Formal job creation increased by 25.6% MoM in November 2021

As per the latest payroll data released by the retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), 13.95 lakh subscribers were added in November 2021, a 25.6% increase compared to the previous month and a 38% increase compared to the year-ago period.

8.3 lakh people joined formal work for the first time in November, a 2.9% month-over-month increase from October. After 2 consecutive months of negative growth in new job creation, the increase in November provides fresh optimism towards an uptick in economic activity.

13.95 lakh net payroll additions were reported in November, in comparison to 11.1 lakh net additions clocked in October. The Nov’21 figures demonstrate a year-on-year growth of 38% over Nov’20. The net payroll additions factor new subscribers, ones who exited EPFO, and ones who exited but rejoined EPFO by opting to continue their membership with EPFO by transferring their PF accumulations from previous to present PF account instead of opting for final withdrawal. In Nov’21, 5.6 lakh subscribers fell in the latter bracket.

The age group of 22-25 years has registered the highest number of net enrolments with 3.64 lakh additions during Nov’21 while 2.81 lakh net enrolments came from the 18-21 years age group. The age groups of 18-25 years have contributed around 46.2% of total net subscriber additions in Nov’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 8.46 lakh subscribers which equates to 60.6% of the total net payroll addition in Nov’21.

Industries classified under the ‘expert services’ category (consisting of manpower agencies, private security agencies, small contractors, etc.) constituted 41.5% of total subscriber addition in Nov’21. The ministry also observed a growing trend in net payroll additions in industries such as the building and construction industry, textiles, schools, restaurants, and cement.

Of the 13.95 lakh net enrolments in Nov'21, only 21.2% (3 lakh) were females, almost as much as the month ago. 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.