New Delhi [India], May 21 (ANI): The Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has added 14.58 lakh new members in March. The year-on-year analysis reveals an increase of 1.15 per cent in net payroll additions compared to March 2024.

The Ministry of Labour and Employment said in a statement Wednesday that this year-on-year increase in enrolments signify increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO's effective outreach initiatives.

EPFO enrolled around 7.54 lakh new subscribers in March 2025, representing a 2.03 per cent increase over February 2025 and 0.98 per cent year-over-year growth compared to the previous year in March 2024.

The ministry said that this growth 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. 4.45 lakh new subscribers were added in this group, constituting a significant 58.94 per cent of the total new subscribers added in March 2025.

New subscribers in the 18-25 age group added in the month show an increase of 4.21 per cent compared to the previous month of February 2025. It also depicts a growth of 4.73 per cent of the prior year in March 2024.

Further, the net payroll addition for the age group 18-25 for March 2025 is approximately 6.68 lakh, reflecting a growth of 6.49 per cent from the previous year in March 2024.

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

Approximately 13.23 lakh members, who had exited earlier, rejoined EPFO in March 2025.

This figure depicts a 0.39 per cent increase over February 2025.

It also shows a significant 12.17 per cent year-over-year growth compared to March 2024.

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

Around 2.08 lakh new female subscribers joined EPFO in March 2025. This reflects an increase of 0.18 per cent compared to February 2025 and a year-over-year growth of 4.18 per cent compared to March 2024.

Further, the net female payroll addition during the month stood at around 2.92 lakh, with a year-over-year growth of 0.78 per cent compared to March 2024.

'The growth in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce,' the ministry noted.

State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that the top five states/ UTs constitute around 59.67 per cent of net payroll addition, adding around 8.70 lakh net payroll during the month.

Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.24 per cent of net payroll during the month. The states/UTs of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added more than 5 per cent of the total net payroll during the month.

In monthly payroll data, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time through Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members exiting from coverage of EPFO and those who exited but re-joined as members, is taken to arrive at net monthly payroll. (ANI)