INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Fresh formal job creation declined sequentially in December and remained below the 1 million mark for the third consecutive month,
signaling pressure in the employment market, the latest payroll data released by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Monday
In October, only 780,170 new subscribers had joined the EPF, which was the lowest monthly enrollment since May 2021.
In FY23, the number
of monthly new subscribers had remained above 1 million for six consecutive months from April to September, touching a high of 1,159,350 in
July.
Net payroll addition, which is calculated taking into account the number of new subscribers, the number of exits, and the return of
old subscribers, however, increased by 7.7 per cent to 1,493,031 in December from 1,385,923 in November.
However, the net monthly payroll
numbers are provisional in nature and often revised sharply the following month
That is why the new EPF subscriber figure has greater certitude than net additions.
Of the new EPF subscribers added in December, 446,358
are in the 18-25 age group, down by 15.5 per cent from 528,484 in November
This is crucial because subscribers in the 18-25 age group are usually first-timers in the labour market, and this metric reflects its
robustness.
Surprisingly, the number of new male subscribers fell more (14.9 per cent) than female (12.9 per cent) in December.
According
to the data released by the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE), which conducts its own surveys, India continued to fare poorly in
jobs in December, and the unemployment rate rose to 8.30 per cent in December from 8.03 per cent in November, due to a massive spike in
employment increased essentially in rural India and the unemployed increased predominantly in urban India
Since April 2018, the National Statistical Office has been bringing out employment-related statistics in the formal sector, covering the
