New Delhi, April 20: Net employment generation in the formal sector almost trebled to 8.61 lakh in February compared to 2.87 lakh in the same month of last year, according to the latest EPFO payroll data. The retirement fund body Employees' Provident Fund Organisation has been releasing payroll data from April 2018, covering the period starting September 2017.

According to the latest data, the highest job creation was recorded in January 2019 at 8.94 lakh against the provisional estimate of 8.96 lakh released last month. During February 2019, the highest number of 2.36 lakh jobs were created in the 22-25 years age group, followed by 2.09 lakh in the 18-21 years age bracket. #HowsTheJobs: Rahul Gandhi Slams Narendra Modi on Job Creation, Says 'Leaked Report Card' Reveals Disaster.

The data showed that 80.86 lakh new jobs were created in the 18 months period from September 2017 to February 2019. However, the EPFO has revised downward the number of net subscribers added or new jobs created from September 2017 to January 2019 to 72.24 lakh from 76.48 lakh released last month. Unemployment Rate Highest in India, Post 2013, Says Report.

The sharpest revision was for March 2018 in the latest report which showed contraction or exit of 55,934 members from the EPFO subscriptions. Last month, the EPFO payroll data had showed that as many as 29,023 members exited from its schemes in March 2018. In February 2019, the EPFO data had showed that as many as 5,498 members joined EPFO schemes in March 2018.

On contraction in March 2018 numbers, the EPFO said, "March 2018 figure is negative due to large number of exits reported in the month of March, in view of it being the closing month of the financial year." The EPFO said the data is provisional as updation of employee records is a continuous process and gets updated in subsequent months.

This is age-band wise data of new members registered under the EPFO where the first non-zero contribution received during a particular month. For each age-wise band, the estimates are net of the members newly enrolled, exited and rejoined during the month as per records of the EPFO, it added.

The estimates may include temporary employees whose contributions may not be continuous for the entire year. Members' data are linked to unique Aadhaar Identity, it added.

The EPFO manages social security funds of workers in the organised or semi organised sector in India and has more than 6 crore active members (with at least one-month contribution during the year).