The net formal jobs created under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisations in March grew by 1.15% to 1.45 million compared to 1.44 million added in March 2024, shows the provisional payroll data released by the ministry of labour and employment on Wednesday.
As per the data, EPFO enrolled around 0.75 million new subscribers in March 2025, an increase of 2.03% over February 2025 and 0.98% year-on-year growth compared to March 2024.
“This growth in new subscribers can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO's successful outreach programs,” the ministry said.
Further, 58.9% of the new members or 0.44 million added in March this year were in the 18-25 age group which is 4.73% more than March 2024.
Further, the net payroll addition for the age group 18-25 for March 2025 is approximately 0.66 million reflecting a growth of 6.49% 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,” it added.
The payroll data highlights that approximately 1.32 million members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO, a year-over-year growth of 11.8% compared to 1.18 million who exited and rejoined in the corresponding month in 2024.
“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,” it said.
As per the data, 0.29 million net female members were added to EPFO in March while 0.20 million new female members were added in the month under consideration. The net female addition is 0.78% more compared to March 2024 while the new female member addition was 4.18% more than the corresponding month last year.
“The increase in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce,” the ministry said.
State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that the top five states and union territories constitute around 59.6% of net payroll addition, adding a total around 0.87 million net payroll during the month.
Maharashtra alone added 20.2% of net payroll during the month. The states and union territories of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added more than 5% of the total net payroll during the month.
As per the ministry, month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in restaurants, cement, general insurance and travel agencies among others.
The above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee records is a continuous process, it added.
EPFO has been releasing payroll data from the month of April-2018, covering the period September 2017 onwards.
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.
As per the data, EPFO enrolled around 0.75 million new subscribers in March 2025, an increase of 2.03% over February 2025 and 0.98% year-on-year growth compared to March 2024.
“This growth in new subscribers can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO's successful outreach programs,” the ministry said.
Further, 58.9% of the new members or 0.44 million added in March this year were in the 18-25 age group which is 4.73% more than March 2024.
Further, the net payroll addition for the age group 18-25 for March 2025 is approximately 0.66 million reflecting a growth of 6.49% 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,” it added.
The payroll data highlights that approximately 1.32 million members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO, a year-over-year growth of 11.8% compared to 1.18 million who exited and rejoined in the corresponding month in 2024.
“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,” it said.
As per the data, 0.29 million net female members were added to EPFO in March while 0.20 million new female members were added in the month under consideration. The net female addition is 0.78% more compared to March 2024 while the new female member addition was 4.18% more than the corresponding month last year.
“The increase in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce,” the ministry said.
State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that the top five states and union territories constitute around 59.6% of net payroll addition, adding a total around 0.87 million net payroll during the month.
Maharashtra alone added 20.2% of net payroll during the month. The states and union territories of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added more than 5% of the total net payroll during the month.
As per the ministry, month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in restaurants, cement, general insurance and travel agencies among others.
The above payroll data is provisional since the data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee records is a continuous process, it added.
EPFO has been releasing payroll data from the month of April-2018, covering the period September 2017 onwards.
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.
