At least 922,752 people joined formal work for the first time in April 2022, lower than March additions, the payroll data of the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) showed on June 20.
The new payroll additions recorded in April, the first month of FY23, are almost 45,000 less than the new additions in March, when the pension fund had added 968,163 new subscribers. In February, this number was 886,836 and in January 2022, it was 937,610, as per official data released in May
As per provisional payroll data released by EPFO on Monday, at least 494,490 fresh additions were in the 18-25 age group, a key consideration while evaluating the labour market movement. Among other age cohorts, people above the age of 35 came second with nearly 169,597 fresh additions.
While the growth in new payroll additions was slightly lower when compared with March numbers released in May 2022, EPFO said there is a sizable growth in net payroll additions.
The retirement fund body said April 2022 saw a net addition of 17.07 lakh workers, as against 15.32 lakh reported in March 2022. A year-on-year comparison of net payroll data shows an increase of 4.32 lakh net subscribers in April 2022 as compared to the net subscription in April 2021.
New payroll numbers are arrived by including fresh additions, number of exits from the EPFO system and those who came back after exiting earlier. The caveat is net additions fluctuate more than fresh additions. To be sure, these are provisional numbers and may change over the next few months.
EPFO said a state-wise comparison of net payroll figures highlights that the establishments covered in the states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat and Delhi led job creation by adding approximately 11.6 lakh net subscribers during April.
“Gender-wise analysis indicates that net female payroll addition is approximately 3.65 lakh during the month. Share of female enrolment is 21.38% of the total net subscriber addition during the month of April 2022 with an increase of 17,187 net enrolments over the previous month of March 2022,” EPFO said in a separate statement.
The payroll data highlights net enrolment of female workforce in the organised sector, which has shown a growing trend for the last six months, the retirement fund added.
“The classification of industry-wise payroll data indicates that mainly two categories i.e. ‘expert services’ and trading-commercial establishments constitute 48.25% of total subscriber addition during the month,” EPFO said adding that a growing trend has also been noted in other industries like electrical, mechanical engineering, construction and textiles among others.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
