Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation Data Shows 3.11 Million Jobs Added During September 2017 To February 2018; EPFO Reveals Payroll Count For The First Time

EPFO data reveals that compared to the previous month there was a decline of 22 per cent in February 2018 to a four-month low of 472,075.

As per data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) at least 3.11 million formal jobs have been added in India across different age groups over the period of six months ending February, 2018. This is the first time that estimates of payroll count, based on database maintained by EPFO, has been shared by the Central government.

The data also reveals that compared to the previous month there was a decline of 22 per cent in February 2018 to a four-month low of 472,075. In the age category of 18-25, the age when young people join the workforce, around 1.85 million new jobs were created.

The payroll count is the net addition during the period, which is taken into account after working out the difference between the number of workers who joined and left the EPFO. Moreover, companies that have 20 and more employees need to open EPF account as per Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions (EPF & MP) Act. Companies that have less than 20 employees are not part of the payroll count that is shared by EPFO.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment stated in a press statement, “It has now been decided to publish the age-band wise estimate of all new subscribers as declared by their employers. This data can be helpful in policymaking, planning and research work as the planners may have an idea as to what is the estimate of employees in different age band,”

The EPFO manages retirement funds of the employees in the organised and the semi-organised sector. It has , currently, 60 million members who contribute every month to their retirement corpus.

These numbers have come when the government is facing widespread criticism over slowdown in the job creation in the country. According to recent report shared by the World Bank, in order to maintain its employment rate India needs 8.1 million jobs every year.

The World Bank report stated “Every month, the workforce increases by 1.3 million people and India must create 8.1 million jobs a year to maintain its employment rate, which has been declining based on employment data analysed from 2005 to 2015, largely due to women leaving the job market.”