EPFO shows services drove 14.58 lakh net additions in March, including 7.54 lakh new subscribers

The latest Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) payroll data for March has seen a net addition of 14.58 lakh members, higher by 1.15 percent compared to a year ago, official data showed on May 21, underscoring rising employment opportunities and EPFO's successful outreach.

The EPFO enrolled around 7.54 lakh new subscribers in March 2025, which is a 2.03% increase over a month ago, and 0.98% higher over a year ago, with a significant 58.94% of new members in March belonging to the 18-25 age group. The new subscriber addition in this age group saw a rise of 4.21over February and a growth of 4.73% from a year ago period.

Of the total net additions, around 45.59% came from services such as manpower suppliers, contractors, security services, and miscellaneous activities. The month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data showed significant growth in the net addition in restaurants, hotels, travel agencies, cement manufacturing, general insurance, canteens, and forwarding agencies.

A state-wise analysis of payroll data showed that the top five states or UTs constitute around 59.67% of the net payroll addition, with Maharashtra adding 20.24% of net payroll for March. The states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana each added more than 5% of the total net payroll during the month.