EPFO adds 16.05 lakh net members in December 2024, up 9.69% from November; female membership sees 4.7% YoY growth

Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) added a total of 16.05 lakh net new members in December 2024, up 9.69% from November, the Ministry of Labour & Employment said on Tuesday, February 25.

The retirement fund body revealed a 2.74% year-on-year (YoY) growth in December, a significant increase in employment opportunities and improved awareness of employee benefits fueled by EPFO’s initiatives.

In November 2024, there was an addition of 14.63 lakh net members, a growth of 4.88% YoY and 9.07% as compared to October 2024.

The EPFO enrolled nearly 8.47 lakh new subscribers during the month, a 0.73% increase from December 2023, the data showed. The growth is attributed to the PF body’s successful outreach programs. However, the new additions in December decreased when compared to 8.74 lakh new members recorded in November 2024.

EPFO December data: Key highlights

• The 18-25 age group continued to dominate the additions with 4.85 lakh new subscribers from this group, making up for 57.29% of the total new subscribers added in the month. The net payroll addition for this age group was nearly 6.85 lakh, up 16.91% as compared to November. This aligns with the earlier trend indicating that most individuals joining the organised workforce are first-time job seekers.

• Approximately 15.12 lakh members exited and rejoined the EPFO, a 5.10% increase when compared to November and a growth of 25.76% YoY. These individuals changed jobs and joined new establishments that were also covered under EPFO, opting to transfer their collected funds rather than applying to withdraw the final settlement and safeguarding long-term financial well-being.

• The gender-wise analysis of the data shows that out of the total new additions, around 2.22 lakh were females, marking a 6.34% growth compared to December 2023. Moreover, the net female payroll addition was at 3.03 lakh, a 4.77% YoY growth. The increase in female subscribers highlights a shift towards a more diverse workforce, the government release noted.

• Analysing the data state-wise shows that the top five states/union territories added 9.60 lakh net subscribers in December, accounting for 59.84% of the net payroll addition. Maharashtra led the charts by adding 21.71% of the subscribers among the net payroll additions. Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added over 5% of the total net payroll.

• Industry-wise trends reveal a major growth in the net payroll addition in establishments engaged in industries, including expert services, building and construction industry, commercial establishments and financing establishments. Nearly 41.23% of the total net payroll addition came from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities, etc.).

Provisional payroll data

The payroll data is provisional as updating employee records is a continuous process, the release noted. The data gets updated every month. Since April 2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period starting from September 2017. The net monthly payroll is calculated by taking the count of first-time members joining EPFO through an Aadhaar-validated Universal Account Number (UAN), existing EPFO members exiting from the coverage of the fund and those who exited but re-joined as members by switching jobs.