EPFO adds 18.75 lakh net members in July

The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) added 18.75 lakh net members in July, according to the latest data from the ministry of labour and employment. During the month under review, 10.27 lakh new members have been enrolled, which is highest since July 2022. Majority of new members joining EPFO are in the age group of 18-25 years, constituting 58.45% of total new members' additions during the month.

"This shows an increasing trend in youth enrollment, who are mostly first-time job seekers joining the organized sector workforce of the country," says the ministry.

The Employee's Pension Scheme (EPS) was introduced in 1995. The scheme, administered by the EPFO, provides employees with a pension after they reach the age of 58. Both the employee and the employer contribute 12% of the employee's basic salary and Dearness Allowance (DA) to the EPF. While the employee's entire part goes to EPF, the employer's contribution goes to EPS at a rate of 8.33%.

Payroll data shows that approximately 12.72 lakh members exited but rejoined EPFO, which is the highest in the last 12 months. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, extending their social security protection.

During the month under review, around 3.86 lakh net female members have been added to the payroll. Around 2.75 lakh female members have come under the ambit of social security coverage for the first time.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat and Haryana recorded the highest number of addition of the net members. These states constitute around 58.78% of net member addition, adding a total of 11.02 lakh members during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.45% of net members during the month.

Industrywise, expert services consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services and miscellaneous activities amongst others, added 38.40% of total net membership.

Notably, the ministry of labour also released data for the employees’ state insurance corporation for the month of July on Tuesday. According to the ministry, 19.88 lakh members were added in July under ESIC. Of this, 27,870 new establishments have been brought and registered under ESIC.

Data reveals that more jobs have been generated for the youth of the nation as out of the total 19.88 lakh employees added during the month under ESIC, 9.54 lakh employees up to the age group of 25 years constitute the majority of new registrations which is 47.9 % of the total employees.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data indicates that the net enrolment of female members has been 3.82 lakh in July, 2023. The data shows that a total 52 transgender employees have also got registered under ESI Scheme in the month of July, 2023.