The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) provisional payroll data showed that the social security body added 15.48 lakh net members in February this year. The data indicated that around 7.78 lakh new members have been enrolled in the month.
“A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 56.36% of the total new members added in February 2024 indicating the majority of individuals joining the organized workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers,” EPFO said in a statement.
The payroll data highlighted that approximately 11.78 lakh members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO. “These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under the ambit of EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, safeguarding long-term financial well-being and extending their social security protection,” the statement further said.
Gender-wise analysis of payroll data showed that of the 7.78 lakh new members, around 2.05 lakh are new female members. Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 3.08 lakh. The female member addition is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
The industry-wise data showed growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the industries such as manufacture, marketing servicing & usage of computers, companies/societies/assc/clubs/troupes for performances, road motor transport, automobile servicing, textiles etc.
EPFO is one of the world’s largest social security organisations in terms of clientele and the volume of financial transactions undertaken.
EPFO registered over 19 per cent growth year-on-year to 1.65 crore members in 2023-24, as per the latest payroll data, showing improvement in the employment situation in the country.
“In last 6 and half years alone, more than 6.1 crore members joined the EPFO (Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation) fold, indicating formalisation of the job market,” a labour ministry official told news agency PTI.
The data shows that the EPFO had added 61.12 lakh net subscribers in 2018-19, which increased to 78.58 lakh in 2019-20.
However, it dipped to 77.08 lakh in 2020-21, mainly due to the pandemic effect and improved again to 1.22 crore in 2021-22 and 1.38 crore in 2022-23.
The net addition in EPFO subscriptions is an indicator of the extent of formalisation of the job market, and the coverage of social security benefits to the organised/ semi-organised sector workforce, the official added.
