Team News Riveting
New Delhi, December 24
The net new enrolments with retirement fund body EPFO (Employees Provident Fund Organisation) have registered a slight dip in October compared to September this year.
The net new enrolments with EPFO plunged to 7.15 lakh in October as compared to 11.09 lakh in September, according to a report released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) that provides a perspective on formal sector employment amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In August, 7.35 lakh members were added.
During the period, 2.40 lakh members exited while roughly 6.80 lakh members exited and then rejoined EPFO, indicating switching of jobs by subscribers within the establishments covered by EPFO and subscribers choosing to retain membership by transferring funds rather than opting for final settlement.
Exited members rejoining also indicate that workers are returning to their jobs with decline in active COVID-19 cases in India.
According to the report, around 11.75 lakh new members joined the ESIC-run social security scheme in October, showing trajectory in the employment after easing of lockdown. The figure is slightly higher than previous month’s 11.49 lakh but records a considerable increase as compared to the period when lockdown has been in place following COVID-19 pandemic.
Gross new enrolments with the ESIC were 2.62 lakh in April, 4.87 lakh in May, 8.27 lakh in June, 8.27 lakh in July and 7.61 in August. However, since September, the figure has been constantly increasing, indicating that the country’s economy is returning on the right track.
In August, 9.47 lakh new members were added that went up to 11,75,897, a report released by the National Statistical Office (NSO) on Thursday said. Of it, 987498 are male and 188353 are female.
The report titled ‘Payroll Reporting in India: An Employment Perspective – October 2020’, said since the number of subscribers was from various sources, there are elements of overlap and the estimates are not additive.
NSO said the report gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector and does not measure employment at a holistic level.
