Desk : Formal job creation in India maintained its momentum in the first half of the year, with new additions to three social security schemes compared to the same period last year, even though September figures show a further decline in the creation of formal employment.
New enrollments in the Employee Provident Fund Scheme, which applies to larger organizations and higher-paid employees, rose 2.3 per cent in the first half of FY25 compared to the same period last year, adding 6.1 million employees.
New Employee State Insurance Corporation membership, which applies to small organizations and low-wage groups, grew even faster with 9.3 million additions in the first half of FY25, up 5.2 percent more than the 8.8 million of the previous fiscal year.
Worrying September trend
Although the increase in formal jobs reflected a strong economy in the first half, data for the July-September quarter indicated a slight slowdown. HSBC data released in August and September showed weakness in manufacturing and services activity, characteristic of a slowing labor market. also.
New enrollments in the EPF scheme remained stable in Q2FY25 compared to Q2FY24, rising from a low of 0.95 million in September from 0.98 million in the previous month.
New registrations in the ESIC system were also the lowest in five months, at 1.5 million, down from 1.52 million the previous month.
The Indian economy grew at a slightly slower pace of 6.5 per cent in the second quarter compared to the 6.7 per cent growth seen in the first quarter of FY25.
However, new ESIC enrollments in the second quarter of fiscal year 2015 were 6.8 percent higher than in the second quarter of fiscal year 2014, indicating an improved market for low-wage jobs or greater formalization .
Urban unemployment data released by the ministry a fortnight ago showed that unemployment in urban areas has fallen to its lowest level of 6.4 percent in the second quarter of FY24. This trend also coincides with an increase in people who work as employees or employees.
