Larger women workforce in North Eastern region

Shillong, May 4 (UNI) North Eastern States of the country have the highest percentage of working women in rural and urban areas, according to a survey conducted by the National Sample Survey Organisation.

While Nagaland had the highest percentage of working women in rural areas at 50.4 per cent, Mizoram had the largest percentage of women workers in urban areas, it stated.

The percentage of women workers in rural areas has increased from 29.9 per cent in 1999-2000 to 32.7 per cent in 2004-05 in the country. In the case of urban women, the percentage of women employed in jobs went up by just 2.7 per cent, up from 13.9 per cent in 1999-2000 to 16.6 per cent in 2004-05.

The study said that a greater percentage of rural women are employed compared to their urban counterparts even as the number of women workers in the country has shown an increase of about three per cent.

UNI