In October 2024, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) reported a net increase of 13.41 lakh members. According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment’s most recent provisional payroll statistics, which was made public on Wednesday, December 25, 2024, up to 7.50 lakh new members were enrolled in the retirement fund organisation EPFO during the reviewed month.
The data’s most noteworthy feature is the predominance of the 18–25 age group, which makes up 58.49% of all new members recruited in October. The 18–25 age group’s net payroll figures for October was 5.43 lakh. This is consistent with past patterns that show young individuals or those looking for their first job make up the majority of those entering the organised labour.
Additionally, the payroll data shows that almost 12.90 lakh members left and returned to EPFO. This represents an annual growth of 16.23% over October 2023. These members returned to the businesses under EPFO’s purview after changing occupations. Instead of applying for a final settlement, they chose to transfer their accumulations, preserving their long-term financial security and increasing their social security coverage.
An study of payroll data by gender shows that 2.09 lakh of the new members added throughout the month are female. This number shows a 2.12% year-over-year increase from October 2023. Additionally, there were almost 2.79 lakh new female members added during the month. The rise in the number of new female members reflects a larger trend in the direction of a more diverse and inclusive workforce.
According to a state-by-state study of payroll data, the top five states and UTs account for approximately 61.32 percent of net member increase, gaining almost 8.22 lakh net members during the course of the month. Maharashtra had the most net members added during the month (22.18%), more than any other state. Over 5% of the total net members were added by the states/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana, and Gujarat alone during the month.
A comparison of industry-specific statistics shows a notable increase in the number of members employed by businesses involved in the sectors, including private sector electronic media firms, banks other than nationalised institutions, and road motor transport. Out of the total net membership, around 42.29 per cent is added from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, contractors, security services, etc.).
Monthly updates are made to the historical data. Payroll information for the period beginning in September 2017 has been made available by EPFO since April 2018. The net monthly payroll is calculated by counting the number of members who join EPFO for the first time using an Aadhaar-validated Universal Account Number (UAN), those who leave but re-join the organisation, and those who leave but re-join.
