Formal employment picked up in May after a disappointing start to the year as new enrollments in the government’s social security schemes rose, according to data released on July 25. New subscriptions to the Employees’ Provident Fund scheme rose 5.8 percent in April compared with the previous month to 984,681, while subscriptions to the Employees’ State Insurance Scheme, which caters to relatively lower-paid employees, jumped 40 percent to 1.7 million, as per the report released by the ministry of statistics and programme implementation. The rise in employment bodes well for the economy. Private survey data has been hinting at improving employment prospects in the first quarter, after a tepid growth in the previous year.