Team Goemkarponn
PANAJI: Growth in Goa’s organised workforce slowed during the 2025-26 financial year, with fresh enrolments under the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) increasing at a slower pace than the previous year, according to data tabled in Parliament.
The state recorded nearly 3 lakh EPFO subscribers in 2025-26, up from 2.97 lakh a year earlier, translating into a growth of around 2.5 per cent.
Although the number of registered workers continued to rise, the increase was lower than the 4.5 per cent growth recorded in 2024-25. Goa also trailed the country’s overall EPFO payroll growth of 3 per cent during the same period.
Union Minister of State for Labour and Employment Shobha Karandlaje, while presenting the figures in Parliament, said EPFO payroll data provides an indication of employment generated in the organised sector. The database covers employees working across nearly 200 categories of establishments, including educational institutions, restaurants, manufacturing units and other businesses covered under the provident fund system.
The slower pace of enrolment in Goa reflects limited expansion of new industries and relatively low participation by several businesses in bringing their workforce under the EPF framework.
Sectors such as construction, real estate and tourism-related services, despite being among the state’s largest employers, continue to have a sizeable number of workers outside the formal social security network.
To strengthen formal employment and improve workforce participation, the Centre said it is implementing programmes aimed at generating jobs and improving skills. These include the Pradhan Mantri Viksit Bharat Yojana and the Skill India Mission, which focus on vocational training, apprenticeships, reskilling and industry-oriented skill development for job seekers.
