Behind the Paper

Underutilised female youth labour force in India

Despite increasing enrollments and educational achievements among Indian women, there remains a large segment who are not actively participating in the labour force. While the reasons are well-known, it is crucial to acknowledge the magnitude of this issue, especially concerning female youth.
Published in Economics
Go to the profile of Rajshree Bedamatta
Rajshree Bedamatta
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati
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India’s Missing Female Youth Labour Force: Size, Characteristics and Policy Concern - The Indian Journal of Labour Economics

In the 21st International Conference of Labour Statisticians (ICLS) convened in October 2023, an amendment to the 19th ICLS resolution of 2013 on labour underutilisation statistics was ratified. It introduces refined measures for assessing labour underutilisation, providing nations with updated guidelines for integrating these measures into their statistical frameworks. Notably, it introduces the concept of the potential labour force, which includes individuals not currently employed, who might be disinclined or unable to seek employment due to various constraints. In our study, we specifically address this segment within the Indian female youth population, referring to them as the “missing labour force”. Utilising India’s official national datasets—the Employment-Unemployment Survey for 2011–12 and the Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) from 2017–18 to 2022–23—we calculate the absolute size of the female youth population comprising the missing (or potential) labour force between 2011–12 and 2022–23. Our analysis delineates the magnitude of this issue, presenting both national and regional dimensions. In 2022–23, approximately 114.6 million females aged 15 to 35, were missing from the labour market, accounting for 48% of the total female youth population in India. Acknowledging the current challenges in the labour market, particularly the high rates of informality and unemployment among female youth, this paper proposes strategic interventions and policy recommendations aimed at integration of the missing female youth labour force into employment sectors.

Economic discussions surrounding women's labour force unemployment have intensified in recent years, identifying both supply-side and demand-side factors. While the levels and rates of unemployment deserve policy attention due to their depressing impact on overall economic growth, equal emphasis must also be placed on those who are out of the labour force. Further, the scale of the problem with respect to those out of labour force deserves special policy attention. In 2022-23, 48% of India's female population within the working-age group were absent from the labour force. Another perspective on these women is to view them as underutilized labour and untapped potential within the labour force.

In 2023, the International Conference of Labour Statisticians of the ILO ratified a resolution providing measures of labour underutilisation. The category "potential labour force" deserves special attention. They maybe "unavailable job seekers" (who have permanently left the job market for various reasons) or "available potential job seekers" (who are discouraged and hence not currently looking for work). In our recent paper (Bedamatta, R., Bordoloi, M. India’s Missing Female Youth Labour Force: Size, Characteristics and Policy Concern. Ind. J. Labour Econ. (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41027-024-00493-6) we estimate the size of this labour force among females and conceptualise them as the "missing female labour force".

We used nationally representative large-scale data from the National Statistical Office (NSO), Government of India. The international definition of youth is individuals aged 15 to 29 years. Contextualizing Indian workforce conditions, we considered female youth as those aged 15 to 35 years. At the beginning of the decade, in 2011-12, 52.6% of female youth were absent from the labour market. This percentage has decreased by 4 percentage points to around 48% in 2022-23. However, this still represents nearly half of the female youth population. Who are these women? They are not studying, not facing any kind of disability or challenges, not receiving earnings from remittances or rent etc. In the labour surveys, they identify themselves as engaged in domestic duties with or without being involved in various unpaid activities. The 48% figure is alarming given India's youthful demographic profile, which includes a significant reproductive-age and dependent population. The ILO has also conceptualised the concept of NEET (Not in Education, Employment and Training). The NEET includes those who are unemployed, or disabled and receive earnings in the form of remittances, rent etc. However, the potential labour force or missing labour force does not include the NEET population.

In the recent paper cited above, we discuss many major concerns and offer some policy direction. We invite scholars and practitioners to read the paper and engage with us in a discussion.

The full paper can be found here: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s41027-024-00493-6

Go to the profile of Rajshree Bedamatta
Rajshree Bedamatta (She/Her)
Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Guwahati

I am a Development Economist. I work on issues surrounding employment, food and health. My recent works are on female labour force participation in India, health workforce, food sovereignty and contract farming.

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Labor and Population Economics
Humanities and Social Sciences > Economics > Labor and Population Economics
Unemployment
Humanities and Social Sciences > Economics > Labor and Population Economics > Labor Economics > Unemployment
Development Economics
Humanities and Social Sciences > Economics > Economic Development, Innovation and Growth > Development Economics

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