Formal job creation hits 10-month high with 985K new subscribers: EPFO data

Surge in young and female subscribers signals recovery in labour market

The number of fresh formal jobs created in a month increased to a ten-month high in May, signalling a recovery in the formal labour market in the country, according to the latest monthly payroll data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Saturday.

In May, the number of new monthly subscribers under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) sequentially increased by nearly 11 per cent to 985,000 from 887,000 in April, the data showed.

Earlier, in July 2023, 1.09 million fresh formal employees had joined the EPF. The EPFO data is considered crucial as only the formal workforce enjoys social security benefits and is protected by labour laws.

 

Of the total 985,000 new EPF subscribers in May, the share of young people belonging to the 18-25 age group stood at 58.4 per cent (575,000). This is crucial because subscribers in this age group are usually first-timers in the labour market, thus reflecting its robustness. Besides, the share of women among the total new subscribers stood at 25.1 per cent (248,000) during the month. 

Meanwhile, the net payroll additions- calculated by taking into account the number of new subscribers, the number of subscribers that exited, and the return of old subscribers to the social security organisation — increased to 1.95 million in May.

“The addition during the month is the highest since the first payroll data was issued in April 2018. This surge in membership can be attributed to numerous factors, including increased employment opportunities, a growing awareness of employee benefits, and the effectiveness of EPFO's outreach programmes,” said the labour ministry in a statement. 

The net monthly payroll numbers are, however, provisional in nature and are often revised sharply the following month. That is why the new EPF subscriber figure is considered more reliable than net additions.

“The payroll data highlights that approximately 1.4 million members exited and subsequently re-joined 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 read. 

The labour ministry also said that the above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee records is a continuous process.

Month	New EPF subscribers
June 2023	1072808
July	1099052
Aug	982704
Sep	950527
Oct	829762
Nov	762513
Dec	840584
January 2024	807865
Feb	777717
March	747146
April	887438
May	985,000

Source: EPFO