ADVERTISEMENT

Over 39 Lakh Jobs Created In Seven Months Till March: EPFO Data

EFPO data shows half of the payrolls were created in the expert service segment across all age groups.

Employees inspects garments at a quality control unit of a Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd. garment factory in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photographer: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg)  
Employees inspects garments at a quality control unit of a Rajlakshmi Cotton Mills Ltd. garment factory in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. (Photographer: Taylor Weidman/Bloomberg)  

India created nearly 40 lakh new jobs during the seven month period ending March 2018, according to the retirement fund body’s latest payroll data.

As many as 6.13 lakh new jobs were created in the month of March this year, higher than 5.89 lakh payrolls in February, data released by the Employment Provident Fund Organisation showed.

Half of the payrolls were created in the expert service segment across all age groups. Electric, mechanical or general engineering products, building and construction industry, trading and commercial industry and textiles were some of the few segments where job creation was notable.

The data also indicates that over half of the jobs created in organised sector were in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and Gujarat during the seven-month period till March this year.

The first set of payroll data was released by the EPFO last month. Some experts had raised doubts over construing job creation from payroll statistics. They said that the data does not reflect true job creation in the country as it also includes job changes employees.

Students file metal during a welding class during vocational training at the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services  Institute of Skills in New Delhi, India. (Photograph: Udit Kulshrestha/Bloomberg)  
Students file metal during a welding class during vocational training at the Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Institute of Skills in New Delhi, India. (Photograph: Udit Kulshrestha/Bloomberg)  

The EPFO has uploaded the data with disclaimers that the data for most recent months are provisional as updation of employees records is a continuous process. The numbers are likely to be updated in subsequent months. The estimates may include temporary employees whose contributions may not be continuous for the entire year, it added.

The EPFO manages social security funds of workers in the organised/semi organised sector in India. It has more than six crore active members.

Opinion
Is India Creating Jobs or Not?