-The latest EPFO payroll figures from the past five years (2017-22) indicate that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Haryana have contributed significantly to the overall net EPFO
-Earlier, the online facility was to remain available only till May 3, after EPFO had earlier extended the timeline in late March, after receiving multiple requests from employee organisations
Bengaluru / New Delhi, NFAPost: There was an uptick in PF (Provident Fund) enrolment in India during 2021-22, with 1.38 crore net subscribers joining the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) scheme, indicating a higher number of people joining the formal workforce, according to a report called the Karnataka Jobs Report 2022-23 by service provider Quess Corp and Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI).
This trend is continuing in 2022-23, which suggests that formal employment is expected to increase further, Business Standard reported.
The latest EPFO payroll figures from the past five years (2017-22) indicate that Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, and Haryana have contributed significantly to the overall net EPFO new payrolls, accounting for 60.54% of the total.
These states also registered the highest number of new Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) members as of March 2021, with steady growth in formal jobs observed in the top five states. Maharashtra, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu are among the top-performing states in terms of GDP growth, which explains their consistent contribution to the EPFO database.
“Given the burgeoning growth of key sectors in India and the noticeable uptick in formal employment there is a sense of optimism regarding the future of the country’s economy,” said Lohit Bhatia, President of Workforce Management, Quess Corp.
The report findings based on an analysis of EPFO, ESIC database and estimation of government employees showed that the state of Karnataka has about 24.7% of its workforce employed in the formal sector, which is 4.74% higher than the national average of 20%, creating promising opportunities for the state’s industry and trade prospects. The report also highlights that Karnataka accounts for nearly 11% of the net new formal job additions in India.
“The findings in the report indicate that Karnataka is a leader in formal job creation in India,” said K Ullas Kamath, Chairman, FICCI Karnataka State Council. “Undertaking skilling efforts at graduation level with a constructive partnership with industry, Government, and academia can fast-track the progress of formal job creation, especially in a large number of MSMEs, booming IT, and tech-driven sectors.”
According to the data, the expert services category, comprising manpower agencies, private security agencies, and small contractors, among others, has emerged as the primary formal job creator, responsible for approximately 38 per cent of the new formal jobs generated in the last five years.
The demand for temporary or contract-based workers across various industries has fuelled this growth. Additionally, the government’s efforts to formalize the informal sector have resulted in a higher number of small contractors and other informal businesses registering with the EPFO and contributing to the creation of formal jobs.
The remaining eight major sectors, including building and construction, trading and commercial establishments, engineering, developing electronic, mechanical, and general engineering products, textiles, and garment making, together added around 1.56 crore jobs, which is around 62% of the new formal jobs added.
The Building and Construction sector is the second-largest job creator, with consistent growth in formal job creation. The growth is attributed to the government’s emphasis on creating smart cities and enhancing infrastructure, along with the rising demand for infrastructure and real estate projects.
The textile industry has also shown signs of recovery with a significant increase in PF-linked employees in the last five years. This growth is attributed to the surge in demand for textile products both domestically and internationally, along with favourable government policies such as the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme.
EPFO extends deadline to apply for the higher pension to June 26
The Employee Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has extended the timeframe to apply for the higher pension to June 26, considering the various demands received from employees, employers, and their associations.
The subscribers of the social security organisation will be able to exercise the option via the online facility, which has been created to avail the benefits of the apex court ruling on November 4 last year.
Till now, more than 1,200,000 applications have been received for availing of the higher pension option.
Earlier, the online facility was to remain available only till May 3, after EPFO had earlier extended the timeline in late March, after receiving multiple requests from employee organisations.
“In the meantime, many representations have been received from various quarters seeking an extension of time. The issue has been considered and it has been decided that in order to provide a larger window of opportunity and in order to enable all eligible persons to file their applications, the timeline for filing applications would now be till 26th June,” labour ministry said in a statement.
The timeline has been extended to facilitate and provide ample opportunity to the pensioners/members so as to ease out any difficulty being faced by them, EPFO added.
