EPFO adds 16.1 lakh net members in February 2025

According to a statement from the Ministry of Labour and Employment, yhe year-on-year analysis reveals a growth of 3.99 per cent in net payroll additions compared to February 2024, signifying increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO's effective outreach initiatives.

EPFO enrolled around 7.39 lakh new subscribers in February 2025. This addition of new subscribers can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO's successful outreach programs.

A notable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group, with 4.27 lakh new subscribers added in this age group, constituting a significant 57.71 per cent of the total new subscribers added in February 2025.

"This is in consonance with the earlier trend, which indicates that most individuals joining the organised workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers," the ministry said.

Furthermore, the net payroll addition for the 18-25 age group in February 2025 is approximately 6.78 lakh, representing a 3.01 per cent growth from the same period in February 2024.

Approximately 13.18 lakh members, who had previously exited, rejoined the EPFO in February 2025.

This figure illustrates notable year-over-year growth of 11.85 per cent compared to February 2024. 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.

Around 2.08 lakhs new female subscribers joined EPFO in February 2025. It depicts year-over-year growth of 1.26 per cent compared to February 2024.

Further, the net female payroll addition during the month stood at around 3.37 lakh, a significant year over year growth of 9.23 per cent compared to February 2024.

The growth in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that the top five states/ UTs constitute around 59.75 per cent of net payroll addition, adding a total around 9.62 lakh net payroll during the month.

Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.90 per cent of net payroll during the month. The states/UTs of Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh individually added more than 5 per cent of the total net payroll during the month.

Of the total net payroll addition, around 41.72 per cent addition is from expert services (consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities etc.).