Net payroll additions to the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) have more than doubled in the last five years, according to the Economic Survey 2023-24. Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman tabled the economic survey in Parliament on July 22, a day ahead of the Union Budget 2024-25.

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“The rising youth and female participation in the workforce presents an opportunity to tap the demographic and gender dividend,” the survey report highlights, pointing towards healthy growth in the country’s formal employment sector.

Rising EPFO Additions

The organised sector job market conditions measured by payroll data for EPFO show a consistent year-on-year (YoY) increase in payroll addition since the financial year 2019 (FY19).

“The yearly net payroll additions to the EPFO more than doubled from 61.1 lakh in FY19 to 131.5 lakh in FY24, swiftly recovering from the pandemic aided by the Aatmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY),” the Economic Survey stated. It added that the EPFO membership numbers grew by 8.4 per cent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) between FY15 and FY24.

However, it must be noted that the net payroll addition under EPFO in FY24 at 131.5 lakh was slightly lower than 138.5 lakh in FY23.

The annual new EPF subscribers aged 18-28 have been following an upward trajectory after witnessing a decline during the COVID-19 pandemic. Nearly two-thirds of the new subscribers in the EPFO payroll have been from the 18-28-year-old age band. Thus, youth employment has been rising in tandem with the youth population, the survey report highlights.

The report emphasises employment as a crucial link between growth and prosperity. “Its quantity and quality determine the extent to which economic output translates into a better quality of life for the population,” it notes.

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Employment was one of the key campaign planks for all major national and regional parties in the recent Lok Sabha polls. The opposition Congress and its allies accuse the government of not doing enough to create adequate jobs for youth in the employable age group. However, the BJP, which got the most seats at 240, rejects that allegation, claiming India has made significant strides in the economy, creating new employment opportunities both in the formal and informal sectors and enabling people to earn more.