Net formal job creation under the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation ( EPFO ) has dropped for two consecutive years through FY25, retreating sharply from its peak in FY23.
As per ET, revised payroll data showed that 12.9 million net formal jobs were created in FY25, compared with 13.1 million in FY24 and 13.8 million in FY23, which had been bolstered by high enrolments under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY).
The fall translates into a 1.3% year-on-year dip in FY25 and a 5.1% decline in FY24.
The number of establishments remitting their first Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) also slid to 52,309 in FY25, down 6.6% from 56,023 a year earlier. The previous year had seen a marginal rise over FY23, when 55,337 establishments filed their first ECR.
Officials attributed the slowdown to the high base effect of FY23, when additional enrolments took place under ABRY between 2020 and 2022.
The scheme, launched in October 2020 to incentivise employers for creating new jobs and restoring pandemic-related employment losses, had disbursed Rs 10,188.50 crore to 6.05 million beneficiaries across 152,000 establishments by March 31, 2024, against the original Rs 23,000 crore allocation.
Experts, however, expressed concern that the declining trend in EPFO-linked job creation does not align with India’s strong economic growth.
The economy grew by 7.6% in FY23, 9.2% in FY24, and 6.5% in FY25. “Creation of formal jobs in the country is not keeping pace with the economic growth as the private sector is in a wait-and-watch mode due to geopolitical uncertainty ,” an industry expert was quoted as saying by ET.
The expert added that the launch of the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme signalled another attempt to encourage the private sector to generate more formal jobs, thereby expanding social security coverage.
"Launch of ELI scheme is a clear indication of another attempt to incentivise the private sector to create more formal jobs, which in turn will ensure social security for more workers", the expert further said.
As per ET, revised payroll data showed that 12.9 million net formal jobs were created in FY25, compared with 13.1 million in FY24 and 13.8 million in FY23, which had been bolstered by high enrolments under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Rojgar Yojana (ABRY).
The fall translates into a 1.3% year-on-year dip in FY25 and a 5.1% decline in FY24.
The number of establishments remitting their first Electronic Challan cum Return (ECR) also slid to 52,309 in FY25, down 6.6% from 56,023 a year earlier. The previous year had seen a marginal rise over FY23, when 55,337 establishments filed their first ECR.
Officials attributed the slowdown to the high base effect of FY23, when additional enrolments took place under ABRY between 2020 and 2022.
The scheme, launched in October 2020 to incentivise employers for creating new jobs and restoring pandemic-related employment losses, had disbursed Rs 10,188.50 crore to 6.05 million beneficiaries across 152,000 establishments by March 31, 2024, against the original Rs 23,000 crore allocation.
Experts, however, expressed concern that the declining trend in EPFO-linked job creation does not align with India’s strong economic growth.
The economy grew by 7.6% in FY23, 9.2% in FY24, and 6.5% in FY25. “Creation of formal jobs in the country is not keeping pace with the economic growth as the private sector is in a wait-and-watch mode due to geopolitical uncertainty ,” an industry expert was quoted as saying by ET.
The expert added that the launch of the Employment Linked Incentive (ELI) scheme signalled another attempt to encourage the private sector to generate more formal jobs, thereby expanding social security coverage.
"Launch of ELI scheme is a clear indication of another attempt to incentivise the private sector to create more formal jobs, which in turn will ensure social security for more workers", the expert further said.
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