Job creation up at 8.14 lakh in March: EPFO payroll data

Net employment generation in the formal sector was higher at 8.14 lakh in March 2019 against 7.88 lakh in February this year, according to the latest EPFO payroll data.

Around 67.59 lakh jobs were generated in the entire 2018-19 fiscal, the payroll data based on members joining the schemes of the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) showed.Total net new enrolments were at 15.52 lakh during the seven-month period from September 2017 to March 2018. The retirement fund body has been releasing payroll data from April 2018, covering the period starting from September 2017.

The EPFO in its payroll data released Tuesday did not provide monthly net new enrolments for March 2018. During March 2019, the highest number of 2.25 lakh jobs were created in the 22-25 years age group, followed by 2.14 lakh in the 18-21 years age bracket.

In 2018-19, the highest job creation was recorded in January 2019 at 8.31 lakh against the provisional estimate of 8.94 lakh released last month.The payroll data released in April 2019 had showed a sharp revision in net job additions for March 2018, recording a contraction or exit of 55,934 members from the EPFO subscriptions.

On the contraction, the EPFO had said, "March 2018 figure is negative due to large number of exits reported in the month of March, in view of it being the closing month of the financial year." The EPFO said the data is provisional as updation of employee records is a continuous process and gets updated in subsequent months. 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 or semi organised sector in India and has more than 6 crore active members (with at least one-month contribution during the year.