Slowdown in Hiring? Formal Job Creation Hits 5-Month Low in October Despite Festive Season

The monthly new hiring hit a seven-month low in October 2024, as per the monthly payroll data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) on Wednesday. According to the report, the number of new monthly subscribers under the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) registered a 20.8 per cent month-on-month (M-o-M) degrowth to 750,000 as compared to 947,000 in September.

EPFO added 13.41 lakh net members during the month. Of the 750,000 new EPF subscribers in October, the contribution of young people belonging to the 18-25 age group stood at 58.5 per cent or around 438,700.

"This is in consonance with the earlier trend which indicates that most individuals joining the organised workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers," the ministry of labour and employment said in a statement.

However, the same age group had a contribution of 59.94 per cent, or around 567,700, in September.

Net formal job creation under EPFO also witnessed a five-month low of 1.34 million in October, a year-on-year dip of 11.8 per cent against 1.52 million in October 2023, data revealed.

Despite October being one of the major festive seasons in India, the retirement fund body witnessed a month-on-month decline of 28.7 per cent compared to 1.88 million in September. It further signals a downturn in the formal labour market during the month.

Read More | Salary Increment Likely to be Moderate Next Year, says TeamLease CEO Kartik Narayan

Net new EPFO subscribers stood at 1.28 million in April, 1.35 million in May, 1.39 million in June, 1.61 million in July and 1.58 million in August this year.

Year-On-Year Growth in Female Workforce

A Gender-wise analysis of payroll data unveiled that out of the new members added during the month, female workforce increased showed year-over-year growth of 2.12 per cent at 2.09 lakhs compared to October 2023.

"Also, the net female member addition during the month stood at around 2.79 lakh. The increase in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce," the ministry said.

The payroll data highlights that approximately 12.90 lakh members exited and subsequently rejoined EPFO. This figure depicts year-over-year growth of 16.23 per cent compared to October 2023.

"These members switched their jobs and re-joined the establishments covered under the ambit of EPFO and opted to transfer their accumulations instead of applying for final settlement thus, safeguarding long-term financial well-being and extending their social security protection,” it added.

As per the ministry, month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the members working in establishments engaged in the industries like road motor transport, electronic media companies in private sector, banks including nationalised banks.

Of the total net membership, around 42.29 per cent addition is from expert services consisting of manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, miscellaneous activities, among others.