Fresh formal job creation touches 9 month high in June, shows EPFO data

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The creation of fresh formal jobs increased for the third consecutive month in June, reaching a nine-month high, signalling a sustained recovery in the labour markets in the first quarter of FY24. This is according to the latest payroll data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Friday.


The number of new monthly subscribers under the employees’ provident fund (EPF) saw a rise of close to 10 per cent to 10.14 million in June, up from 927,703 in May. Previously, in September 2022, 10.15 million new subscribers were registered under the EPF.


Out of the 10.14 million new subscribers, the proportion of young subscribers (aged 18-28) increased to 67.8 per cent (687,823) in June, from 66.5 per cent (616,783) in May. This demographic is crucial, as subscribers in this age group are often entering the labour market for the first time, and this metric is indicative of its robustness.


Similarly, the share of women obtaining employment in new jobs increased to 27.7 per cent (281,078) in June, up from 24.9 per cent (231,187) in the previous month.


Rituparna Chakraborty, co-founder of TeamLease Services, commented that firms typically prepare a comprehensive view of their workforce requirements in the first quarter, leading to new hirings. “Going forward, the hiring momentum generated in the first quarter is expected to continue in the short to medium term as the long festive season is just going to begin, which is expected to generate more new jobs,” she added.


Furthermore, the net payroll addition, calculated by considering the number of new subscribers, the number of exits, and the return of old subscribers, increased by 28.9 per cent to 1.78 million in June, up from 1.38 million in May. It’s worth noting, however, that these net monthly payroll numbers are provisional and often subject to significant revision the following month. This is why the new EPF subscriber figure is considered to be more reliable than net additions.


A state-wise analysis of the net payroll data shows that the highest net member addition occurred in the five states of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana. Together, these states constituted around 60.40 per cent of the net member addition, adding a total of 10.80 lakh members during the month, as stated by the labour ministry.


The monthly data released by the EPFO is part of the government’s ongoing effort to monitor formal-sector employment using payrolls as a metric. Since April 2018, the National Statistical Office has been publishing employment-related statistics in the formal sector, covering the period from September 2017 onwards, and using information on the number of subscribers under schemes such as the Employees’ Provident Fund Scheme, Employees’ State Insurance Scheme, and the National Pension System.