New Delhi [India], February 25 (ANI): The Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has released provisional payroll data for December 2024, revealing a net addition of 16.05 lakh members.

According to the data released by the Ministry of Labour and Employment, an increase of 9.69 per cent has been registered in net payroll addition during the current month as compared to the previous month of November 2024.

Further, the year-on-year analysis reveals a growth of 2.74 per cent in net payroll additions compared to December 2023, signifying increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO's effective outreach initiatives.

EPFO enrolled around 8.47 lakh new subscribers in December 2024. The new subscribers' addition shows year on year growth of 0.73 per cent from the previous year in December 2023. This surge in new subscribers can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO's successful outreach programs.

A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, 4.85 lakh new subscribers added in the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 57.29 per cent of the total new subscribers added in December 2024. New subscribers in the 18-25 age group added in the month shows an increase of 0.91 per cent compared with the previous month of November 2024 and a growth of 0.92 per cent from the previous year in December 2023.

Further, the net payroll addition for the age group 18-25 for December 2024 is approximately 6.85 lakh reflecting an increase of 16.91 per cent compared to the previous month of November 2024.

This is in consonance with the earlier trend which indicates that most individuals joining the organised workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers.

The payroll data highlights that approximately 15.12 lakh members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO.

This figure represents a 5.10 per cent increase compared to the previous month of November 2024.

It also depicts a significant year-over-year growth of 25.76 per cent compared to December 2023.

These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under the ambit of EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus safeguarding long-term financial well-being and extending their social security protection.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data unveils that out of the total new subscribers added during the month, around 2.22 lakhs are new female subscribers.

This figure exhibits significant year-over-year growth of 6.34 per cent compared to December 2023. Also, the net female payroll addition during the month stood at around 3.03 lakh reflecting a year over year growth of 4.77 per cent compared to December 2023.

The increase in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that the top five states/ UTs constitute around 59.84 per cent of net payroll addition, adding a total around 9.60 lakh net payroll during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 21.71 per cent of net payroll during the month. The states/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added more than 5 per cent of the total net payroll during the month.

In terms of industries, experts services, building and construction are among the top industries witnessing additions.

Of the total net payroll addition, around 41.23 per cent addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc. (ANI)