# Female labour surges unevenly across India's northeast

> Women's workforce participation is rising faster in northeastern states than the national average, but the gains are scattered and uneven.
- Title: Female labour surges unevenly across India's northeast
- Summary: Women's workforce participation is rising faster in northeastern states than the national average, but the gains are scattered and uneven. Female labour…
- Keywords: female labour force participation, india northeast states, union territories, rural urban divide, periodic labour force survey, arunachal pradesh, women workforce, news, politics, Female, labour, surges
- Source: The Hindu — https://thehindu.com/data/analysing-female-labour-of-the-north-east-states-and-union-territories/article71600664.ece
- Author: Chandrasekar  K.
- Published: 2026-10-19T02:30:00+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: female labour force participation, india northeast states, union territories, rural urban divide, periodic labour force survey, arunachal pradesh, women workforce, news, politics
## Female labour force participation rises nationally
The Periodic Labour Force Survey 2025 report shows female labour force participation increased since 2019-20. Rural areas saw larger gains, rising from thirty-three percent to forty-five point nine percent.
## Urban gains lag far behind rural growth
Urban female labour force participation rose from twenty-three point three percent to twenty-seven point seven percent between twenty nineteen twenty and twenty twenty-five, a much slower pace than rural areas.
## Arunachal Pradesh leads rural growth
Arunachal Pradesh recorded the highest annual increase in rural female labour force participation at eight point two eight percentage points per year, more than three times the all-India benchmark of two point five eight.
## Rural participation varies sharply by region
The difference between highest and lowest rural growth rates exceeds ten percentage points. Arunachal Pradesh gained eight point two eight points annually while Lakshadweep declined by two point three four points.
## Urban growth concentrated in northeast states
Arunachal Pradesh leads urban growth at five point two four percentage points annually, followed by Meghalaya, Nagaland, Manipur, Chandigarh, A and N Islands, Assam, Tripura and Jammu and Kashmir.
## Union territories show mixed urban results
Puducherry, Ladakh, Delhi and Lakshadweep recorded negative annual growth in urban female labour force participation. The urban range spans five point two four to minus one point three zero percentage points.
## Rural growth outpaces urban by wide margin
The all-India rural annual growth rate is one point seven percentage points higher per year than urban growth. This masks substantial state-level variation hidden within the national average.
## Catch-up patterns vary across regions
States starting from low female labour force participation baselines like Arunachal Pradesh, Assam, Manipur and Tripura recorded above-average growth. Others like Nagaland and Meghalaya sustained high participation with rapid gains.
## Geography of female labour is shifting unevenly
Female labour force participation is increasing across India's northeast and union territories, but gains are highly uneven. The geography of female labour force participation is changing, but not at a uniform pace.

> The geography of female labour-force participation is changing, but not at a uniform pace.
## Key takeaway

Female labour force participation in India's northeast and union territories is rising faster than the national average, but gains vary sharply by region and between rural and urban areas.