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Missing labour force: An explanation

Article  in  Economic and Political Weekly · September 2012

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SPECIAL ARTICLE

Missing Labour Force


An Explanation

Indira Hirway

T
Trends in employment and unemployment in India, as rends in employment and unemployment in India, as
presented by the quinquennial surveys of the National presented by the quinquennial surveys of the National
Sample Survey Office (NSSO) for the past decades, have
Sample Survey Office for the past decades, have raised
raised a big debate. This is because these trends, particularly
many questions for which there are no easy answers. after the results of the 2009-10 survey (NSSO 2010), have raised
This paper attempts to address some missing links. With many questions for which there are no easy answers. Several
the help of time use statistics, it argues that the missing scholars have thrown useful light on the trends by providing
answers to the questions (Kannan and Raveendran 2012;
labour force does not imply withdrawal of women (and
Rangarajan et al 2011; Himanshu 2011; Chandrasekhar and
maybe some men) from the labour market. A large part Ghosh 2011; Choudhry 2011; Anant and Mehta 2011; EPW 2011);
of the missing labour is missing only from the NSSO data however there are still some missing links.
but is very much there in the labour force – though a This paper attempts to address these missing links. The
paper is divided into two sections: Section 1 presents the
small part may be due to withdrawal. It appears
different aspects of the ongoing debate, while Section 2
“missing” because of the inability of the NSSO surveys to attempts to answer some questions related to the missing
capture it adequately. This “non-missing labour force” workforce and labour force.
has important implications for the employment and
1 The Debate
labour policy in the country. The paper also argues that
The major questions arising from the trends in employment
time use statistics has the potential of overcoming some and unemployment are as follows:
weaknesses of the NSSO as well as of adding new • Very low rate of growth of employment: The 2009-10 report
information on the labour force. of the NSSO has reported a very low rate of growth of employ-
ment (0.5% per year) during the period 2004-05 – 2009-10
in spite of 8.6% of growth of gross domestic product (GDP)
during this period.
• Absolute decline in unemployment: In spite of the low rate of
growth of employment and 1.44% per year rate of growth of
population during the period 2004-05 – 2009-10, there has
been an absolute decline in unemployment, from 11.15 million
in 2004-05 to 9.7 million in 2009-10.
• Widely fluctuating workforce in the economy: The rate of
growth of workforce was around 1% per year during 1993-94
– 1999-2000; it rose to 2.85% per year during 1999-2000 –
2004-05; and again crashed to 0.5% per year during 2004-05
– 2009-10. These wide fluctuations appear to be puzzling.
One immediate reaction, particularly after the results of
2009-10, was that the data was not reliable. It was argued that
NSSO statistics are losing their quality because of its fieldworkers,
many of whom are now hired on contract and lack adequate
training and experience required to collect quality data. How-
ever, as pointed by an EPW editorial, the trends called for a
detailed and careful investigation. There is no point in shooting
the messenger because the message is not palatable (EPW 2011).
Indira Hirway (Indira.hirway@cfda.ac.in) is with the Centre Several explanations have emerged gradually to explain the
for Development Alternatives, Ahmedabad.
peculiar behaviour of these data. One set of explanations is that
Economic & Political Weekly EPW SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 vol xlvii no 37 67
SPECIAL ARTICLE

