India shows jobs growth as 3.11 mn join PF in 6 months

India shows jobs growth as 3.11 mn join PF in 6 months

Context

‘Data may help fill missing link for policy-making’

What has happened?

India added 4,72,075 employees to the State-run social security fund in February, after adding 6,04,557 in January, new data on payrolls released on Wednesday showed, giving a guide to how many new jobs are being created in the non-farm sector

EPF

The Employees Provident Fund released provisional figures for six months that showed that 3.11 million workers joined the fund during the September 2017 to February 2018 period, partly due to a pickup in the economy and federal support

Criticism

Critics say the new data overestimates job creation in the organised sector as many workers, who were working on contract with same companies, were added to the fund due the State incentives.

Mandatory contribution

It is mandatory for employers and employees of companies with 20 or more workers to contribute to the EPF, though the government plans to amend the rules so that firms with 10 or more staff have to open an account with EPF for workers.