Proportion of women added to workforce up significantly over last four months: EPFO data

• Out of the 13.96 lakh members added in February, about 7.38 lakh were new members who joined EPFO for the first time.
  
• Among these new members, the highest enrollment was observed in the age group of 18-21 years at 2.17 lakh members.
  
• Around 10.15 lakh members renewed their EPFO membership, reflecting an 8.59% increase compared to the previous year.
  

The analysis of payroll data based on gender reveals that in February, 2.78 lakh female members were enrolled to the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), accounting for about 20% of the total member addition for the month. Of these, 1.89 lakh were new female joinees, constituting about 25.65% of all new joinees.

Over the past four months, there has been a significant increase in the proportion of female members added to the workforce, indicating a positive trend towards greater diversity in the organised workforce. The findings are based on the provisional payroll data of retirement fund body Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

The monthly payroll data includes the number of members who joined EPFO for the first time through Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), the number of existing members who exited EPFO coverage, and the number of members who previously exited but rejoined. The net monthly payroll is calculated based on these figures.

Highest enrollment observed in the 18-21-years age group

Out of the 13.96 lakh members added in the given month, approximately 7.38 lakh were new members who joined EPFO for the first time. Among these new members, the highest enrollment was observed in the age group of 18-21 years at 2.17 lakh members, followed by the age group of 22-25 years, which saw 1.91 lakh members.

Collectively, the age group of 18-25 years accounts for 55.37% of all new members added during the month, indicating that a significant majority of individuals joining the organised sector workforce are first-time job seekers.

Many members chose to renew their EPFO membership

Additionally, the data reveals that around 10.15 lakh members renewed their EPFO membership, reflecting an 8.59% increase compared to the previous year.

These members switched jobs and subsequently rejoined establishments covered under EPFO, choosing to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement. This indicates that they opted to extend their social security protection by continuing their membership with EPFO.

State-wise payroll figures

According to the state-wise payroll figures, there is a growing trend of month-on-month net member addition in states such as Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Jharkhand and West Bengal.

The top five states in terms of net member addition are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Delhi, which collectively account for 58.62% of the net member addition during the month. Maharashtra leads the way accounting for 20.90% of net members added, followed by Tamil Nadu, which constituted 11.92%.

Expert services account for over 40% additions in the month

The industry-wise analysis of payroll data reveals that "Expert Services," which includes manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, and miscellaneous activities, accounted for 41.17% of the total member addition during the month.

In comparison to the previous month's data, higher enrollments were observed in industries such as leather products, garment-making, establishments engaged in rendering courier services, and fish processing and non-veg food preservation.

The payroll data is provisional, as updating employee records is an ongoing process. EPFO has been releasing payroll data since April 2018, covering the period from September 2017 onwards. The data is updated every month, reflecting the latest information available.