EPFO adds highest ever number of members in May by adding 19.50 lakh members

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has added 19.50 lakh net members in the month of May 2024. This is the highest addition during the month since the release of the first payroll data in April 2018.

Additionally, the year-on-year analysis shows a 19.62 per cent increase in net member addition as compared to May 2023. This surge in membership can be attributed to several factors, including increased employment opportunities, growing awareness about employee benefits and the effectiveness of EPFO’s outreach programmes.

The data shows that around 9.85 lakh new members have enrolled during May 2024. There has been a 10.96 per cent increase in new members from the previous month of April 2024 and an 11.5 per cent increase from the previous year of May 2023.

A notable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, which accounts for a significant 58.37 per cent of the total new members added in May 2024. This is in line with earlier trends indicating that most individuals joining the organised workforce are primarily young first-time job seekers.

Additionally, the net payroll data for the 18-25 age group for May 2024 is the highest since payroll data was first published.

The payroll data underlines that about 14.09 lakh members exited the EPFO ​​and rejoined later. This figure represents a year-on-year increase of 23.47 per cent as compared to May 2023. These members changed their jobs and rejoined establishments covered under the EPFO ​​and instead of applying for final settlement, they opted to transfer the accumulations. Thus, they protected their long-term financial well-being and expanded their social security.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data shows that nearly 2.48 lakh of the new members added during the month are female members. This figure represents a growth of 12.15 per cent year-on-year as compared to May 2023. Also, net female member addition during the month stood at nearly 3.69 lakh, representing a growth of 17.24 per cent year-on-year as compared to May 2023. The increase in female members is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

State-wise analysis of payroll data shows that net member addition is highest in five states/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat and Haryana. These states account for nearly 58.24 per cent of the net member addition, adding a total of 11.36 lakh net members during the month. Among all states, Maharashtra led with 18.87 per cent net member additions during the month.

Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data shows a significant increase in members working in establishments engaged in industries such as specialist services, building and construction industries, apparel manufacturing, textiles, electric, mechanical or general engineering products, engineers-engineering contractors, trade- commercial establishments, bidi manufacturing, electronic media companies in the private sector etc. Out of the total net membership, about 42.33 per cent increase has come from specialist services (which includes manpower suppliers, general contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).

The above payroll data is provisional as data generation is a continuous process, as updating of employee records is a continuous process. The previous data gets updated every month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO ​​is releasing payroll data covering the period from September 2017 onwards. In the monthly payroll data, members joining EPFO ​​for the first time through Aadhaar verified Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members who exited EPFO ​​coverage and those who exited but rejoined are counted for net monthly payroll.