Fresh formal job creation stays below 1 million in November: EPF data

Fresh formal job creation remained below one million for the second consecutive month in November, signalling pressure in the employment market, the latest payroll data released on Friday showed.

However, after falling for three consecutive months, fresh formal job creation rose 17 per cent sequentially in November, aided by the low base in October.

The number of new monthly subscribers under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) scheme increased to 899,332 in November from 768,643 in October.

October had seen the lowest monthly enrolment since May 2021, when only 649,618 new subscribers were added.

Earlier in FY23, the number of monthly new subscribers had remained above one million for six consecutive months (April-September), touching a high of 1,159,350 in July.

Net payroll addition, which is calculated taking into account the number of new subscribers, the number of exits, and the return of old subscribers, increased by 45.9 per cent to 1,625,711 in November from 1,114,250 in October.

However, the net monthly payroll numbers are provisional in nature and often revised sharply the following month. That is why the new EPF subscriber figure has greater certitude than net additions.

Of the new EPF subscribers added in November, 509,018 are in the 18-25 age group, up by 16.5 per cent from 436,624 in October.

This is crucial because subscribers in the 18-25 age group are usually first-timers in the labour market, and this metric reflects its robustness.

Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder, TeamLease Services, said the marginal increase in employment in November was due to firms rationalising human resources, following the long festive demand in October.

“Firms are unlikely to retain a large workforce for the rest of the financial year. It is only in the next financial year that they might again see an increase in their workforce,” she added.

According to the data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which conducts its own surveys, India continued to fare poorly in jobs in November, and the unemployment rate (UR) rose to 8.03 per cent in November from 7.8 per cent in October and 6.4 per cent in September, due to a massive spike in urban joblessness.

“Urban India saw a substantial increase in people seeking jobs in November. Urban unemployed increased from 9.9 million in October to 12.7 million, an increase of nearly 2.8 million. This led to urban unemployment rising to 9 per cent in November from 7.2 per cent in October,” the CMIE said in a statement.  

The monthly data release is part of the government’s effort to track formal-sector employment by using payrolls as an instrument.

Since April 2018, the National Statistical Office has been bringing out employment-related statistics in the formal sector, covering the period September 2017 onwards, using information on the number of subscribers under three major schemes, namely the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, Employees’ State Insurance Scheme (ESIC), and the National Pension System (NPS).