Out of every 1,000 women in rural areas, just 279 are employed, but the proportion is lower for cities, with only 175 in the labour force, according to the Labour Ministry’s Report on Employment and Unemployment Survey 2011-12.
More males are employed in rural areas than in urban India. While 760 out of every 1,000 males in rural India was part of the labour force, only 719 urban males had a job.
Himachal tops
Across India, only 515 people per 1,000 members of the population were engaged in labour activities, the report shows. In the case of males, 749 per 1,000 members of the population was part of the labour force, but for women it is an abysmal 252.
The data show that involvement in labour activities was highest in Himachal Pradesh, with a ratio of 638 workers per 1,000 people, followed by Sikkim (637) and Dadra and Nagar Haveli (624).
Male participation in labour activities was highest in Dadra and Nagar Haveli (857 per 1,000 people), followed by Tripura (827) and Gujarat (788). Participation of women was greatest in Sikkim (508 per 1,000 people), Himachal Pradesh (503) and Andhra Pradesh (454).
Self-employed
An examination of occupational distribution among Indian households shows that out of every 1,000 households, 396 were self-employed in agricultural activities and 113 in non-agricultural businesses.
There were 111 regular wage/salary workers per 1,000 households, while 207 out of every 1,000 households derived their income from agricultural labour.
Another 125 out of every 1,000 households was involved in “other labour” activities, according to the report.
The proportion of regular wage/salary workers was highest in Goa (542 per 1,000 households), Delhi (501) and Chandigarh (498). But farming was a more important occupation in Arunachal Pradesh (646 per 1,000 people), Mizoram (580) and Nagaland (571).