Nigeria’s Manufacturing Sector Continues to Grow in April

• Nigeria’s Manufacturing Sector Continues to Grow in April

Activities in the Nigerian manufacturing sector expanded for the twenty-fifth consecutive month in April as demands seem to have grown with improved investment in the sector.

The manufacturing Purchasing Managers’ Index grew 57.7 in the month of April, slightly faster when compared with 57.4 achieved in March.

According to the report released by the Central Bank of Nigeria on Monday, twelve of the 14 subsectors surveyed recorded growth in April in the following order: electrical equipment; plastics & rubber products; cement; petroleum & coal products; transportation equipment; food, beverage & tobacco products; nonmetallic mineral products; chemical & pharmaceutical products; furniture & related products; textile, apparel, leather & footwear; printing & related support activities and fabricated metal products.

Primary metal and paper products subsectors declined in the review month.

Production level in the sector grew by 58.8 points, making it the twenty-sixth consecutive month of expansion. Production expanded at a faster pace than in March.

Eleven of the 14 manufacturing subsectors surveyed recorded surged in production, while the remaining three declined.

The gauge of new orders grew for the twenty-fifth consecutive month in April as ten of the subsectors reported growth and four experienced dropped in new orders.

Job creation in the sector stood at 57 in the month, the twenty-fourth consecutive month of increase.

The continuous growth in the manufacturing sector is yet to reflect on the broader economy, especial the country’s labour market where unemployment rate currently stood at 23.1 percent (20.9 million unemployed people).