Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) added 19.94 lakh net members in July 2024, marking the highest recorded increase since payroll data tracking began in April 2018, government data said on Monday.

Union Minister of Labour & Employment Dr Mansukh Mandaviya released the provisional payroll data, and mentioned that the EPFO has added 19.94 lakh net members in July, marking the highest recorded increase since payroll data tracking began in April 2018.

The EPFO added 10.52 lakh new members in July, representing a 2.66 per cent increase over June and a 2.43 per cent rise compared to July 2023, the data said.

This surge in new memberships can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO’s successful outreach programmes.

The Ministry data said that approximately 14.65 lakh members who had exited the system rejoined EPFO in July. This figure represents a 15.25 per cent year-over-year increase.

These members opted to transfer their provident fund accumulations rather than withdraw them, thus maintaining their long-term financial security.

The highest growth was observed in the 18-25 age group, with 8.77 lakh net additions in July. This marks the largest increase for this demographic since records began and reflects the continued trend of young people, mostly first-time job seekers, entering the organised workforce.

This age group represents 59.41 per cent of all new members added during the month.

Around 3.05 lakh new female members joined EPFO in July, reflecting a year-over-year growth of 10.94 per cent.

In total, 4.41 lakh net female members were added, marking the highest monthly addition for women since payroll tracking began, with a 14.41 per cent increase compared to July 2023.

Significant membership growth was seen in sectors such as manufacturing, computer services, construction, engineering, banking (non-nationalised), and private sector electronic media. Notably, 38.91 per cent of net additions came from expert services, including manpower suppliers, contractors, and security services, among others.

The states of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and Gujarat accounted for 59.27 per cent of the total net member additions in July, collectively adding 11.82 lakh members.

Maharashtra led among the States/UTs, contributing 20.21 per cent of the total new members.