the trends indicate an overall jobless growth. After the results jobs. Women particularly have withdrawn from the labour market
of the 2009-10 survey were out, some scholars described the due to rising incomes to join domestic activities such as weaving,
results as indicating “dramatic crash of employment” (Chan- tailoring, gathering free goods, domestic services, etc. Explaining
drasekhar and Ghosh 2011). It is argued that the highly capital- why this withdrawal has taken place in spite of the drought in
intensive growth of the economy has failed to create adequate 2009-10 (usually distress employment increases during droughts),
employment opportunities in spite of rapid growth of GDP. they argue that agriculture in India has become drought resil-
Himanshu (2011) presents a useful explanation for the ient at least in incomes. Increase in agricultural wages also has
simultaneous existence of low growth of employment and helped this withdrawal of women from the labour market.
declining unemployment as well as for widely fluctuating Though they observe that withdrawal of women needs to be
labour force in the economy. He recommends a long-term anal- investigated further, they see progress in structural transfor-
ysis of the trends in employment and unemployment to get a mation in employment in 2009-10. The decline in the share of
better understanding of the fluctuations in the data. His long- agricultural workforce in the total workforce and the increase
term analysis shows that changes in employment pattern and in the share of workforce in non-agriculture indicates a posi-
workforce structure in the past decade and a half have been tive structural transformation (Lewisian kind of structural
sluggish and do not conform to the standard employment-out- change) of the Indian economy.
put relationship. According to him, large fluctuations after Kannan and Raveendran (2012) however have taken the
1993-94 appear to be a result of the movements in and out of argument of Himanshu further by creating a careful profile of the
labour force of substantial sections of the population, which are “missing” labour force. With the help of the statistics on expan-
vulnerable and informal. Participation in the labour force by sion of education of men and women, they argue that this ex-
these sections is not out of choice, but it is due to poverty. These pansion does not explain adequately the fall in the labour force,
vulnerable sections include women, children and the elderly particularly of women. Of the total decline in the female labour
who move into the labour market during crisis and move out force (28.38 million) during 2004-05 – 2009-10, 83% decline
when conditions are better. The rise and fall of employment cannot be explained by expansion of women’s education. The fact
have followed relatively bad and good periods respectively. that (i) the withdrawal of women from the labour force is more
That is, when the preceding period of an NSSO round has been in rural areas than in urban areas and (ii) the withdrawal is from
relatively good, workers have withdrawn from the labour mar- all age groups (the maximum withdrawal is in the 30-34 age
ket; and when the period has been bad many non-workers have group) indicates that there are other reasons, other than expan-
entered the labour market as a coping strategy and taken up sion of women’s education, responsible for women’s withdrawal.
whatever jobs – including self-employment – were available. They show that there is a significant increase in women
This indicates that productive jobs are not increasing fast engaged in activities “1992” and “1993” in 2009-10. The increase
enough in the economy. As the focus of economic growth is on is of 29.10 million against the withdrawal of 28.14 million during
the organised sector, the unorganised sector is neglected, and a 2004-05 – 2009-10. They therefore conclude that 28.16 million
class of workers is created who are not benefited by growth and women who ought to be in the labour force are compelled to
who move in and out of the labour market. The 2.8% growth of confine themselves in “1992” and “1993” activities, that is,
employment between 1999-2000 and 2004-05 was largely due to within the four walls of their dwellings. They show that an
increase in distress employment, while the crash in employment in overwhelming proportion of women who dropped out of the
2000-10 was due to a decline in distress from the earlier period. labour force are from rural areas, belonging to economically
These trends therefore raise a serious question about the poor households. Only a small portion of upper class women
ability of the economic growth of the Indian economy to offer withdrew due to high incomes. That is, the withdrawal is not
sustained employment to its labour force. just social orthodoxy; it indicates lack of generation of adequate
Some scholars, however, have interpreted the trends as an productive employment in the economy. This also shows that the
indicator of several positive developments in the economy impact of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme
(Rangarajan et al 2011). It is argued by C Rangarajan and his (NREGS) has been limited in the economy including women.
colleagues that the decline in unemployment between 2004-05
and 2009-10 indicates a decline in the labour force and with- Questions about Capability of Growth
drawal of several sections of workers from the labour market. The trends in employment and unemployment in the past dec-
They observe that (i) 44% of the withdrawal is for education ade and a half thus raise a serious question about the capability
(with the expansion of education in the economy); (ii) 31% of of the growth of GDP in the country to create adequate gainful
the withdrawal, mainly of women, is to join domestic activi- employment opportunities for the labour force in the economy.
ties; (iii) 15% is from 0-4 children; and (iv) 10% withdrawal is The target of creating 50 million productive employment
by disabled persons, pensioners and retired persons. opportunities in the economy has turned out to be a big bluff.
They argue that with the implementation of Sarva Shiksha To conclude, the above presentations have thrown very use-
Abhiyan and Right to Education Act, education has expanded ful light on the trends in employment and unemployment in India.
among young children and youths, encouraging them to with- The presentations by Himanshu and by Kannan and Raveendran
draw from the labour market. Also, with the improvement in have particularly explained the puzzling behaviour of work-
wages and income levels, there are not many takers of low paying force/labour force with a convincing database.
68 SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 vol xlvii no 37 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
SPECIAL ARTICLE

