EPFO net new enrolments rose 13.73% to 12.76 lakh in April

7.2 million of the 35 million workers availed the the non-refundable COVID advance Rs 18,500 crore between April 1, 2020, and May 12, 2021

Retirement fund body Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on June 20 said that it had added 12.76 lakh net subscribers during April 2021.

According to the provisional payroll data issued by EPFO, April 2021 registered an increase of 13.73 percent net subscriber addition as compared to the previous month, during which around 11.22 lakh net subscribers were added to the payroll.

"Of the 12.76 lakh net subscribers added during the month, around 6.89 lakh new members have come into the social security coverage of EPFO for the first time. Around 5.86 lakh net subscribers exited and then rejoined EPFO by changing their jobs within the establishments covered by EPFO and choose to retain membership through transfer of funds rather than opting for final settlement," the labour ministry said in a statement.

States of Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka continue to lead in employment generation by adding 7.58 lakh subscribers during the month, which is around 59.41 percent of total net payroll addition across all age groups.

Gender-wise analysis shows that 2.81 lakh net female subscribers were added in the month of April 2021, showing an increase of approximately 22 percent over the previous month.

Industry-wise analysis indicates that the ‘expert services’ category continues to be the best performer constituting 45 percent of the total subscribers during April 2021.

"Age-wise comparison of payroll data shows that the age-group of 22-25 years has registered the highest number of net enrollments with around 3.27 lakh additions during the month of April 2021. This is followed by age-group of 29-35 with around 2.72 lakh net enrollments. The members of 18-25 age-groups, usually first-timers in the job market, have contributed around 43.35 percent of total net subscriber additions in April 2021, " the ministry said.

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