In April, there were 9.23 lakh new formal job additions

21 Jun 2022 , 12:50 PM

According to payroll statistics released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on June 20, at least 922,752 persons started official work for the first time in April 2022, a decrease from March additions.

The new payroll additions recorded in April, the first month of FY23, are over 45,000 fewer than the 968,163 new subscribers the pension fund gained in March. According to official data provided in May, this figure was 886,836 in February and 937,610 in January 2022.

At least 494,490 new recruits were in the 18-25 age range, according to preliminary payroll statistics issued by EPFO on Monday, a critical aspect for measuring the labor market trend. People over the age of 35 came in second with almost 169,597 new entries among other age groups.

While the rise in new payroll additions was marginally lower than the March data announced in May 2022, EPFO stated that net payroll additions increased significantly.

The retirement fund authority recorded a net increase of 17.07 lakh personnel in April 2022, compared to 15.32 lakh in March 2022. A comparison of net payroll data from April 2022 to April 2021 reveals a rise of 4.32 lakh net subscribers in April 2022 over April 2021.

Fresh arrivals, the number of departures from the EPFO system, and those who returned after previously left are all factored into the new payroll numbers. The drawback is that net additions are more volatile than new additions. To be sure, these are estimates that might alter in the coming months.

According to the EPFO, a state-by-state examination of net payroll numbers reveals that companies in Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, and Delhi dominated employment growth in April, adding roughly 11.6 lakh net subscribers.

“According to gender analysis, the net female payroll addition for the month was around 3.65 lakh. Female enrolment accounted for 21.38 percent of overall net subscriber acquisition in April 2022, an increase of 17,187 net enrolments over the previous month of March 2022, according to a separate announcement from EPFO.

The payroll data reveals a rising trend in net enrollment of female workers in the organized sector during the previous six months, according to the retirement fund.

“The classification of industry-wise payroll data indicates that primarily two categories, namely ‘expert services’ and trading-commercial establishments, account for 48.25 percent of total subscriber addition during the month,” EPFO said, adding that a growing trend has also been observed in other industries such as electrical, mechanical engineering, construction, and textiles.