EPFO records 14.9 lakh net new enrolments in September

According to its latest payroll data, net new enrolments with retirement fund body EPFO rose to 14.9 lakh in September from 8.8 lakh in August 2020. This is to provide a perspective on formal sector employment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Provisional payroll data released by the EPFO last month had shown that net new enrolments stood at 10.05 lakh in August this year. The figure has now been revised down to 8.8 lakh.

The net enrolments with the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had dropped to 5.72 lakh in March 2020 from 10.21 lakh in February, according to the payroll data released in May.

Latest data released showed that net new enrolments in April were in the negative zone at (-) 1,49,248 against the figure of (-) 1,04,608 released in October. This means that the number of members who exited the EPFO subscription was more than those who joined or rejoined the scheme.

The number of net new enrolments in May was also revised to (-) 97,988 from the (-) 35,336 estimated in the data released last month. The net new enrolments with the EPFO hover around 7 lakh every month on an average.

According to a labour ministry statement on the data, the EPFO has added 14.90 lakh net subscribers in the month of September 2020, thereby increasing its subscriber base by around 30.92 lakh during the first two quarters of the current financial year.

It also stated that a year-on-year comparison shows that September 2020 registered a healthy 49 per cent growth in terms of net payroll additions.

The number of members who exited and then rejoined indicates both switching of jobs by them within the establishments covered under EPF scheme and subscribers choosing to retain their membership by transferring their PF accumulations rather than opting for final withdrawal. The figure has increased about 10 per cent from 6.53 lakh in August to 7.23 lakh in September 2020.

Age-wise analysis indicates that during September, the maximum numbers of new additions belonged to the more than 35 years age bracket, followed by 18-21 and 22-25 years, respectively.

The age group of more than 35 years registered a remarkable growth in net additions from around 1.24 lakh in August to 3.90 lakh in September. Growth in this age bracket indicates return of jobs to experienced workers.

The 18-25 age group members can be considered as fresh hands in the job market and have also shown strong revival by accounting for almost 42 per cent of the new subscribers. State-wise comparison shows Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka remained at the forefront of the employment recovery cycle, adding approximately 54 per cent of the total of 30.34 lakh net payroll additions for the second quarter of FY21 across all the age groups.