However, a few questions arise from the above debate: with their domestic duties. These questions were put up to as-
First, is it feasible that a large chunk of persons move in and certain their level of participation in these specified economic
out of the workforce and labour force so frequently? That is, activities which provide economic benefits to their households.1
do they change their decision to be in and out of the labour Data are also collected on whether such persons are willing to
market so frequently, when the incidence of poverty is accept work on household premises, and if yes, the nature of the
around 40%? Is it feasible that the employment grew at 2.8% work acceptable to them and what type of assistance they need.
rate of growth during 1999-2000 – 2004-05 and in the next These specified activities can be grouped into three broad
five years the rate crashed to 0.5% per year? Or do these categories:
puzzling trends indicate the inability of the NSSO quinquen- • Activities Related to Agricultural Production: These activities
nial surveys to capture the real picture of employment and include maintenance of kitchen garden, orchards, etc; work on
unemployment in the country? household poultry, dairy, etc; free collection of agricultural
Another related question is about the very low workforce products like fish, vegetables, small game as well as firewood,
participation of women in the economy. Is it feasible that 85% of cattle feed for own household.
rural women and 89% of urban women (both above five years) • Processing of Primary Products: This category includes
are not engaged in “economic activities” when the incidence of processing of primary products, such as husking of paddy,
poverty is as high as 40%? That is, is it a reality that only 15% of grinding of foodgrains, preparation of gur, preservation of
women in rural areas and 11% of urban women (above five years) fish, meat, etc, for own consumption.
are participating in economic activities? Many scholars have • Other Activities for Own Consumption: This category
doubted the capability of labour force surveys including NSSO includes other activities for economic benefits of one’s own
surveys to estimate workforce and particularly female labour household, such as making baskets and mats; preparation of
force accurately (Charmes 2004, 2011; Hirway 2002; Hirway cow dung cakes; sewing, tailoring, weaving, etc; free tutoring
and Jose 2011; Jain 2008). The data seem to confirm this doubt. of own/others’ children, bringing water from outside house-
hold premises and outside the village (for rural areas), etc.
2 Exploring Answers The categories two and three are not considered economic
activities in the NSSO employment-unemployment surveys.
‘1992’ and ‘1993’ Categories That is, these categories are not covered under the purview of
Under NSSO surveys, those outside the labour force are classified the Indian SNA (ISNA) though UN-SNA does include them in its
under the categories 91 (attended education institutions); production boundary. Participation in category 1 activities is
92 (attended domestic duties only); 93 (attended domestic observed to be negligible and therefore the persons engaged in
duties and were also engaged in (a) free collection of goods category 1 activities are treated as non-workers.
such as vegetables, roots, firewood, cattle feed, etc, and This treatment of the three categories raises a question: why
(b) sewing, tailoring, weaving, etc); 94 (rentiers, pensioners, are these three categories of activities not included in ISNA
remittances recipients, etc,); 95 (not able to work due to disa- when they are a part and parcel of UN-SNA? The reason given
bility); 97 others (beggars, prostitutes); 98 (did not work due is that the participation in these activities by persons very
to sickness); and 99 (children 0-4). All these categories of per- marginal. This logic is not valid, first, because the follow-up
sons are treated as “non-workers”. questions are asked only to one category of non-workers who
It is important to note that persons engaged in “1993” are are engaged in activities “1992” and “1993”. If, however, other
treated as non-workers in spite of the fact that they are engaged categories of non-workers such as students (91), retired persons,
in economic activities covered under the production boundary pensioners and remittance recipients (94), persons not able to
of the United Nations-System of National Accounts (UN-SNA) work (as principal status) due to disability (95) or beggars
(UN 1993, 2008) because their number is found to be negli- and prostitutes (97) are also asked these questions, they may
gible. The question arises whether those engaged in “1993” are report that they participate in any of the activities of the three
really negligible in number or the employment and unemploy- categories. It is possible that these non-workers do help in
ment surveys of the NSSO are not able to capture their strength their family business or in other unpaid SNA work. Second,
correctly. As it is argued later, according to time use surveys, participation per se is not important, as the time spent on
this number is much bigger. One cannot therefore treat per- these activities is more important. It is necessary therefore to
sons engaged in “1993” as non-workers. As we shall see, it is estimate the participation not only by estimating their number
important to distinguish between non-workers and workers but also the time spent by them on these activities. And, finally,
for the purpose of understanding the labour market and for it is also possible that NSSO is not able to collect realistic data
designing employment policies. on participation of these persons (with domestic duties as
principal status) in the three categories of activities.
Follow-up Questions and Estimation of Workforce The Indian time use survey (GoI 2000), 1998-99, the only
In quinquennial surveys, follow-up questions are asked to those official time use survey conducted so far in India, for example,
who report domestic duties (92 and 93) as their principal usual shows that 6.53% of men and 24.18% of women participate in
status whether they pursued certain specified activities more only one of the unpaid SNA activities, namely, collection of free
or less regularly for their own household consumption along goods such as fetching water, collection of fruits, vegetables,
Economic & Political Weekly EPW SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 vol xlvii no 37 69
SPECIAL ARTICLE

