Business News / EPFO figures tell the condition of the job market, 15.48 lakh members joined in February, know how many of them are women

Business News: Retirement fund body EPFO has added 15.48 lakh members on a net basis in February 2024. The Labor Ministry said in a statement that about 7.78 lakh members enrolled for the first time in the Employees' Provident Fund Organization in February, 2024. According to EPFO payroll data, the highest number is in the 18 to 25 age group. The share of this category in the total new members added in February 2024 is 56.36 percent. Statistics show that the majority of individuals joining the organized workforce are young, primarily first-time job seekers.

2.05 lakh women members out of 7.78 lakh

Payroll data shows that around 11.78 lakh members exited and later rejoined EPFO. These members changed their jobs and rejoined the establishments under the purview of EPFO. These members chose to transfer their funds instead of applying for final settlement, thereby protecting their long-term financial well-being and expanding their social security. Gender-wise analysis of the payroll data shows that out of the 7.78 lakh new members, about 2.05 lakh are women members. Moreover, the net number of women members during the month stood at around 3.08 lakh. The addition of female members signals a broader shift toward a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

More than 6.1 crore members joined in the last 6 and a half years

The number of members in EPFO increased by 1.65 crore in the last financial year (2023-24), which is 19 percent more than a year ago. This information has come to light from the latest data related to employees receiving regular salaries. “More than 6.1 crore members have joined the Employees Provident Fund Organization in the last six-and-a-half years, which is a sign of normalization of the job market,” a Labor Ministry official told PTI. These data show that EPFO had added a net number of 61.12 lakh members in 2018-19, which increased to 78.58 lakh in 2019-20.

1.65 Crore new members added in 2023-24

However, in the financial year 2020-21 this number decreased to 77.08 lakh. The main reason behind this was the Covid-19 pandemic. As the situation improves, 1.22 crore new members were added in 2021-22 and 1.38 crore members were added in 2022-23. The official said the net number of new members joining EPFO increased by more than 19 percent from 1.38 crore in 2022-23 to 1.65 crore in 2023-24. The official said the net increase in EPFO membership indicates the extent of normalization of the job market and inclusion of the organized/semi-organized sector workforce in social security benefits.