Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu

The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) payroll data for March, released on Wednesday (Ma, has reported a net addition of 14.58 lakh members. The Union Labour Ministry said in a statement that the net additions increased by 1.15% compared with March 2024.

The data revealed that the EPFO had enrolled around 7.54 lakh new subscribers in March 2025, which is a 0.98% increase compared with March 2024, and a 2.03% increase over February 2025. “This growth in new subscribers can be attributed to growing employment opportunities, increased awareness of employee benefits, and EPFO’s successful outreach programmes,” the Ministry said.

About 4.45 lakh new subscribers are in the 18-25 years age group, constituting 58.94% of the total new subscribers added in March. The net payroll addition for the 18-25 years age group is approximately 6.68 lakh, a growth of 6.49% from March 2024. Approximately 13.23 lakh members, who had exited earlier, rejoined the EPFO in March.

Around 2.08 lakh new female subscribers joined in March. “It reflects an increase of 0.18% compared to February, 2025. It also depicts year-over-year growth of 4.18% compared to March, 2024,” the statement added. The net female payroll addition stood at around 2.92 lakh, with a year over year growth of 0.78%. “The growth in female member additions is indicative of a broader shift towards a more inclusive and diverse workforce,” the Ministry said.

Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Haryana, Gujarat, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Telangana individually added more than 5% of the total net payroll during the month. Around 45.59% net payroll addition is from expert services, including manpower suppliers, normal contractors, security services, and miscellaneous activities.