EPFO adds 17.89 lakh Net Members in month of June 2023; Highest in last 11 months

EPFO’s provisional payroll data released on 20th August, 2023 highlights that EPFO has added 17.89 lakh net members in the month of June, 2023. The data reveals that 3,491 enterprises have provided EPFO social security coverage to their employees by remitting their first ECR throughout the month.

A comparison of payroll data from month to month reveals an increasing trend in enrollment, with a rise of roughly 9.71% net members over the previous month of May, 2023.The total remittance also demonstrates the greatest figures in the recent eleven months, dating back to August 20, 2022.

According to the data, over 10.14 lakh new members joined in June 2023, the biggest number since August 20, 2022. The age group of 18-25 years represents 57.87% of all new members acquired during the month. This demonstrates an increasing trend in youth enrollment, who are mostly first-time job seekers joining the organized sector workforce of the country.

As per payroll statistics, nearly 12.65 lakh members left but afterwards rejoined EPFO. These members changed occupations and re-joined EPFO-covered enterprises, opting to transfer their accumulations rather than seek for final settlement, therefore prolonging their social security protection.

Gender-wise analysis of of payroll data represents that about 2.81 lakh of the total 10.14 lakh new members recruited during the month are new female members joining EPFO for the first time. In the recent 11 months, the percentage of new female members joining the organised labour force has been at its highest. Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 3.93 lakh, which is also the highest since August, 2022.

Net member addition is highest in the five states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana, according to a state-by-state review of payroll data. These states account for around 60.40% of net member growth throughout the month, adding a total of 10.80 lakh members. Maharashtra leads all states in net membership growth, increasing 20.54% during the month.

A comparison of industry statistics from month to month shows considerable rise in members working in Trading-Commercial Establishments, Building & Construction Industry, Electrical, Mechanical, and General Engineering Products. This was followed by textiles, financial institutions, schools, and hospitals, among other things. Expert services (manpower providers, regular contractors, security services, other activities, etc.) account for approximately 40.36% of total net membership.

The above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee record is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month. EPFO has started releasing payroll statistics for the period September 2017 to the present since 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.