14.6 lakh new jobs added in December, reveals latest EPFO data

As per the latest payroll data released by the retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), 14.6 lakh subscribers were added in December 2021, a 16.4% increase compared to the year-ago period and a 20% increase compared to the previous month. 

9.1 lakh people joined formal work for the first time in December, a 4.3% month-over-month increase from November.

14.6 lakh net payroll additions were reported in December, in comparison to 12.17 lakh net additions clocked in November. The Dec’21 figures demonstrate a year-on-year growth of 16.4% over Dec’20. The net payroll additions factor new subscribers, ones who exited EPFO, and ones who exited but rejoined it by opting to continue their membership by transferring their PF accumulations from previous to present PF account instead of opting for final withdrawal. In Dec’21, 5.49 lakh subscribers fell in the latter bracket.

The age group of 22-25 years has registered the highest number of net enrolments with 3.87 lakh additions during Dec’21 while 2.97 lakh net enrolments came from the 18-21 years age group. The age groups of 18-25 years have contributed around 46.9% of total net subscriber additions in Dec’21. “Members of 18-25 years age groups are usually fresh hands in the job market and signify a crucial stage for an individual’s potential in terms of earning capacity,” the ministry said in its statement.

The highest number of formal jobs were created in the five states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka which together added approximately 8.97 lakh subscribers which equates to 61.4% of the total net payroll addition in Dec’21.

Industries classified under the ‘expert services’ category (consisting of manpower agencies, private security agencies, small contractors, etc.) constituted 40.2% of total subscriber addition in Dec’21. The ministry also observed a growing trend in net payroll additions in industries such as the building and construction industry, textiles, restaurants, and iron & steel.

Of the 14.6 lakh net enrolments in Dec'21, only 20.5% (3 lakh) were females, in comparison to 21.3% (2.6 lakh) in Nov'21. The share of females in net enrolments has remained stagnant at 21% since 2018-19.

Reference Reading

EPFO is the country’s principal organization responsible for providing social security benefits to the organized/semi-organized sector workforce covered under the statute of EPF & MP Act, 1952. It provides provident fund, pension benefits to the members on their retirement, and family pension and insurance benefits to their families in case of the untimely death of the member.

The payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee records is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month.