EPFO net new enrolments grow nearly 20% to 1.2 million in February

Net new enrolments with retirement fund body EPFO grew by nearly 20 per cent to 12.37 lakh in February compared to the same month in 2020, according to the payroll data released on Tuesday, providing a perspective on formal sector employment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The provisional payroll data of EPFO highlights a growing trend with the addition of 12.37 lakh net subscribers during the month of February, 2021, a Labour Ministry statement said. The data reflects growth of 3.52 per cent in net subscribers addition in February 2021 over January 2021.

"Year-on-year comparison of payroll data indicates an increase of 19.63 per cent in net subscribers as compared to the corresponding period in February 2020," the ministry said.

Despite COVID-19 pandemic, the EPFO has added around 69.58 lakh net subscribers during the current financial year (till February 2021). During 2019-20, the number of net new subscribers rose to 78.58 lakh as compared to 61.12 lakh in the preceding fiscal, the data showed.