The Employees State Insurance Corporation (ESIC) payroll data released by the Central Statistical Office (CSO) suggests 2 crore jobs created in 16 months. The ESIC data is one of payroll numbers released by the Central Statistics Office (CSO) in its reports based on people joining various social security schemes run by Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) and Pension Fund Regulatory Development Authority (PFRDA). The data shows that:
- During September 2017 and December 2018, as many as 1.96 crore new subscribers joined the scheme
- Employment generation in the formal sector almost trebled to touch a 16-month high of 7.16 lakh in December 2018 compared to 2.37 lakh in the year-ago month.
- Around 72.32 lakh new subscribers were added to social security schemes of the EPFO from September 2017 to December 2018.
- An estimated number of new NPS (National Pension Scheme) subscribers during the period of September 2017 to December 2018 is 9,66,381.
The report gives different perspectives on the levels of employment in the formal sector and does not measure employment at a holistic level.