Formal job creation in India rose in November after October lows: MoSPI

Between September 2017 and November 2022, 6.09 crore new subscribers joined the EPF scheme

Formal job creation in India recovered in November 2022 from a multi-month low in October, data released by the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI) released on Wednesday showed. However, job creation in November was the second-worst in 2022.

The number of new subscribers of the Employees' Provident Funds (EPF) Scheme in November was 899,000. It was 171,000 higher than 768,000 in October. However, it was over 100,000 lower than the 1 million jobs created in September. The highest number of jobs in 2022 was created in July at 1.15 million. 

Moreover, between September 2017 and November 2022, 60.9 million new subscribers joined the EPF scheme. EPF is applicable to establishments having more than 20 workers. 

The data also revealed that 60,571 people joined the National Pension Scheme (NPS) in November. It was lower than 60,662 in October and 66,211 in September. 

"39,72,545 new subscribers joined and contributed to the NPS Central Government, State Governments and Corporate schemes from September 2017 to November 2022," the report said. 

NPS is applicable to any citizen of India, whether resident or non-resident and individuals who are aged between 18-70 years as of the date of submission of their application.

Further, the new subscribers under the Employees' State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) grew to 1.42 million in November from 1.19 million in October. This also indicates an uptick in employment in India. But like EPFO, the figures were lower than 1.45 million in September and 1.48 million in August. ESI is applicable to establishments having more than 10 workers with a wage ceiling of Rs 21,000 per month.

"The present report gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector and does not measure employment at a holistic level. The Ministry welcomes suggestions for improvement in content, coverage and presentation," the ministry said.