Tamil Nadu has long been counted among the states where more urban women work. The labour force survey’s quarterly numbers show that lead shrinking fast as the rest of India catches up, with Tamil Nadu’s own rate edging down.
The numbers
In October-December 2022, 27.4% of urban women aged 15 and above in Tamil Nadu were in the labour force, working or looking for work, against 22.3% across urban India. By October-December 2023, the Periodic Labour Force Survey quarterly bulletin put Tamil Nadu at 26.0% and India at 25.0%. A lead of 5.1 percentage points had fallen to 1.0 in four quarters.
Both movements matter. India’s urban women joined the labour force quickly in that year, while Tamil Nadu’s rate slipped by 1.4 points. Among the larger southern and western states, Karnataka (30.2%) and Kerala (28.8%) were above Tamil Nadu by the end of 2023, and Maharashtra (26.8%) and Gujarat (26.5%) were level or slightly ahead.
What the survey measures
The Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS) of the National Statistics Office uses two lenses. The quarterly urban bulletins use current weekly status (CWS): a person counts as in the labour force if she worked, or sought work, for at least one hour in the reference week. The annual reports use usual status: the main activity over the previous 365 days, plus any subsidiary work of 30 days or more. Usual status gives higher female rates because it captures occasional work.
The labour force participation rate (LFPR) counts everyone working or seeking work. The worker population ratio (WPR) counts only those employed. The gap between the two is the unemployed.
Sample size matters for state estimates. Under the new design, the 2025 annual survey covered 2,70,472 households and 11,48,634 people across 12,441 villages and 10,153 urban blocks, about 2.65 times the earlier sample. The quarterly urban estimates in the table below come from the smaller pre-2025 design, so movements of a point or so in a single state should be read with care. For 2025, the national urban female unemployment rate on usual status was 6.4%, against 4.2% for urban men.
Tamil Nadu against India, quarter by quarter
| Quarter | TN female LFPR | India female LFPR | TN female WPR | India female WPR |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct-Dec 2022 | 27.4 | 22.3 | 25.6 | 20.2 |
| Jan-Mar 2023 | 26.9 | 22.7 | 25.0 | 20.6 |
| Apr-Jun 2023 | 26.7 | 23.2 | 24.3 | 21.1 |
| Jul-Sep 2023 | 25.8 | 24.0 | 23.6 | 21.9 |
| Oct-Dec 2023 | 26.0 | 25.0 | 23.7 | 22.9 |
Source: NSO, MoSPI, PLFS Quarterly Bulletin October-December 2023, Tables 2 and 3 (urban, age 15+, current weekly status, %)
Tamil Nadu’s female WPR fell 1.9 points over the year, from 25.6% to 23.7%, more than its LFPR, which implies more urban women seeking work without finding it. By subtraction, about 2.3 of every 26 women in Tamil Nadu’s urban labour force were unemployed at the end of 2023, an unemployment rate of roughly 9% by this rough method. For urban India the bulletin’s female unemployment rate was 8.6%.
Urban men’s and women’s labour force participation in Tamil Nadu in October-December 2023, a gap of 46 points (PLFS Quarterly Bulletin, Table 2).
The national rise in context
| Year (July-June) | Rural | Urban | Rural + urban |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2017-18 | 24.6 | 20.4 | 23.3 |
| 2019-20 | 33.0 | 23.3 | 30.0 |
| 2021-22 | 36.6 | 23.8 | 32.8 |
| 2022-23 | 41.5 | 25.4 | 37.0 |
| 2023-24 | 47.6 | 28.0 | 41.7 |
Source: PIB/MoSPI, PLFS Annual Report July 2023-June 2024 release, 23 September 2024 (female LFPR, age 15+, usual status, %)
Nationally, female participation on usual status has climbed every year since 2017-18, to 41.7% in 2023-24, but the annual report release shows most of it was rural: rural women’s LFPR nearly doubled while urban women’s rose from 20.4% to 28.0%. The labour ministry’s February 2024 reply to the Rajya Sabha used the same series to describe rising women’s participation. Much of the rural increase is self-employment; the full 2023-24 annual report shows 73.5% of rural women workers self-employed, against 42.3% of urban women workers, of whom 49.4% held regular wage or salaried jobs.
That last figure is why urban participation matters for Chennai. City women who work are more often in salaried jobs, the kind that factories in Sriperumbudur, offices on OMR and hospitals across the city offer. A flat or falling urban rate suggests those jobs are not drawing in women as fast as elsewhere.
It’s often said women in Tamil Nadu’s cities work at far higher rates than in the rest of urban India.
The record shows At the end of 2022 the lead was 5.1 points. By October-December 2023 it was 1.0 point, and Karnataka and Kerala had higher urban female participation than Tamil Nadu.
A break in the series from 2025
From January 2025 the PLFS changed its design, with a sample about 2.65 times larger and a calendar-year reference period. The first annual report under the new design, released on 27 March 2026, put all-India female LFPR at 40.0% for 2025 (rural 45.9%), and warned that estimates may not be strictly comparable with earlier reports. State tables under the new design were not available on pages reachable for this article, so the Tamil Nadu trend above stops at the end of 2023.
Not only a women’s story
The same bulletin shows Tamil Nadu’s urban men slipping too, from 73.4% to 72.2% participation, while urban India’s men rose from 73.3% to 74.1%. For all urban adults, Tamil Nadu’s participation fell from 50.3% to 48.4% and India’s rose from 48.2% to 49.9%, so by the end of 2023 urban India as a whole had overtaken Tamil Nadu. The worker population ratio for all urban adults followed: Tamil Nadu 46.9% to 45.1%, India 44.7% to 46.6%.
That broadens the explanation. A fall that affects both men and women points to something in the urban labour market or in who lives in the state’s towns, such as an ageing population with more retirees, rather than only to barriers specific to women. The bulletin does not test causes, and five quarters is a short window, so these readings are hypotheses.
What this means for you
- Compare like with like: quarterly urban figures use weekly status and run lower than annual usual-status figures.
- For Chennai, the urban series is the relevant one; rural gains drive most of India’s headline rise.
- Falling WPR alongside steady LFPR means more women looking for work, not fewer wanting it.
- The 2025 survey redesign means new figures should not be read as a continuation of the old series without caution.
What to watch
Pending
State-wise tables of the PLFS Annual Report 2025, which will give Tamil Nadu’s female participation under the new design.
Quarterly
The next PLFS quarterly bulletins under the new design, which will show whether Tamil Nadu’s urban rate has recovered.
Checked against official sources on 23 October 2026. Figures and rules change; confirm on the linked official pages before relying on them.
Sources
- Quarterly Bulletin, Periodic Labour Force Survey, October-December 2023 (NSO, MoSPI; hosted by Directorate General of Employment)
- Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report July 2023-June 2024, 23.09.2024 (PIB, MoSPI)
- Periodic Labour Force Survey Annual Report 2025, 27.03.2026 (PIB, MoSPI)
- Participation of women in workforce, Rajya Sabha reply, 08.02.2024 (Ministry of Labour and Employment)
- Annual Report, Periodic Labour Force Survey, July 2023-June 2024 (NSO, MoSPI)