fuelwood/twigs, collection of raw material for crafts, collec- (i) unpaid family work, (ii) free collection of goods of different
tion of fodder, collection of minor forest produce like bamboo, kinds, and (iii) household production for self-consumption.
leaves, etc, and they (participants) spend 10.48 and 9.62 hours The NSSO is not able to capture the first kind adequately though
weekly, respectively. This does not include the other unpaid ISNA includes them in SNA; and though the second and third
SNA activities like unpaid family work or production of goods are a part of UN-SNA (UN 1993, 2008), they are excluded on the
for self-consumption. As Table 1 shows, though participation of ground that the participation in these activities is negligible.
men is less, the participant men spend marginally more time The time use survey data show that neither the participation
on these activities. nor the time spent on these activities is negligible. These must
Table 1: Participation and Time Spent by Men and Women on Collection be treated as SNA activities.
of Free Goods An important implication of this is that a large chunk of the
Male Female Total
labour force does not move in and out of the labour force, but it
Rural Participant rate 8.03 28.2 43.74
moves in and out of the low productivity distress work that
Weekly time spent (hours) 10.99 10.25 10.64
Urban Participant rate 3.12 14.92 8.78
they take up as a coping strategy.
Weekly time spent (hours) 4.42 5.94 5.22 Our explanation also agrees that the high growth in the past
Total Participant rate 6.53 24.18 15.04 two decades has not treated employment well.
Weekly time spent (hours) 9.48 9.62 10.04
Source: GoI (2000). Time Use Survey for Improved Estimates
One can say that the participation as well as time spent by and Better Understanding
men and women on all the three categories put together is It will not be out of place here to mention the major findings of
likely to be significant. It cannot be termed as negligible. our study that compares workforce estimates (current weekly
Ahead we compare the work participation rate (WPR) of men status) under the NSSO (1999-2000) and weekly estimates of
and women under the time use survey and under NSSO. the workforce under time use survey (1998-99) (Hirway and
Jose 2011).2
SNA and Non-SNA Work/Workers The study shows that the WPRs of both men and women in
Why is it important to put these persons engaged in “1993” rural as well as urban areas are higher under the time use sur-
and in the three categories under the workforce or SNA – and vey than under the NSSO. The time use survey-based rates are
not in non-SNA or in “non-worker” category? There are several higher not only with a wider concept of SNA, but also with a
reasons for this: to start with, these workers are offering them- narrow and comparable concept of SNA used under the NSSO.
selves as workers in the labour market and they do not want to The two sets of comparable WPR also show that (i) the gender
be restricted to domestic services or other non-worker status. gaps in WPR are much less under the time use survey; (ii) the
They are not necessarily confined to the four walls of their interstate variations in women’s WPR also are much lower under
home (though some of them do work at home and may be time use surveys; and (iii) the diversification of the workforce
interested in taking up home-based SNA work), as they go out (in terms of percentage of workers in the non-primary sectors)
to collect free goods for their own consumption or for eco- is less under the time use survey than what is presented by the
nomic activities like animal husbandry, craft, etc. Many of NSSO. The last is due to considerable underestimation of the
them are in these activities because they have no choice, no workforce in the primary sector (than in the non-primary sectors)
access to other more productive activities in the economy. under the NSSO (refer to the Appendix on p 72).
These workers cannot be clubbed with those engaged in Our analysis also provides additional information on the
domestic duties, as they have shown their availability in non- characteristics of the workforce: (i) the time spent on work by
domestic activities in the labour market. They need to be cov- workers per day and per week that measures the intensity of
ered under policies pertaining to labour and employment so work; (ii) multiple jobs (more than two, three or even five jobs)
that their labour is used productively in the labour market. performed by different sections of the workforce; and (iii) fi-
Second, when covered under SNA, these low productivity nally, the time use survey data also show that women and chil-
activities – which are frequently drudgery – will be covered dren are predominant in the collection of free goods, animal
under the purview of labour market policies. This work and grazing, and other subsistence work (refer to the Appendix).
workers will claim the attention of policymakers as well as There are several reasons why time use surveys provide
funds from the national exchequer for the improvement of improved information on the workforce. First, time use sur-
their productivity and well-being. This sector, the unpaid veys collect comprehensive information on how people spend
SNA, will be treated as a lagging sector in the economy where their time on different activities without missing any activity.
workers are not able to give their best in the labour market. As a result, the time use survey is able to capture scattered,
Their participation in unpaid SNA implies that they need skill sporadic and irregular informal work in a comprehensive
upgradation and improved quality of participation. manner. This work is likely to be missed out under NSSO sur-
In short, the missing labour force is this labour force in veys. Second, a major advantage of time use surveys over NSSO
informal and subsistence workforce that cannot be captured surveys is that they do not ask any direct question to respond-
by the NSSO surveys. The NSSO concepts and methods are not ents whether they are “workers” or “non-workers”. Whether
able to capture this unpaid SNA work, which consists of an activity is economic or not is determined neither by the
70 SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 vol xlvii no 37 EPW Economic & Political Weekly
SPECIAL ARTICLE

