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) has highlighted a decent growth in India’s total employment, a rising female labour force participation ratio (LFPR) and a higher share of self-employment.
What are some findings that have not received enough attention according to the author?
First, while the LFPR and worker population ratio (WPR) of males aged above 15 years have increased in 2022-23, they have fallen for all ages, and decreased sharply for the prime working age group of 30-59 years.
Second, the female LFPR for the 30-59 years group has increased to 50.2% in 2022-23, the highest since 2004-05. Similar trends are visible in the WPR as well—up for females aged 30-59 years and down for males during the corresponding periods.
Third, while the LFPR and WPR for females have improved across urban and rural areas, these ratios for males have declined in both urban and rural India, with a substantial fall in urban areas.
| What are the reasons behind these patterns noticed in the male rates? A simultaneous rise in both male rates for the 15-29- years age bracket and fall in the 30-50-years group is surprising. There could be at least two plausible causes for this: | |
| 1. Reversal of pandemic-related migration trends: Leading to a fall in male workers in rural areas, thus resulting in a WPR contraction. | 2. Rise in the number of discouraged workers (one who is unemployed and not actively looking for work). |
| What are the problems with this reasoning? One, there should have been a sudden rise in WPR during the pandemic (2019-20 or 2020-21), as population estimates would not have fully captured reverse migration (from urban to rural). However, as the graph depicts, it was not so. Two, no simultaneous rise in urban male LFPR and WPR or a rise in the urban male unemployment rate. Three, higher-than-pandemic demand for work under the (MGNREGA raises doubts over a substantial reversal of reverse migration. | What could be the reasons behind discouragement? One, lack of job opportunities in rural areas (especially non-farm) led to a lower workforce. It fits well with sustained strong demand for MGNREGA work. Two, fiscal support to males (in the form of rural job, free/subsidized gas cylinders, free food, subsidized housing, etc.) was sufficient to make them stay out of the workforce. This scenario, according to the author, would be one of the worst situations because such lazy behaviour is unwarranted and indicates acceptance of subsistence living, which is unproductive for any economy. |
What are the reasons for the rise in female LFPR?
It could be attributed to a lot of factors such as:
- Fiscal support: It may have freed up time for women, which allowed more to join the workforce.
However, the majority (up to 85%) of the increase in female employment is in the agriculture sector and self-employment category. - Reversal in Male Migration: It could also be due to a reversal in the trend of male migration, resulting in more time available to women, who have chosen to enter the agricultural sector.
Question for practice:
India has one of the lowest Female LFPR amongst the G20 countries. However, as per the 2022-23 Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), it has seen a rise. What are the reasons for this rise in female LFPR?
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