Fresh formal job creation below 1 million for third month: EPFO data

Surprisingly, the number of new male subscribers fell more (14.9 per cent) than female (12.9 per cent) in December

Fresh formal job creation declined sequentially in December and remained below the 1 million mark for the third consecutive month, signaling pressure in the employment market, the latest payroll data released by the Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Monday showed.

The number of new monthly subscribers under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) declined by 14.5 per cent to 802,250 in December from 937,780 in November. In October, only 780,170 new subscribers had joined the EPF, which was the lowest monthly enrollment since May 2021.

In FY23, the number of monthly new subscribers had remained above 1 million for six