respondent nor by the investigator while collecting the infor- Programme Implementation (MoSPI) to explore the feasibility
mation. This is determined, after collecting comprehensive of conducting an all-India time use survey.4
information on how people spend their time, while coding and
classifying the activities. As a result, the bias of the respondent Concluding Observations
(mainly women) or of the investigator is not likely to affect the One major conclusion is that the missing labour force is not
data adversely. really missing – it is not moving out of the labour market – at
In addition, a time use survey can capture multiple jobs easily. least a majority is not – though a small part may be due to
The NSSO surveys capture one subsidiary activity or maybe two. withdrawal. They move to sectors which are “difficult to meas-
In a time use survey, however, one can capture three, four or ure” by NSSO surveys. That is, this “missing labour force” moves
even five jobs, as all the scattered work is collected comprehen- to low productivity informal work and subsistence work,
sively. This is important for the poor, as they are observed to be within the labour market, as a coping strategy. Their participa-
performing several economic activities to survive.3 Also, the tion and the time spent by them on these activities are not neg-
time use survey captures simultaneous activities, that is, the ligible, if proper methods for data collection are used. This
activities carried out simultaneously. For example, home-based “non-missing labour force” needs to be covered under employ-
work and childcare. Such work is frequently observed in the ment policies, as they are a part of the labour market. They
case of women and particularly poor women. The time use cannot be treated as persons engaged in domestic duties.
survey can capture this work by using a suitable context In fact, the NSSO generally underestimates those workers who
variable, while this work is missed out by the NSSO. are working in scattered, sporadic and irregular informal work,
In short, a time use survey has the potential of overcoming those engaged in self-employment activities for survival, and
some weaknesses of the NSSO on the one hand and of adding those engaged in free collection of goods or in manufacturing
new information on the workforce on the other. It is capable of goods for self-consumption. As a result, the workforce and la-
supplementing and complementing information collected by bour force has been underestimated in the past rounds also.
NSSO surveys. This recent decline clearly indicates worsening of the situation.
The rapid economic growth has failed miserably to create ade-
Recent Developments in India quate employment opportunities in the Indian economy.
Looking at the importance of time use surveys in capturing The paper also argues that time use statistics have the potential
workforce comprehensively, particularly in the informal and of overcoming some weaknesses of the NSSO as well as of add-
subsistence sectors, it is now recognised that such surveys can ing new information on the labour force. Time use surveys are
complement and supplement the employment and unemploy- capable of supplementing and complementing information col-
ment surveys undertaken by the NSSO. An expert group lected by NSSO surveys. The recent first steps taken by the MoSPI
has therefore been set up by the Ministry of Statistics and in promoting time use surveys are therefore most welcome.

