Formal Sector Employment Generation Hits 17-Month High: Provident Fund Body
Retirement fund body EPFO has been releasing payroll data from April 2018 January employment generation up 131% year-on-year EPFO revises payroll figure for December 2018 to 7.03 lakh from 7.16 lakh
Net employment generation in the formal sector touched a 17-month high of 8.96 lakh in January, according to payroll data from retirement fund body EPFO or Employees' Provident Fund Organisation. Provident fund body EPFO has been releasing payroll data from April 2018 covering the period starting September 2017. The January figure marked a year-on-year growth of 131.5 per cent, compared with 3.87 lakh in the corresponding period a year ago, according to the data.
In September 2017, a net 2,75,609 jobs were created. Around 76.48 lakh subscribers were added to social security schemes of the EPFO from September 2017 to January 2019, the data showed. This indicates that these many jobs were created in the formal sector over the past 17 months.
The net EPFO enrolment in January 2019 stood at 8,96,516 - the highest since September 2017.
The EPFO, however, revised slightly downwards its payroll figure for December 2018 by 1.8 per cent to 7.03 lakh, against the earlier estimate of 7.16 lakh released last month.
It also lowered the cumulative job addition number for the September 2017-December 2018 period 6.6 per cent to 67.52 lakh, from the earlier forecast of 72.32 lakh.
The sharpest revision was for March 2018 in the latest report which showed contraction or exit of 29,023 members from the EPFO subscriptions whereas last month's estimated addition of 5,498 members
During January 2019, 2.44 lakh jobs were created in the 22-25 years age group, followed by 2.24 lakh in the 18-21 years age bracket.
The data of the exited members is based on the claims submitted by the individuals and establishments and the exit data uploaded by employers, whereas the number of new subscribers is based on the Universal Account Number (UAN) generated in the system and those who have received non-zero subscription.
The EPFO said the data is provisional as updation of employee records is a continuous process and gets updated in subsequent months.
This is age-band wise data of new members registered under the EPFO where the first non-zero contribution received during particular month. For each age-wise band, the estimates are net of the members newly enrolled, exited and rejoined during the month as per records of the EPFO, it added.
The estimates may include temporary employees whose contributions may not be continuous for the entire year. Members' data are linked to unique Aadhaar identity, it added.
The EPFO manages social security funds of workers in the organised/semi organised sector in the country and has more than 6 crore active members (with at least one-month contribution during the year).