October Records Lowest Addition To Formal Workforce Since June: EPFO Data
More people exited EPF during the last financial year than new subscribers, according to data released by EPFO.
The number of people entering the formal workforce fell to its lowest in four months in October.
The new additions to the payroll declined 1,92,000 over September to 1,076,856 in October, according to data released by Employees Provident Fund Organisation. And it's the lowest since 1,068,820 in June.
"The medium and small industries have been severely hit because of the pandemic. A lot of ventures have closed down and many people lost jobs," Pronab Sen, India's former chief statistician, said. "The economy, however, has now started to stabilise. The corporates are hiring and the job market is looking better."
More people exited EPF during the last financial year 2020-21 than new subscribers, according to the data. The latest net payroll figures by the retirement fund organisation shows new additions fell below exits in April 2020, the first time since September 2017. And the trend remained unchanged till June 2021. July onwards, new additions are higher again.
More Younger Additions
The payroll data shows that the age-group of 22-25 years has registered the highest number of net enrolments with 3.37 lakh additions in October.
Age-group of 18-21 also registered a healthy addition of around 2.50 lakh net enrolments.
The two cohorts together contributed around 46.12% of total net subscriber additions in October. Members of these groups are usually fresh hands in the job market.
Leading States: The establishments covered in the states of Maharashtra, Haryana, Gujarat, Tamil Nadu and Karnataka led by adding approximately 7.72 lakh subscribers during the month. That's about 60.64% of the total net payroll addition across all age groups.
Female Enrolment: The net share of female enrolment during the month is 2.69 lakh or about 21.14% of the total net subscribers added in October.
Industry Breakup: The 'expert services' category comprising manpower agencies, private security agencies and small contractors accounts for 40.73% of the total subscriber addition. Net additions rose for industries like paper, rice milling and financing establishments.
The payroll numbers are provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise. From May 2018, the EPFO has been releasing data covering the period October 2017 onwards.