The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) released its provisional payroll data on Tuesday, January 21, revealing a net addition of 14.63 lakh members for November 2024.
According to the Ministry of Labour and Employment, this marks a 9.07% rise in net member additions compared to October 2024. On a year-over-year basis, the net additions grew by 4.88% compared to November 2023.
The Ministry attributed this growth to expanding job opportunities and better awareness about employee benefits, boosted by EPFO's successful outreach initiatives. New Members Witness Significant Growth
In November 2024, EPFO registered 8.74 lakh new members, a 16.58% increase compared to October 2024. When compared to November 2023, this figure reflects an 18.80% year-over-year growth.
The surge in new enrollments was largely driven by growing employment prospects, enhanced knowledge of employee benefits, and effective EPFO campaigns. Youth Drive Membership Growth
A significant portion of the new members belonged to the 18-25 age group. Around 4.81 lakh members from this category were added in November 2024, accounting for 54.97% of the total new enrollments during the month.
This age group recorded a 9.56% increase in new additions compared to October 2024 and a 13.99% growth compared to November 2023. Furthermore, the net payroll data for the same age group for November 2024 stood at approximately 5.86 lakh, reflecting a 7.96% rise from October 2024. The Ministry stated that this trend underscores the dominance of young individuals, primarily first-time job seekers, entering the organized workforce.
Rejoining Members See Notable Increase
The payroll data also revealed that about 14.39 lakh members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO in November 2024. This represents an 11.47% increase compared to October 2024 and a remarkable 34.75% rise compared to November 2023.
Women Participation on the Rise
Gender-wise analysis showed that 2.40 lakh of the newly added members were women. This figure indicates a 14.94% increase compared to October 2024 and a 23.62% year-over-year growth from November 2023.
The total net female membership addition for November 2024 stood at 3.13 lakh, marking a 12.16% increase compared to October 2024 and an 11.75% rise compared to November 2023.
Top States Contributing to Net Additions
State-wise data indicated that the top five states and Union Territories (UTs) collectively contributed 59.42% of the net member additions, amounting to approximately 8.69 lakh members in November 2024. Maharashtra led the tally with 20.86% of the net additions during the month.
Other states and UTs such as Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh each contributed more than 5% of the total net member additions in November 2024.