The Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) data shows that out of the total Universal Account Numbers (UANs) generated in FY26, 79 percent belonged to people in the age group of 18-30 years, as per a report by workforce solutions and talent infrastructure company Quess Corp.
The report suggests that India’s workforce landscape “remains strongly youth-driven”. Gen Zs are acquiring more roles in the organized sector with 59 percent of the new EPFO subscriptions belonging to the 18-25 age category.
Among the cohort joining India’s formal workforce, the largest group belongs to the 21-25 age group, as they make up 35 percent of the new UAN enrolments.
Women’s engagement
The report further says that the National Apprenticeship Promotion Scheme facilitated 64,000 apprenticeship contracts. The move aims at easing the transition from the educational phase to the employment phase by providing exposure to the skills required.
Women’s engagement in the formal workspace has also increased over time. During 2025-26, 28 percent of the new UANs generated belonged to women, while they also received 26 percent of the total apprenticeship contracts.
Decentralisation
The report highlights another trend which is the emergence of Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities as hub of workforce deploymnet. 69 percent of the workforce now belongs to these cities, which represents the decentralisation of opportunity driven by retail expansion, logistics growth, manufacturing diversification, and distributed business operations.
Education
Exposure to education is growing among the workforce, with 96 percent of them having completed high school, 61 percent having completed Class 12, and 30 percent being graduates and post-graduates. Employees are now more tech-savvy and digitally adaptive, with gender diversity prevalent among the more educated workers.
Female participation is focused more on customer service, telesales, HR, and office-support roles, whereas operational/logistics-heavy jobs still hire predominantly male workers. Women make up 25 percent of postgraduate workers and 23 percent of those with only a Class 10 education.
Unemployment and skill mismatch
However, unemployment is still prevalent among the youth, and even those with employment have a mismatch between the skills and the roles they are working in. Approximately 40 percent of the 15-29 age group are unemployed graduates. More than 50 percent are employed in roles requiring skills below their level. 8.25 percent of degree holders have employment matching their skills.
EPF membership
There is no direct way to join the EPF scheme. The employee must be hired in a company/establishment which is covered under the EPF & MP Act, 1952.
