In a robust display of employment trends, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) added 15.48 lakh net members in February 2024, according to the latest provisional payroll data released on April 20, 2024. Dominated by the youth in the 18-25 age group, these figures reflect a significant influx of first-time job seekers into the organized sector.
New Delhi, 21st April 2024. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO’s) provisional payroll data released on 20th April 2024 highlights that EPFO has added 15.48 lakh net members in February 2024.
The data indicates that around 7.78 lakh new members have been enrolled during February 2024. 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.
A press release from the Ministry of Labor & Employment of the Government of India states that the payroll data highlights 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.
New female members in EPFO Records
Gender-wise analysis of payroll data unveils that out of 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.
Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the industries viz. establishments engaged in the manufacture, marketing servicing & usage of computers, companies/societies/assc/clubs/troupes for performances, road motor transport, automobile servicing, Textiles etc. Of the total net membership, around 41.53% addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).
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 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.
