Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has said that it recorded a 9.14 per cent increase in its net membership in September this year compared to the same month last fiscal. The retirement fund body EPFO said that provisional payroll data suggests the addition of 16.82 lakh net subscribers in September 2022. The organisation also said that around 2,861 new establishments started complying with its regulations.
“The net enrollment during the month is 21.85% higher than the monthly average recorded during the last fiscal. As per data, around 2861 new establishments have started complying under the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 ensuring social security cover to their employees,” said the Ministry of Labour & Employment.
Of the total 16.82 lakh members added during the month, around 9.34 lakh new members have come under the coverage of EPFO for the first time. “Among the new members, the highest number was registered for the age group of 18-21 years with 2.94 lakh members. This was followed by the age group of 21-25 years with 2.54 lakh members. Approximately 58.75% are from the age group of 18-25 years of age. This shows that first-time job seekers are joining the organized sector workforce in large numbers following their education and new jobs in the organized sector are largely going to the youth of the country,” it said.
The ministry said that approximately 7.49 lakh net members exited the EPFO during September but rejoined by changing their jobs within the establishments covered by EPFO and opted to transfer their funds from their previous PF account to the current account instead of opting for final settlement. The payroll data indicates that the number of members exiting from the coverage of EPFO has continuously declined during the past three months. The ministry said that a month-on-month comparison shows that around 9.65% lesser members have exited EPFO during September 2022 as compared to the previous month.
“Gender-wise analysis of payroll data indicates that enrolment of net female members has been 3.50 lakh in September 2022. A year-on-year comparison of enrolment data shows that net membership of females in the organized workforce has increased with a growth rate of 6.98% in September, 2022 compared with the net female membership during the previous year in September, 2021,” said the ministry. Among the total new members joining EPFO during the month, enrolment of the female workforce is recorded as 26.36%.
EPFO is India’s principal organization responsible for offering social security coverage to the organised sector workforce under the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952.
