BackEPFO latest data shows 14.5% dip in job creation
The government uses the EPFO payroll data as a high frequency measure for formal sector job creation in the economy
PremiumJobs created under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) fell month-on-month by 14.45% to 8,02,250 compared to 9,37,780 net new subscribers added in November, shows the provisional payroll data of EPFO. December is the third consecutive month when the number of first-time members joining the social security scheme remained below the 1 million mark.
Amit Gupta, MD, SAG Infotech, according to the most recent payroll data released by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), the number of new formal jobs created decreased sequentially in December and remained below the 1 million thresholds for the third consecutive month, signalling pressure in the labour market.
Unemployment rate increased to 8.30% in December
“The Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which conducts its own surveys, released data showing that India continued to struggle with finding employment in December. As a result, the unemployment rate increased to 8.30% in December from 8.03% in November due to a sharp increase in urban unemployment. This was mostly caused by a rise in labour force participation, yet there were insufficient jobs created by the economy," said Amit Gupta.
The government uses the EPFO payroll data as a high frequency measure for formal sector job creation in the economy.
Out of the 8.02 lakh new members in December, highest enrolment is registered in the age-group of 18-21 years with 2.39 lakh members, followed by the age-group of 22-25 years with 2.08 lakh members. The age-groups of 18-25 years constitutes 55.64% of total of new members during the month. This indicates that majority of the members joining EPFO are first-time job seekers who are joining organised sector workforce of the country.
State-wise payroll figures highlight that top five states in terms of net member addition are Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Karnataka, Haryana. These states together added 60.08% of net member addition during December 2022.
However, recent data from other sources has also indicated some slowdown in formal job creation
EPFO has added 14.93 lakh net members in the month of December, 2022. Year-on-year comparison of payroll data reflects an increase of 32,635 in net membership addition in December, 2022 as compared to the corresponding month during last year in 2021.
The data also highlights that approximately 3.84 lakh members exited while 10.74 lakh members exited and re-joined EPFO membership. These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, extending their social security protection
The payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee record is a continuous process. The previous data hence gets updated every month. From the month of April-2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September, 2017 onwards.
In other news, the retirement fund body has introduced a new procedure that allows subscribers and their employers to jointly apply for a higher pension under the Employees' Pension Scheme (EPS).
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