The Employees' Provident Fund Organization (EPFO) has released provisional payroll data for May 2025, revealing a net addition of 20.06 lakh members, marking the highest recorded addition since payroll data tracking began in April 2018. This figure depicts an increase of 4.79 % in net payroll additions during the current month as compared to the previous month of April 2025.

Further, the year-on-year analysis reveals a growth of 2.84 % in net payroll additions compared to May 2024, signifying increased employment opportunities and heightened awareness of employee benefits, bolstered by EPFO’s effective outreach initiatives.

Speaking about this achievement, Union Minister of Labour & Employment and Youth Affairs & Sports, Dr. Mansukh Mandaviya said, “The EPFO has recorded an all-time high net member addition in May 2025, a testament to the growing strength of India’s formal employment landscape. This historic achievement is the direct result of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi’s visionary leadership and the government’s unwavering commitment to pro-youth, pro-worker reforms. Under the Prime Minister’s guidance, our focus on ease of doing business and economic empowerment is yielding tangible outcomes, and we remain dedicated to building a robust and inclusive labour ecosystem for a Viksit Bharat."

India’s employment engine powered by PM Modi’s reforms breaks all records!

EPFO Records an All-Time High Net Member Addition in May 2025.

Under the dynamic leadership of Hon’ble PM Shri @narendramodi ji, India’s formal employment ecosystem is witnessing unprecedented growth.… pic.twitter.com/YQ4tOkj3vw

— Dr Mansukh Mandaviya (@mansukhmandviya) July 21, 2025

Key highlights of the EPFO Payroll Data (May 2025) are as follows:

New Subscribers:

EPFO enrolled around 9.42 lakh new subscribers in May 2025, representing a 11.04% increase over April 2025. This increase in new subscribers can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO's successful outreach programs.

Age Group 18-25 Leads Payroll Addition:

A noticeable aspect of the data is the dominance of the 18-25 age group. EPFO added 5.60 lakh new subscribers in the 18-25 age group, constituting a significant 59.48% of the total new subscribers added in May 2025. New subscribers in the 18-25 age group added in the month show an increase of 14.53% compared to the previous month of April 2025.

Further, the net payroll addition for the age group 18-25 for May 2025 is approximately 8.73 lakh reflecting an increase of 15.10% from the previous month of April 2025 and a growth of 0.11% from the previous year in May 2024. This is in consonance with the earlier trend which indicates that most individuals joining the organized workforce are youth, primarily first-time job seekers.

Rejoined Members:

Approximately 16.11 lakh members, who had exited earlier, rejoined EPFO in May 2025. This figure depicts a 2.12% increase over April 2025. It also displays a significant 14.27% year-over-year growth compared to May 2024. 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.

Growth in Female Membership:

Around 2.62 lakhs new female subscribers joined EPFO in May 2025. It reflects an increase of 7.08% compared to the previous month of April 2025. It also depicts year-over-year growth of 5.84% compared to May 2024.

Further, the net female payroll addition during the month stood at around 4.25 lakh, with a month on month increase of 7.54% compared to April 2025 and a significant year over year growth of 15.04% compared to May 2024. The growth in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce.

State-wise Contribution:

State-wise analysis of payroll data denotes that the top five states/ UTs constitute around 59.98% of net payroll addition, adding a total around 12.03 lakh net payroll during the month. Of all the states, Maharashtra is leading by adding 20.33% of net payroll during the month. The states/UTs of Maharashtra, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Gujarat, Haryana, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh and Telangana individually added more than 5% of the total net payroll during the month.

Industry-wise Trends:

Month-on-month comparison of industry-wise data displays significant growth in the net payroll addition working in establishments engaged in the industries viz.

1. EXPERT SERVICES,
2. TEXTILES,
3. ESTABLISHMENTS ENGAGED IN CLEANING, SWEEPING SERVICES,
4. ELEC, MECH OR GEN ENGG PRODUCTS,
5. FINANCING ESTABLISHMENT,
6. GARMENTS MAKING

Of the total net payroll addition in the month of May 2025, around 44.61% is from expert services, out of which manpower suppliers constitute around 51.71%. Further, segregation of expert services is as follows:

The above payroll data is provisional since data generation is a continuous exercise, as updating employee record is a continuous process. The previous data gets updated every month on account of:

1. ECRs being filed for previous months after generation of payroll report.
2. ECRs filed earlier being modified after generation of payroll report.
3. Date of exit for previous months being marked after generation of payroll report.

From the month of April 2018, EPFO has been releasing payroll data covering the period September 2017 onwards. In monthly payroll data, the count of members joining EPFO for the first time through Aadhaar validated Universal Account Number (UAN), existing members exiting from coverage of EPFO and those who exited but re-joined as members, is taken to arrive at net monthly payroll.

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Manish Gautam/Divyanshu Kumar