5.2 crore new jobs in FY 20-23: SBI report on ‘growth in 4 years’ buoys sentiments

New Delhi: Amid the Opposition onslaught over ‘economy on decline’ and stagnation in job market, this comes as a welcome respite for the government.

A State Bank of India report has found that about 5.2 crore or 52 million jobs were added in the India’s formal sector between the fiscal years 2020 – 2023.

The SBI, in its Ecowrap report, concluded that despite economic headwinds, India’s formal sector witnessed growth in employment in last 4 years and this was evident in numbers. Out of 52 million jobs, 47% of jobs were category of first jobs, the report said.

The SBI research team studied the payroll data of the Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and the National Pension Scheme (NPS) to prepare report on jobs growth in formal sector.

Analysis of the EPFO payroll data showed 48.6 million new EPF subscriber additions during FY 20 to FY 23 while the NPS saw addition of 3.1 million new subscribers during this period.

The report has buoyed the market sentiments and instilled fresh hope for the corporate sector, hit by layoffs & retrenchments in many global companies.

The report also sees sustainable growth in the payroll data for the ongoing fiscal i.e. FY 24.

“If the trend continues for the whole fiscal, then in FY 24, the net new payroll is expected to cross the 16 million mark, which will be the highest ever, with first payroll expected to be in the range of 7-8 million,” Soumya Kanti Ghosh, group chief economic adviser said in the Ecowrap report.

Ghosh says that there has also been decline in revision of numbers, willing to rejoin or re-subscribe to EPFO in the first quarter of fiscal and she dubbed this a positive development.