New members who have started subscribing to the Employees’ Provident Fund (EPF) hit a 16-month low in December 2018 at 8.52 lakh, official data showed.

This was much lower than the July 2018 level of 13.91 lakh — the highest monthly new subscribers addition in each of the months during the period September 2017-December 2018 for which data was released by Central Statistics Office (CSO) on Monday.

CSO on Monday came up with a press note on employment outlook of the country covering the period September 2017 to December 2018, based on the administrative records available with selected Government agencies to assess progress in certain dimension.

Although the month-wise data on new subscriber additions to EPF, National Pension System and ESIC were separately provided, the CSO made it clear the present report “does not measure employment at a holistic level”, but gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector.

In its employment outlook, the CSO has also provided data on those dropping out and those who rejoined and resubscribed during the month.

Expert’s take

Madan Sabnavis, Chief Economist, CARE Ratings, a rating agency, told BusinessLine : “In December 2018 we see that new enrolments have come to a low and has been declining”. Also, those dropping out have been lowest (in December 2018).“We get a sense that numbers are now more realistic and will remain this way. Need to see now whether subscribers start increasing again. While new entries signal employment, withdrawals look erratic and cause concern,” Sabnavis said.

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