EPFO adds 17.21 lakh net members during the month of September 2023

EPFO’s provisional payroll data released highlights that EPFO has added 17.21 lakh net members in the month of September, 2023. Month-on-month comparison of payroll data shows an increase of 21,475 net members over the previous month of August 2023. Year-on-year comparison of payroll data reflects an increase of 38,262 net members over the previous year of September, 2022.

According to the report, over 8.92 lakh new members joined in September 2023. The age group of 18-25 years accounts for 58.92% of all new members acquired during the month. This illustrates that the majority of people joining the country’s organised sector employment are youth, who are typically first-time job searchers.

Payroll data shows that around 11.93 lakh members left but then rejoined EPFO. These members changed occupations and re-joined EPFO-covered establishments, opting to transfer their accumulations instead of seeking for final settlement, thereby extending their social security protection. With 3.64 lakh exits in September 2023, the number of exits has declined by 12.17% when compared to the previous month. The data also shows that the number of members leaving EPFO has been decreasing since June 2023.

As per gender study of payroll data, approximately 2.26 lakh of the total 8.92 lakh new members added during the month are new female members joining EPFO for the first time. In addition, the net female member addition for the month was roughly 3.30 lakh.

According to a state-by-state review of payroll data, net member addition is highest in the five states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana. These states account for around 57.42% of net member addition, with a total of 9.88 lakh members added during the month. Maharashtra leads all states in net additions with 20.42% for the month.

A month-to-month comparison of industry data shows significant rise in members working in the sugar industry, courier services, iron and steel, hospitals, travel agencies, and so on.

Expert services (manpower providers, regular contractors, security services, other activities, etc.) account for approximately 41.46% of total net membership.

The above payroll data is tentative because data generation is an ongoing exercise, just as updating personnel records is. As a result, past data is updated once a month. EPFO has been releasing payroll statistics for the period September 2017 to April 2018 from April 2018.

In monthly payroll statistics, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time via Aadhaar-validated Universal Account Number (UAN), current members leaving EPFO coverage, and those who left but rejoined as members is used to calculate net monthly payroll.