Notes Informal Sector Statistics, Park Hotel, Towards Mainstreaming Time Use Surveys in
Connaught Place, New Delhi, 6-8 April 2011. National Statistical System in India, pp 168-87,
1 The term “Economic Activities” is used here
as per the NSSO. It is important however – (2011): “Understanding Informal Sector Ministry of Women and Child Development,
to recognise non-SNA activities of women Employ ment Using Time Use Statistics”, paper Government of India, New Delhi.
also as economic activities, as these activities presented at the International Workshop on Kannan, K P and G Raveendran (2012): “Counting
are also a part of the broader concept of “Towards Harmonisation of Time Use Surveys and Profiling the Missing Labour Force”,
“Economy”. But we do not want to get into this at the Global Level with Special Reference to Economic & Political Weekly, 47(6): 43-59.
debate here. Developing Countries”, Government of India, National Sample Survey Organisation (2000): Em-
UN Women and Centre for Development Alter- ployment and Unemployment in India, July
2 Weekly estimates of WPR under time use
natives, 6-8 April. 1999-June 2000, NSS 55th Round, Ministry of
survey and WPR under “Current Weekly Status”
of NSSO are comparable. See for details Choudhry, S (2011): “Employment in India: What Statistics and Programme Implementation,
Hirway and Jose (2011). Does the Latest Data Show?”, Economic & Poli- Government of India, New Delhi.
tical Weekly, 46(32): 23-26.
3 For example, a rural woman may take care of – (2010): Employment and Unemployment in
milch animals in the morning, collect fuel- Government of India (2000): Report of the Time Use India, July 2009-June 2010, Ministry of Statis-
wood and fodder thereafter, and work as hired Survey, Ministry of Statistics and Programme
tics and Programme Implementation, Govern-
labour on a farm in the afternoon. Implementation, Government of India, New
ment of India, New Delhi.
Delhi.
4 Recently, the MoSPI has appointed an expert com- Rangarajan, C, Padma Iyer Kaul and Seema (2011):
mittee under the chairmanship of S R Hashim Economic & Political Weekly (2011): “Don’t Shoot
“Where Is the Missing Labour Force?”, Econom-
to conduct an all-India time use survey. the Messenger”, Editorial, Economic & Political
Weekly, 46(28). ic & Political Weekly, XLVII(39): 68-72.
Himanshu (2011): “Employment Trends in India: A Saha, Vaskar (2003): “Estimation of Workforce
Re-examination”, Economic & Political Weekly, Using Time Use Statistics” in Proceedings of the
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Economic & Political Weekly EPW SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 vol xlvii no 37 71
SPECIAL ARTICLE

Appendix
Based on Our Analysis of Time Use Survey Based (1998-99) and NSSO Based (1999-2000) Statistics on Workforce and Labour Force
Table 1: Estimated WPR from NSSO and Time Use Survey (with comparable concepts of ‘work’)
States NSSO 1999-2000 TUS 1998-99 NSSO 1999-2000 TUS 1998-99
Rural Rural Urban Urban
Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female Person Male Female Person
Haryana 46.2 17.7 32.8 58.7 61.47 59.9 50.2 10.0 31.3 54.5 39.08 47.6
Madhya Pradesh 51.2 30.7 41.3 61.8 54.92 58.6 47.3 12.1 30.5 57.5 30.68 44.9
Gujarat 57.1 35.5 46.4 63.4 58.48 61.1 52.9 12.5 33.6 56.9 25.78 42.3
Orissa 52.7 23.3 37.9 61.7 58.34 60.0 45.7 11.6 29.3 58.4 30.97 45.8
Tamil Nadu 56.6 38.1 47.4 68.4 60.62 64.5 55.2 20.1 38.1 63.8 34.21 48.9
Meghalaya 55.6 42.0 48.7 58.6 59.35 58.9 39.3 19.7 29.7 53.8 35.06 43.8
Combined states 51.0 25.3 38.4 63.3 58.2 60.8 50.9 12.8 32.7 59.3 30.89 45.67
Sources: NSSO (2000), Saha (2003).

