April 26, 2018
Data released by EPFO showed 3.1 million new job additions during the six-month period, while the New Pension Scheme data from the PFRDA indicated 420,000 new payrolls
Along with ESIC data, and jobs data for recent months being provisional due to steady updation of employee records, the 3.5 million estimate is likely to be a conservative one
Given that till now there has been no such system in place, this data would provide a firm basis for various analysis and studies of the economy, job creation and policy making
The study covered employment generation across Central and State Government autonomous bodies as well as non-government staffers, or the corporate sector employees
The National Institution for Transforming India, or the NITI Aayog, a policy think tank of the Indian Government, has brought out the country’s first-ever monthly payroll report for the formal sector. The payroll data, categorised age-wise, for the period spanning September 2017 to February 2018 has been released on April 25th. The report combined input from Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO), Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) and the Pension fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA). Besides calculating new job additions across the country, the new system will analyse the job market to facilitate drafting and amendment of favourable policies and regulations. This report will also contribute to the Government’s efforts to formalise the economy.
There are additional organisations such as the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, the Bar Council of India, the Medical Council of India and other professional bodies that could bring out such monthly data for payroll covering enlisted professionals. Data released by EPFO showed that during the six-month period, 3.1 million new additions across all age groups were made to the payroll. Given that the data for recent months is provisional due to steady updation of employee records, this could be a conservative estimate. The actual figures may well be more than this. Additionally, from the PFRDA, the New Pension Scheme (NPS) data indicated creation of 420,000 new payroll during the given period, that too only from Tier-I account. NPS currently manages the corpus of around 5 million employees.
In addition, the ESIC data mirrored the payroll growth shown in the other two sets of data from EPFO and PFRDA. Since ESIC data is not seeded to Aadhar, an unique identification number allotted to indian citizens, there is further scope of ]modifications. The payroll data from these three organisations will now be released every month. The study covered employment generation across Central Government and State Government autonomous bodies as well as non-government staffers, or the corporate sector employees. Given that till now there has been no such system in place, this data would provide a more firm basis for various analysis and studies of the economy, job creation, as also aid in policy making. The data will also be instrumental in measuring the success of policies and their implementation.