Around 13.21 lakh new members joined the ESIC-run social security scheme in July 2021 as against 10.58 lakh in the previous month, official data showed on Friday, giving a perspective on formal sector employment in the country.

The latest data is part of a report released by the National Statistical Office (NSO).

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Gross new enrolments with Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) were 10.72 lakh in April, 8.87 lakh in May and 10.58 lakh in June this year, showing the increase in enrolments after easing of lockdown restrictions by states after the second wave of the pandemic, the latest data showed.

The second wave of COVID-19 broke out in middle of April this year after which states had started imposing lockdown restrictions to contain the spread of the deadly virus.

The NSO report showed that gross enrolments of new subscribers with ESIC were 1.15 crore in 2020-21 compared to 1.51 crore in 2019-20 and 1.49 crore in 2018-19.

During September 2017 to March 2018, around 83.35 lakh new subscribers joined the ESIC scheme.
The report said gross new enrolments with ESIC from September 2017 to July 2021 period were 5.42 crore.

The NSO report is based on the payroll data of new subscribers of various social security schemes run by ESIC, the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority (PFRDA).

It has been releasing such data of these bodies since April 2018, covering the period starting from September 2017.

According to the report, net new enrolments with retirement fund body EPFO stood at 14.65 lakh in July, up from 11.16 lakh in June 2021.

It showed that during September 2017 to July 2021, around 4.51 crore (gross) new subscribers joined the Employees’ Provident Fund scheme.

The report, titled ‘Payroll Reporting in India: An Employment Perspective – July 2021’, said since the number of subscribers is from various sources, there are elements of overlap and the estimates are not additive.
NSO also said the report gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector and does not measure employment at a holistic level.