New Delhi: The number of formal sector workers registered under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) saw a remarkable surge in April, reaching its highest level this year and signalling a growing number of first-time workers in the organized sector.
Provisional payroll data of EPFO released on Tuesday showed the organization added 1.72 million net subscribers in April as compared to 1.34 million in March, the labour ministry said.This substantial rise in EPFO registrations directly correlates with the growth in job opportunities within the formal sector, highlighting the positive trajectory of India’s employment landscape.
According to the statement, a month-on-month comparison of payroll data shows an increase of 380,000 net subscribers in April over the figure recorded in March.
Of the 1.72 million subscribers added in the April, around 847,000 new members have come under the social security cover of Employees‘ Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1952, for the first time.
“The age-group of 18-25 years constitutes 54.15% of total new members added during the month. The age-group of 18-25 years indicates that majority of the members joining organized sector workforce of the country are mostly first-time job seekers,” the ministry of labour & employment said.
About 1.25 million net subscribers exited and re-joined establishments covered under the EPFO, by changing their jobs within the establishments, and opted to retain membership under the scheme through the transfer of funds rather than going for the final withdrawal of their PF accumulations.As compared to the previous month, the number of exits decreased by 11.67% with 377,000 exits in April. A year-on-year comparison also shows that exits have registered a decline in April, the statement said.A gender analysis showed that net enrolment of women was 348,0000 in April, compared to 257,000 in March. Of the 847,000 new members added during the month, around 225,000 are women.
Female members have constituted about 26.61% of all new enrollments during the month indicating the highest female participation in the last six months among the new members.
A pan-India analysis of payroll shows that month-on-month growing trend in net member addition is reflected in most of the states, it stated.
Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Delhi were the top five states contributing around 59.20% of net member addition during the month.
Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data shows a significant growth in manufacturing & IT related sectors, it stated.
Among the top 10 industries, the highest growth has been witnessed in the establishments engaged in manufacturing, marketing-servicing, and usage of computers.
This was followed by electrical, mechanical or general engineering products and trading-commercial establishments.
Other major industries witnessing growing trend include garment making, textiles, building & construction and expert services, it stated.
The above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee records is a continuous process.
The previous data hence gets updated every month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period from September 2017 onwards.
In monthly payroll data, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time through Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members exiting from coverage of EPFO and those who exited but re-joining as members, is taken to arrive at net monthly payroll.
The EPFO is country’s principal organization responsible for providing social security benefits to the organized/semi-organized sector workforce covered under the statute of EPF & MP Act, 1952.
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Updated: 21 Jun 2023, 12:53 AM IST