EPFO Payroll Data for November 2024: New Member Rose ~17%

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has unveiled the provisional payroll data for November 2024, highlighting a notable increase in membership. During the month, EPFO recorded a net addition of 14.63 lakh members, indicating a 9.07% rise against October 2024. This growth indicates not only an expanding job market but also the effectiveness of EPFO’s outreach efforts aimed at increasing awareness about employee benefits.

Key Insights from EPFO Payroll Data

New Membership

In November 2024, EPFO welcomed around 8.74 lakh new members, a significant 16.58% jump from October 2024. This is also 18.80% higher than November 2023, underscoring the growing awareness of EPFO’s services and the expanding job market. The rising number of new memberships points to an increasing inclination among workers to secure long-term financial benefits through EPFO.

Youth Dominates New Membership

A standout trend is the dominance of the 18-25 age group in new membership additions. With 4.81 lakh new members in this age group, it accounted for nearly 55% of the total new memberships in November. This group showed a 9.56% increase from October 2024 and a 13.99% growth from November 2023. These figures reflect the trend of youth entering the formal workforce, primarily first-time job seekers.

Rejoined Members

The data also reveals that approximately 14.39 lakh members exited and rejoined EPFO during the month, marking an 11.47% increase from October 2024 and a substantial 34.75% rise compared to November 2023. This trend suggests that many workers are switching jobs but opting to transfer their EPF balances rather than withdrawing them, ensuring their long-term financial security.

Growth in Female Membership

Female participation in the workforce continues to rise, with 2.40 lakh new female members joining EPFO in November 2024. This represents a 14.94% increase from October 2024 and a 23.62% increase from the previous year. The net addition of female members stood at 3.13 lakh, marking a 12.16% month-on-month growth and an 11.75% increase from November 2023. This rise indicates a shift toward a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

State-wise Member Addition

On a state-by-state basis, the top five states and union territories contributed to 59.42% of the net member additions in November 2024. Maharashtra led the pack, contributing 20.86% of the total, followed by Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Telangana, and Uttar Pradesh, each adding over 5% of the total net members.

Industry Trends

Industry-wise, significant growth was observed in sectors such as societies, clubs, and associations, engineering contractors, textiles, garment making, and various forms of mechanical and general engineering. Notably, expert services, including manpower suppliers, contractors, and security services, accounted for nearly 39% of the net membership additions during the month.

Conclusion

It is important to note that this payroll data is provisional. The EPFO continues to update member records, and previous data is revised monthly. This continuous data refresh allows for more accurate and up-to-date figures, with adjustments made for employee exits, re-entries, and modifications in the monthly reports.

Since April 2018, EPFO has been releasing detailed payroll data, covering the period from September 2017 onwards. This data provides a clearer picture of trends in member additions, re-entries, and withdrawals, all of which contribute to the net payroll figures for each month.

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