EPFO payroll data shows three-fold growth in job creation during February

The payroll data by Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) for February 2019 showed job creation in the formal sector during February 2019 reached 8.61 lakh. This amounts to three times increase on an annual basis during the month under review in comparison to 2.87 lakh reported during the corresponding month last year. The latest payroll data, released on Saturday, showed 80.86 lakh new jobs were created in the 18 months period from September 2017 to February 2019.

The EPFO has been releasing age-band wise employment generation data for the period starting September 2017. The highest ever employment generation figures were reported in the payroll data for January at 8.96 lakh. The retirement fund body revised these job creation figures released last month to 8.94 lakh in its latest payroll data.

As per the latest EPFO data, the highest number of jobs, 2.36 lakh, was created in the 22-25 years age group during February 2019. The next age band with the highest job creation figures during the month was the 18-21 years age bracket at 2.09 lakh. In payroll data for January 2019, EPFO claimed that the highest number of jobs, at 2.44 lakh, were created in the 22-25 years age group. This was followed by 2.24 lakh jobs in the 18-21 years age bracket.

The EPFO payroll data had shown signs of revival on the job creation front last month after a long slump. Before that, the last uptick in EPFO payroll was registered in November last month when the total jobs added during the period between September 2017 and November 2018 reached 79.48 lakh.

However, the job data by EPFO is known to undergo regular and continuous revision. For instance, the EPFO release of October claimed that over 2.73 lakh new jobs were created in March 2018. This same figure was revised downwards to merely 5,498 jobs in the February release, down almost 98 per cent. Similarly, as per the February release, December 2017 numbers have been cut by 44 per cent, August 2018 by 43 per cent October 2017 by 42 per cent.

The EPFO has said that the data is provisional as updating employee records is a continuous process and happens over subsequent months.

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 a non-zero subscription.

This is age-band wise data of new members registered under the EPFO where the first non-zero contribution received during a 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 India and has more than 6 crore active members (with at least one-month contribution during the year).

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