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The Retirement fund body, Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) in its latest ‘Provisional payroll data’ report has showed that 19.50 lakh net members have been added in the month of May 2024. The addition during the month is the highest since the first payroll data was issued in April 2018. Further, the year-over-year analysis showed a growth of 19.62% in net member additions compared to May 2023. This surge in membership can be attributed to numerous factors, including increased employment opportunities, a growing awareness of employee benefits, and the effectiveness of EPFO's outreach programs.

The data indicated that around 9.85 lakh new members have enrolled during May 2024. There is an increase of 10.96% in the new members from the previous month of April 2024 and 11.5% increase from the previous year May 2023. A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 58.37% of the total new members added in May 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. In addition, the net payroll data for the age group 18-25 for May 2024 is the highest since the first payroll data was published. 

The payroll data highlighted that approximately 14.09 lakh members exited and subsequently re-joined EPFO. This figure depicts year-over-year growth of 23.47% compared to May 2023. 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. Gender-wise analysis of payroll data unveiled that out of the new members added during the month, around 2.48 lakh are new female members.