Nigeria’s New Job Creation Decreased by 69.9 Percent

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) report released on Friday shows a decrease of 69.9 percent or 327,702 in the number of new jobs created in the second quarter (2Q) of the year when compared with the preceding quarter and 45.5 percent short of the total number of jobs created in the same quarter last year.

According to the report, the formal sector of the economy created 51,070 new jobs, which account for 36.1 percent of the total jobs created in the second quarter (2Q) of 2015. The formal sector recorded a decline of 61.6 percent or 79,871 jobs when compared to the number of jobs created in the first quarter (1Q) quarter of 2015 and a 35.2 percent decline to that of jobs created in the same quarter in 2014.

Data from National Bureau of Statistics (NBS)

In the public sector, a total of 6,395 jobs was created in the 2Q, beating the same quarter last year with an increase of 11.7 percent or 669 jobs. This sector represents 4.5 percent of the total jobs created during the period under review.

The informal sector of the economy which consists of jobs generated by individuals or businesses employing less than 10 employees or businesses with little or no formal structures, created 83,903 new jobs. However, when compared with the 1st quarter of the year when 332,403 new jobs were created, an alarming 74.8 percent decrease in jobs was recorded.

The report shows that informal and formal sectors are the most affected which correlates with the effect of the current economic policy of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) to restrict importers of certain items from accessing forex at the CBN rate. This means that formal and informal businesses have reduced the number of jobs they create in order to cut costs and devise an alternative business model to sustain their businesses.