EPFO added 14.65 lakh net subscribers in July, went up 31.28% over June

The Union Cabinet on July 14 approved a hike in DA and DR from 17 percent to 28 percent with effect from July 1, 2021. (Source: ShutterStock)

Retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on September 20 said it added 14.65 lakh net subscribers during July 2021.

"For the month of July 2021, the net subscriber addition has increased by 31.28% as compared to the previous month of June 2021 when the total additions were 11.16 lakh," the labour ministry said in a statement.

According to the provisional payroll data issued of EPFO, around 9.02 lakh new members joined the EPFO in July while roughly, 5.63 lakh net subscribers exited and then rejoined the EPFO.

Data reflects that during July this year, the number of members who have joined EPFO for the first time has increased by 6 percent while members who re-joined increased by around 9 percent.

Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka continue to lead in employment generation by adding 9.17 lakh subscribers during the month, which is around 62.62 percent of total net payroll addition across all age groups.

Gender-wise analysis shows that 3.01 lakh net female subscribers were added in the month of July, as compared to 2.18 lakh in June. The share of female enrolment is  20.56 percent of the total net subscriber addition during the month.

Industry-wise analysis indicates that the ‘expert services’ category constitutes 41.62 percent of the total subscribers during July 2021.

"Growing trend in net payroll additions has been noted in industries like trading-commercial establishments, engineering products, building & construction, textiles, garment making, hospitals and financing establishments," the ministry said.

Age-wise comparison of payroll data shows that the age-group of 22-25 years has registered the highest number of net enrolments with around 3.88 lakh additions, followed by 18-21 age-group with around 3.27 lakh net enrolments.

First time job seekers have contributed around 48.82 percent of total net subscriber additions in July.

Since April 2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September 2017 onward. The data published comprises members who have joined during the month, exited, and rejoined the fund body.