EPFO adds 16.82 lakh net subscribers in month of May 2022

The provisional payroll data of EPFO released on 20 July, 2022 highlights that EPFO has added 16.82 lakh net subscribers in the month of May, 2022. Year-on-year comparison of payroll data shows an increase of 7.62 lakh net subscribers in May, 2022 as compared to the net subscription in the month of May, 2021 last year.

Around 9.60 lakh new members have been first covered under the purview of the EPF & MP Act, 1952 out of the total 16.82 lakh subscribers joined throughout the month. By switching positions within EPFO-administered establishments, some 7.21 lakh net subscribers left the organisation but then returned. They chose to remain members of the EPF Scheme by transferring their funds rather than requesting a final PF withdrawal. The monthly average recorded during the previous financial is higher than the number of new enrollments for the month.

The age group of 22 to 25 years has reported the highest number of net enrolments, with 4.33 lakh additions during May 2022, according to a comparison of payroll data by age. This demonstrates that a significant percentage of first-time job searchers are entering the workforce in the organised sector.

The establishments covered in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, and Delhi to remain in the lead by adding roughly 11.34 lakh net subscribers during the month, which is 67.42 percent of total net payroll addition across all age groups, according to a comparison of payroll figures by state.

According to gender-specific data, the net female payroll increase for the month was about 3.42 lakh, and the percentage of female enrollment in new subscribers was 20.39 percent for the month of May 2022.

According to the classification of industry-specific payroll data, the majority of new subscribers during the month came from two categories: “expert services” (which includes manpower agencies, private security firms, and small contractors, etc.) and “Trading-Commercial Establishments.” In addition to this, a rising tendency was observed throughout the month in other sectors like “Building & Construction business,” “Garments Making,” “Financing Establishment,” “Hotel,” and “Corn and Steel.”

The payroll data is provisional because it is continually generated as part of the ongoing process of updating employee records. As a result, the historical data is updated each month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO has began releasing payroll statistics for the period September, 2017 onwards.

For those establishments that are subject to the terms of the Employees’ Provident Funds & Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952, EPFO’s payroll is a component of the organised sector workforce. The same is estimated based on the quantity of establishments that fall within EPFO’s jurisdiction and the quantity of subscribers whose contributions are deposited by filing monthly ECRs (Electronic Challan-cum-Returns) by the employers.