The creation of formal jobs in India reached a four-month low in September, according to the latest data released by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).

According to the EPFO’s provisional payroll data released on Monday, around 8.92 lakh new members have enrolled during September. This number is less than the formal jobs created in each of the months of June, July and August when formal jobs stood at 10.14 lakh, 10.27 lakh and 9.26 lakh, respectively.

Labour economist K.R. Shyam Sundar, adjunct professor of human resource management at MDI, Gurgaon, said the dip in formal job creation was understandable as a lot of informal jobs are created in August and September because of religious festivities and farm work.