Meghalaya's lofty female LPR

Meghalaya and Tripura top in terms of the labour participation rate and the employment rate. At over 60%, Meghalaya has the highest LPR

CMIE’s Consumer Pyramids Household Survey has limited reach in the north-eastern states. The survey is administered in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and also Sikkim. But, CMIE is unable to establish CPHS any further east, to the border states of Arunachal Pradesh, Nagaland, Manipur and Mizoram. This is unfortunate, but CMIE continues its efforts to extend the survey into these states.

But, with the available data it is apparent that the north-eastern states have a remarkable record on labour. Meghalaya and Tripura top in terms of the labour participation rate (LPR) and the employment rate (ER). At over 60 per cent, Meghalaya has the highest LPR. It also has the highest ER, which is also around 60 per cent. The unemployment is low at around 2 per cent. Tripura’s LPR is second to only Meghalaya but it is substantially lower at about 52 per cent. Its ER is even lower at about 45 per cent and its unemployment rate is rather high at about 14 per cent. Even Assam has a decent set of labour statistics. Its LPR is 48 per cent; its unemployment rate has risen in recent times to 7-9 per cent but its ER is decent at nearly 44 per cent.

The enviable labour markets statistics of these north-eastern states is best gauged when compared with the all-India averages – LPR of less than 40 per cent; ER of around 37 per cent and; unemployment rate of around 7-8 per cent. This can also be seen in the official statistical system.

According to the Periodic Labour Force Survey of 2020-21, the ER in Meghalaya was 62 per cent and that in Tripura was 54 per cent. These are higher than the CPHS estimates but even the PLFS show these states to have above-average labour parameters. Also, according to the PLFS, the north-eastern states not included in the CPHS have an ER ratio that is worse than in Meghalaya and Tripura. The two states – Meghalaya and Tripura therefore seem to stand out in terms of labour statistics.

Both, Meghalaya and Tripura border with Bangladesh, which also has decent labour statistics. Assam shares a slender border with Bangladesh and with Bhutan. The other north-eastern states border with Nepal, Bhutan, China and Myanmar. All of them are land-locked.

Meghalaya stands out in many ways. It is wet and mountainous. Meghalaya literally means an abode in the clouds. Cherrapunji, the wettest place on earth is located in Meghalaya. According to Wikipedia, the state is populated largely by people classified as tribals and about 75 per cent are practicing Christians. Interestingly, the state follows a matrilineal system where the lineage and inheritance are traced through the woman. The youngest daughter inherits all wealth and she also takes care of her parents.

This matrilineal system is most likely the reason why the state has, by far, the highest female labour participation rate in India. During May-August 2022, the state had a female LPR of 49.5 per cent. This is higher than even Bangladesh’s 36 per cent. The second Indian state by ranking of female LPR is Telangana with a distant 27.1 per cent.

A standard explanation of the high female LPR is that poor states cannot afford to remain unemployed. Meghalaya has a relatively low per capita gross state domestic product. At Rs.69,133 in 2021-22, it was barely two-thirds of the national average of Rs.107,670. But, its per capita GSDP was significantly higher than that of Bihar (Rs.34,465), Uttar Pradesh (Rs.47,857) and Jharkhand (Rs.61,095) who had significantly lower LPR at 3.05 per cent, 2.18 per cent and 2.09 per cent, respectively. Meghalaya’s lower per capita income does not explain its high female LPR. 

Meghalaya’s economy is agrarian but not more agrarian than that of many other states. Less than 29 per cent of the employment in Meghalaya is in agriculture when the all-India average was 36 per cent in May-August 2022. Nearly 21 per cent of the workforce was in real estate and construction. Labour has apparently partly moved out of agriculture and allied activities sometime in the past into construction. 

If it is unlikely to be poverty or the industrial structure of employment that explains the extraordinarily high female LPR in Meghalaya then it is likely that it is its tribal, Christian and matrilineal system that enables it. 

But, its double-engine of both genders participating well in the labour markets has probably not delivered. Meghalaya has the lowest per capita GSDP among the north-eastern states. Manipur could be lower but, its data for 2021-22 are not available. Possibly the mountainous terrain poses a challenge for investments. But, the willingness of the state’s women to seek employment is encouraging.

Tripura comprises largely of migrant Bangla-speaking Hindu people. The literacy rate is among the highest in India. 

Tripura’s female LPR, at 23.8 per cent, ranks third after Meghalaya and Telangana. This state is neither tribal nor Christian, nor matrilineal. It is highly literate but so is Kerala with a very low female LPR. Perhaps, it is the culture associated with migrants that explains the high LPR. 

The causes leading to high female LPR is best left to academics. But, what is worth noting is that these states of the north-east have an extraordinarily high female LPR. High female literacy and high literacy can be expected to deliver better per capita GSDP than is delivered today. Perhaps, investments into appropriately labour intensive industries in the region could yield better results than in those states where women are far more reluctant to work.