More than 8 lakh net subscribers added during the first quarter of FY 21: EPFO payroll data

Labour and Employment Ministry has said that Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has added over 8 lakh net subscribers during the first quarter of the financial year 2020-21 (Q1FY21).

The provisional payroll data published by EPFO on August 10, 2020, reveals that the subscriber base of EPFO increased by around 8.47 lakh members during the first quarter of FY21. The COVID-19 pandemic outbreak had adversely affected the enrolments in the month of April and May 2020. Despite the lockdown, around 0.20 lakh and 1.72 lakh net new subscribers were added to social security schemes of EPFO in the month of April and May 2020.

Speedy recovery was seen in June with the addition of 6.55 lakh net subscribers registering a remarkable 280 per cent month-on-month growth. The published data comprises of all the new members who have joined during the month and whose contribution is received.

The subscriber base growth is on account of an increased number of new subscribers, lower exits and higher rejoining by exited members. The new subscriber joining has increased roughly by 64 per cent from 3.03 lakh in May to 4.98 lakh in June 2020. Besides, the exits from the EPFO subscriber base declined by nearly 33 per cent from 4.45 lakh in May to 2.96 lakh in June 2020.

The number of members, who exited and then rejoined, indicates switching of jobs by subscribers within the establishments covered by EPFO. This has also increased by approximately 44 per cent for the month of June 2020 over May 2020, with more subscribers choosing to retain membership by transferring funds rather than opting for final settlement.

Gender wise analysis highlights that the new enrolment of female workers has improved from 37,085 in April 2020 to 1,06,059 in June 2020 in absolute terms, even though the overall female participation in the workforce remains low.

Category wise analysis of industry indicates "Expert services" category had a share of approximately 46 per cent and 45 per cent during 2018-19 and 2019-20 respectively. In the first quarter of 2020-21, it stands at 52.7 per cent, which is reflecting that many industries are yet to recover but Expert Services has made good progress. The absolute figure for net enrolment in Expert Services category during June 2020 is 3.45 lakh, which is more than the monthly average of 3 lakh during 2019-20. Expert services predominantly consist of manpower agencies, private security agencies and small contractors.

The new establishments that remitted their first ECR have grown from its low of 820 in April 2020 to 1,802 in May. In the month of June 2020, the growth continued with 2,390 establishments registering their first ECR recording a month on month growth of 32 per cent

EPFO manages social security funds of workers in the organised/ semi-organised sector in India and has more than 6 crore active members. The payroll data is provisional as updatation of employee records is a continuous process and it gets updated in subsequent months.