Table 2: Gender Gap in WPRs in India under Time Use Survey and NSSO
States TUS 1998-99 NSSO 1999-2000* Census 2001
Male Female Gap Male Female Gap Male Female Gap
Haryana 57.98 57.59 0.39 47.19 15.8 31.39 50.49 27.31 23.18
Meghalaya 57.77 55.05 2.72 52.57 37.85 14.72 47.76 35.02 12.74
Orissa 61.02 53.68 7.34 51.76 21.73 30.03 52.75 24.62 28.13
Tamil Nadu 66.76 51.04 15.72 56.12 31.95 24.17 58.06 31.32 26.74
Madhya Pradesh 60.99 50.26 10.73 50.3 26.39 23.91 51.62 33.1 18.52
Gujarat 60.96 46.55 14.41 55.65 27.57 28.08 55.02 28.03 26.99
Combined states/all India 62.16 50.75 11.41 50.97 22.09 28.88 51.93 25.68 26.25
Coeff of variation 0.07 0.11 0.09 0.41 0.1 0.21
Source: Hirway and Jose (2011), based on time use survey (1998-99), NSSO (1999-2000) and Census of Population (2001).

Table 3: Percentage Distributions of Workers under Time Use Survey Figure 2: NSSO and Time Use Survey Based WPRs by Age Groups: Female
(1998-99) and NSSO (1999-2000) by Industrial Categories 100
Industrial Category Time Use Survey (1998-99) NSSO (1999-2000) TUS
Men Women Person Men Women Person 80
Primary 56.13 77.45 66.00 47.00 70.00 53.80
60
Secondary 15.11 9.97 12.00 20.20 13.50 18.40
Territory 28.75 12.59 22.00 32.80 16.50 27.80 NSSO
40
Source: Hirway and Jose (2011) based on time use survey (1998-99) and NSSO (1999-2000).
20
Table 4: Number of SNA Activities Performed by Men and Women (Time Use
Survey 1998-99) 0
5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60 and
States Men Women
above
1 2 3-5 >5 1 2 3-5 >5 Source: Hirway and Jose (2011), based on time use survey (1998-99) and NSSO (1999-2000).
Haryana 10.78 45.69 38.55 4.99 17.97 19.3 42.51 20.22
Madhya Pradesh 8.94 40.34 45.7 5.02 25.66 37.09 34.53 2.72 Figure 3: NSSO and Time Use Survey Based WPRs by Age Groups: Male + Female
Gujarat 13.59 55.03 28.73 2.66 23.58 29.4 39.74 7.28 100 TUS
Orissa 26.59 45 27.6 0.81 32.81 34.42 32.18 0.6
80
Tamil Nadu 17.27 56.13 24.77 1.83 36.76 34.25 27.59 1.4
Meghalaya 8.5 25.82 61.27 4.41 23.05 28.93 43.47 4.55 60
Combined 15.17 49 32.89 2.94 28.85 30.71 35.06 5.37 NSSO
Sources: Hirway and Jose (2011), based on time use survey (1998-99). 40

20
Figure 1: NSSO and Time Use Survey Based WPRs by Age Groups: Male
120 0
TUS 5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60 and
100 above
Source: Hirway and Jose (2011), based on time use survey (1998-99) and NSSO (1999-2000).
80

60
NSSO
40

20
available at
0
Uniquality
5-9 10-14 15-19 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60 and 83, Janapath, Bapujee Bazar
above Bhubaneshwar 751 009, Orissa
Source: Hirway and Jose (2011), based on time use survey (1998-99), GoI (2000) and NSSO
(1999-2000), NSSO (2000). Ph: 2530064, 2530024

72 SEPTEMBER 15, 2012 vol xlvii no 37 EPW Economic & Political Weekly

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