Fresh formal hiring up 2% in March after three-month decline: EPFO data

Pension fund gets more subscribers aged 18 to 25; share of women decreases

Fresh formal hiring in India increased slightly in March, reversing a three-month streak of declines. The number of new monthly subscribers under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) rose around 2 per cent to 754,000 in March from 739,000 in February, according to monthly payroll data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Wednesday.

 

EPFO’s data reflects the state of the formal labour market as only that workforce enjoys social security benefits and is protected by labour laws. In March last year, 747,146 new subscribers had joined the EPF. 

 

Of the total 754,000 new EPF subscribers in March this year, the share of those aged 18 to 25 increased to 59 per cent (445,000) from 57.7 per cent (427,000) the month before. This age group typically comprises first-timers in the labour market, thus reflecting its robustness.

 

The share of women among new subscribers decreased to 27.6 per cent (208,000) in March from 28.14 per cent (208,000) in February. 

 

Net payroll addition stood at 1.46 million in March: it is calculated by taking into account the number of new subscribers, exits, and the return of old subscribers to the social security organisation.

 

Net monthly payroll numbers are provisional and often revised sharply the next month. That is why the new EPF subscriber figure is considered more reliable than net additions.

 

“The above payroll data is provisional since data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee records is a continuous process. The previous data gets updated,” the Union Labour and Employment Ministry said in a statement.

 

The data also shows that 1.32 million members exited and rejoined EPFO in March, marking a yearly growth of 12.7 per cent.

 

“These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under the ambit of EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus safeguarding long-term financial well-being and extending their social security protection,” said the ministry.