Retirement fund body EPFO ​​added 13.41 lakh net new members in October 2024, according to the latest payroll data.
This indicates increased employment opportunities and increased awareness of employee benefits strengthened by EPFO’s effective outreach initiatives, a Labor Ministry statement said on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has released provisional payroll data for October 2024, revealing a net addition of 13.41 lakh members.
According to the data, EPFO ​​enrolled around 7.50 lakh new members in October 2024.
This increase in new membership can be attributed to increased employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits and successful outreach programs of EPFO, the ministry said.
A striking aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, which accounted for a remarkable 58.49% of the total new members added in October 2024.
The net payroll data for the age group 18-25 for October 2024 is 5.43 lakh.
This is in line with earlier trends, which have shown that the majority of people joining the organized workforce are young people, mainly first-time job seekers.
The payroll data highlights that around 12.90 lakh members left and later rejoined the EPFO.
This figure shows an annual increase of 16.23% compared to October 2023.
These members changed their jobs and rejoined establishments covered under the purview of EPFO ​​and chose to transfer their savings instead of applying for final settlement, thus, securing long-term financial well-being and extending their social security cover.
A gender analysis of the payroll data reveals that among the new members added during the month, about 2.09 lakh new members are women.
This figure shows an annual increase of 2.12% compared to October 2023.
Also, the total number of female members has increased to about 2.79 lakh this month.
The increase in female members signals a broader shift toward a more inclusive and diverse workforce.
A state-wise analysis of the payroll data indicates that the total member additions in the top five states/UTs account for about 61.32% of the total member additions, with a total of 8.22 lakh total members added during the month.
Among all the states, Maharashtra led the way adding 22.18% of total subscribers during the month.
The states/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Haryana, Telangana and Gujarat have added more than 5% of total subscribers in a month.
A month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data shows a significant increase in the number of members employed in establishments engaged in the following industries: road motor transport, private sector electronic media companies, and banks other than nationalized banks. .
Out of the total total membership, about 42.29% are from additional specialist services (manpower suppliers, general contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).
Payroll data is temporary because data generation is an ongoing exercise, as updating employee records is an ongoing process.
Previous data is updated every month. From the month of April 2018, EPFO ​​is releasing payroll data covering the period from September 2017 onwards.
In the monthly payroll data, the number of members joining EPFO ​​for the first time through Aadhaar was verified.
The Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members who have exited the coverage of EPFO ​​and those who exited but rejoined as members, is taken to arrive at the net monthly payroll.