EPFO adds 18.75 lakh Net Members in month of July 2023; Highest payroll addition ever

EPFO’s provisional payroll data released today highlights that EPFO has added 18.75 lakh net members in the month of July, 2023. The addition during the month is the highest since first publishing of EPFO payroll data from April, 2018 covering the period of September, 2017 onwards.

A growing trend has been maintained over the last three months, with an increase of approximately 85,932 net members over the previous month of June 2023.

According to the data, around 10.27 lakh new members enrolled in July 2023, the highest number since July 2022. The majority of new EPFO members are between the ages of 18 and 25, accounting for roughly 58.45% of total new member additions during the month. This demonstrates an increasing trend in youth enrollment, with the majority of them being first-time job seekers joining the country’s organised sector workforce.

Payroll data show that approximately 12.72 lakh members left but later rejoined EPFO, the highest number in the previous 12 months. These members changed jobs and re-joined EPFO-covered establishments, opting to transfer their accumulations rather than applying for final settlement, thereby extending their social security protection.

As per gender analysis of payroll data, approximately 3.86 lakh net female members were added to the payroll in July 2023. For the first time, around 2.75 lakh female members have been covered by social security.

Net member addition is highest in the five states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana, according to a state-by-state analysis of payroll data. These states account for approximately 58.78% of net member additions during the month, adding a total of 11.02 lakh members. Maharashtra leads the way among all states, adding 20.45% of net members during the month.

Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in Trading-Commercial Establishments, Building & Construction Industry, Electrical, Mechanical and General Engineering Products. This was followed by Textiles, Financing Establishment, Hospitals etc. Of the total net membership, around 38.40% addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).

The above payroll data is provisional because data generation is a continuous exercise, just as updating employee records is. As a result, previous data is updated once a month. EPFO has been releasing payroll data for the period September 2017 to April 2018 since April 2018.

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