EPFO added 14.63 Lakh Net Members in November 2024

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has issued provisional payroll data for November 2024, which shows a net addition of 14.63 lakh members. Net member addition increased by 9.07% in the current month compared to the prior month, October 2024.

Furthermore, the year-on-year research shows a 4.88% rise in net member additions compared to November 2023, indicating increased employment possibilities and higher awareness of employee benefits, aided by EPFO’s successful outreach programs.

Key highlights of the EPFO Payroll Data (November 2024)

New Membership

EPFO enrolled over 8.74 lakh new members in November 2024. The number of new members has increased by 16.58% during the previous month of October 2024. Furthermore, a year-on-year review showed an 18.80% increase in new member additions over the prior year in November 2023. This growth in new memberships can be ascribed to increasing job opportunities, more understanding of employee benefits, and EPFO’s successful outreach activities.

Group 18-25 Leads Payroll Addition

The data shows that the 18-25 age group dominates, with 4.81 lakh new members added, accounting for 54.97% of the total new members added in November 2024. New members added in the month from the 18-25 age group represent a 9.56% rise over the previous month of October 2024 and a 13.99% increase over the prior year in November 2023.

In addition, the net payroll data for the age range 18-25 for November 2024 is roughly 5.86 lakh, representing a 7.96% rise over the previous month of October 2024. This is consistent with previous trends, which show that the majority of people entering the organised labour force are young, predominantly first-time job seekers.

Rejoined Members

According to payroll data, nearly 14.39 lakh members left EPFO and then rejoined. This figure indicates a 11.47% rise over the previous month, October 2024. It also shows a considerable year-over-year increase of 34.75% from November 2023. These members changed jobs and re-joined companies covered by EPFO, opting to transfer their accumulations rather than applying for final settlement, thereby protecting their long-term financial well-being and extending their social security benefits.

Growth in Female Membership

According to a gender-based study of payroll data, almost 2.40 lakh of the new members added this month are female. The comparison with the previous month of October 2024 indicates a 14.94% rise. This data also shows a strong year-over-year increase of 23.62% compared to November 2023. Also, the net female member addition for the month was over 3.13 lakh, representing an increase of approximately 12.16% over the previous month of October 2024. It also shows an 11.75% year-over-year increase from November 2023. The surge in female member additions reflects a broader trend towards a more inclusive and varied workforce.

State-wise Contribution

State-by-state analysis of payroll data denotes that net member addition in the top five states/UTs accounts for approximately 59.42% of net member addition, totalling around 8.69 lakh net members during the month. Maharashtra leads all states in net membership growth, adding 20.86% this month. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh each added more than 5% of total net members this month.

Industry-wise Trends

Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the industries viz.

i. Societies clubs or associations,
ii. Engineers – engg. contractors,
iii. Textiles,
iv. Garments making,
v. Electrical, mechanical or general engineering products etc.
vi. Of the total net membership, around 38.98% addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).

The above payroll data is provisional since data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee record is a continuous process. The previous data gets updated every month on account of:

i. ECRs being filed for previous months after generation of payroll report.
ii. ECRs filed earlier being modified after generation of payroll reports.
iii. Date of exit from EPF membership for previous months being updated after generation of payroll report.

EPFO has been releasing payroll data since April 2018, covering the period beginning in September 2017. In monthly payroll statistics, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time using an Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), current members leaving EPFO coverage, and those who left but returned as members is used to calculate net monthly payroll.