New Delhi [India], November 21 (ANI): The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has added 17.21 lakh net members in September. Month-on-month comparison of payroll data showed an increase of 21,475 net members over the previous month.

A year-on-year comparison of payroll data reflected an increase of 38,262 net members.

The data indicated that around 8.92 lakh new members have enrolled during September 2023. Among these newly joined members, the age group of 18-25 years constituted 58.92 per cent of the total new members added during the month.

"This demonstrates that majority of the members joining organised sector workforce of the country are youth, who are mostly first-time job seekers," a Ministry of Labour and Employment release said Tuesday.

Further, the payroll data showed that approximately 11.93 lakh members exited but rejoined EPFO. 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, extending their social security protection.

As compared to the previous month, the number of exits has decreased by 12.17 per cent with 3.64 lakh exits in the month of September. The data also highlighted that the number of members exiting EPFO has been declining since June 2023.

Gender-wise analysis of payroll data represented that out of the total 8.92 lakh new members added during the month, around 2.26 lakh are new female members, joining EPFO for the first time. Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 3.30 lakh.

State-wise analysis of payroll data denoted that net member addition is highest in Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, and Haryana.

These states constitute around 57.42 per cent of net member addition, adding a total of 9.88 lakh members during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.42 per cent of net members during the month.

"Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the Sugar industry, courier services, iron and steel, hospitals, travel agencies etc. Of the total net membership, around 41.46 per cent addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.)," the ministry's release said. (ANI)