India's female Labour Force Participation Rate (LFPR) has recorded a landmark rise, with 57.8 per cent of the country's districts reporting a female LFPR of 40 per cent or more, according to the first-ever district-wise employment data released by the National Statistics Office (NSO) on 18 September 2026. The findings, drawn from a survey of 100 districts across India, offer the most granular picture yet of where women are entering — and where they remain absent from — the formal and informal labour market.

Top Districts by Female Workforce Participation

Surat in Gujarat leads the country, recording both the highest LFPR at 68.6 per cent and the highest Worker Population Ratio (WPR) at 67.8 per cent among all 100 surveyed districts. Araria in Bihar ranked second on both metrics — LFPR at 68 per cent and WPR at 67.4 per cent — a surprising finding given Bihar's historically low development indicators. Salem in Tamil Nadu came third on LFPR at 67.8 per cent, while Banaskantha in Gujarat placed third on WPR at 66.6 per cent.

At the other end of the spectrum, Darbhanga in Bihar recorded the lowest labour force participation metrics in the survey — underscoring the stark intra-state divide even within Bihar, where Araria placed near the top.

State Capitals Leading Employment Indicators

Among state capital districts, Shimla in Himachal Pradesh reported the highest LFPR and WPR at 70 per cent and 65.1 per cent respectively for the age group of 15 years and above. Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala followed with 64.4 per cent LFPR and 63.2 per cent WPR, and Raipur in Chhattisgarh came third at 61.5 per cent and 59.4 per cent respectively.

On unemployment, Thiruvananthapuram and Kolkata in West Bengal each posted the lowest unemployment rates among capital districts at 1.9 per cent, followed by Bengaluru (Urban) in Karnataka at 2.5 per cent.

Lowest Unemployment and NEET Rates

Across all surveyed districts, South 24 Parganas in West Bengal and Araria in Bihar recorded the lowest unemployment rates at 0.9 per cent each, with Ahmedabad in Gujarat close behind at 1.1 per cent.

On youth disengagement, the NSO report also tracked NEET (Not in Education, Employment, or Training) rates for those aged 15–29 years. Ernakulam in Kerala posted the lowest NEET rate at 9.6 per cent, followed by Coimbatore in Tamil Nadu at 14.5 per cent and Bengaluru (Urban) at 15 per cent. Notably, Srinagar in Jammu and Kashmir also reported a low NEET rate of 14.3 per cent — a figure that points to relatively strong youth engagement in the region.

Why This Data Matters

This is the first time India's NSO has published district-level employment and participation data, filling a long-standing gap in labour market intelligence. National-level LFPR figures have historically masked wide regional variation; this dataset now makes it possible to target policy interventions — from skilling programmes to childcare infrastructure — at the district level. The strong showing of districts in traditionally lower-income states such as Bihar and Chhattisgarh challenges conventional assumptions about where women's workforce integration is actually occurring. Policymakers, researchers, and state governments are expected to use this data as a baseline for gender-specific employment schemes going forward.