EPFO adds 15.48 lakh members in February 2024

In a significant update, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) reported an addition of 15.48 lakh members on a net basis in February 2024. This notable increase includes approximately 7.78 lakh new members who enrolled with the EPFO for the first time during this period, as per a statement from the labour ministry.

Highlighting the demographics, the statement emphasized that the 18-25 years age group dominated the EPFO payroll data, constituting over 56.36% of the new members added in February. This trend indicates that most individuals entering the organized workforce are young adults, particularly those seeking their first job opportunities.

The data also reveals that about 11.78 lakh members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO during this period. This can be attributed to members changing jobs to new employers covered under EPFO, choosing to transfer their accumulations instead of opting for final settlement.

To calculate the net monthly payroll, EPFO considers various factors, including the count of members joining for the first time through Aadhaar-validated Universal Account Numbers (UAN), existing members exiting EPFO’s coverage, and those rejoining after exiting.

A gender-wise analysis of the payroll data indicates that out of the 7.78 lakh new members, approximately 2.05 lakh are women. Moreover, the net addition of female members during this period stood at around 3.08 lakh, suggesting a positive shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

The data further shows an increase in members employed across various sectors such as manufacturing, marketing services, computer usage, automobile servicing, textiles, and more. Notably, around 41.53% of the total net membership addition comes from expert services.

Source: Economic Times