EPFO reports highest ever monthly salary additions for July 2024

EPFO data shows that of the new hires, 10.52 lakh are first-time hires

New Delhi:

The Employees’ Pension Fund Organisation (EPFO) recorded its highest-ever monthly salary increment in July 2024. 19.94 lakh members joined its ranks.

This underlines a shift in India’s labour market, reflecting the effectiveness of the Modi government’s reforms aimed at increasing job creation and formalising the labour market.

EPFO data shows that of the new hires, 10.52 lakh are first-time hires, up 2.66 per cent over June 2024 and up 2.43 per cent over July 2023.

The increase in employment reflects an expanding labour market and greater opportunities, especially for young people and women.

India’s significant growth and job creation drive has been supported by key government initiatives such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, Startup India movement, Employment Linked Incentive Scheme and significant capital expenditure (Capex).

The annual net salary increases further underline the progress that has been made: in the year 2022-23, the figure stood at 138.52 lakh, while in the year 2023-24, the figure stood at 131.48 lakh.

Youth employment is a major driver of the growth in formal jobs, with 8.77 lakh youth contributing to net wage growth in July 2024.

Of these, 6.25 lakh were new entrants, accounting for 59.41 per cent of the total new entrants this month. This growth can be attributed to initiatives like the National Career Service (NCS), which currently has over 20 lakh active vacancies and has registered 33.72 lakh companies, indicating robust hiring across sectors.

The key event of July 2024 is the increase in women’s participation in the labour market. Data shows that 4.41 lakh women joined the formal sector in July, of which 3.05 lakh were new entrants.

The net female labour force increased by 14.41 per cent, while the number of new female entrants increased by 10.94 per cent. This significant increase in female employment reflects the government’s focus on improving access to education, skill development programmes and support services such as hostels for working women.

In terms of industries, the sectors that saw the highest net wage growth in July 2024 were manufacturing, marketing services, computer use, and construction.

Collectively, these sectors added over 2 lakh new members, while other sectors like professional services, electronic media companies and banking also contributed to the increase in hiring.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)