EPFO adds 1.41 million subscribers in February, 14% increase from last year

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Retirement fund body EPFO on Wednesday said it added 14.12 lakh subscribers in February 2022, 14 per cent more than 12.37 lakh enrolled in the same month a year ago.

"The provisional payroll data of EPFO released today highlights that EPFO has added 14.12 lakh net subscribers in the month of February, 2022," a labour ministry statement said.

The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data showed that net enrolments between April 2021 and February 2022 were 1.11 crore. During the entire financial year 2020-21, the net enrolments were 77.08 lakh, lower than 78.58 lakh added in 2019-20.

According to the statement, the month-on-month comparison of payroll data reflects a slight increase of 31,826 net subscriber addition in February, 2022 compared to January, 2022.

Year-on-year comparison shows an increase of 1,74,314 net additions during February, 2022 as compared to that in the corresponding month of 2021.

The net subscriber addition was 13,79,977 in January, 2022 and 12,37,489 in February, 2021.

The statement said that there has been a consistent increase in the net subscriber addition since October, 2021, showcasing trust in the services rendered by the organisation.

Out of the total 14.12 lakh subscribers added during the month, around 8.41 lakh new members have been enrolled under the social security cover of the Employees' Provident Fund & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 for the first time.

Around 5.71 lakh subscribers exited but re-joined EPFO by transferring their accumulations from previous PF account to the current PF account, instead of claiming for final withdrawal.

Age-wise comparison of payroll data indicates that the age-group of 22-25 years has been on the forefront by registering the highest number of net enrolments of 3.70 lakh during February, 2022, followed by the age-group of 29-35 years with an addition of 2.98 lakh net subscribers during the month.

In a nutshell, the age-group of 18-25 years constitutes around 45 per cent of total net enrolments during the month. This age-group indicates that many first-time job seekers are joining the organised sector workforce in large numbers.

Pan-India comparison of payroll figures highlights that the establishments in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana and Delhi are in lead by adding approximately 9.52 lakh net subscribers during the month, which is around 67.49 per cent of total net payroll addition across all age groups.

Gender-wise analysis indicates that net female payroll addition during the month is approximately 3.10 lakh.

Share of female enrolment is 21.95 per cent of the total net subscriber addition during February, 2022, up 22,402 over the previous month.

This is largely due to lesser number of female exits and more new joining during the month. Also, the number of female subscribers has consistently risen since October, 2021, indicating increased participation of women in the workforce, it stated.

Industry-wise payroll data indicates that mainly two categories-- expert Services (consisting of manpower agencies, private security agencies and small contractors etc) and trading-commercial establishments-- constitute 47.28 per cent of the total subscriber addition during the month. Moreover, growing trend in net payroll addition has been noted in industries like 'engineering contractors', 'automobile servicing' and 'building & construction'.

Since April, 2018, the EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period from September 2017 onwards.