Nigeria Urged to Create 4.55M Jobs Annually to Tackle Crisis
Nigeria's Nigeria Employers' Consultative Association (NECA) has called for urgent action to tackle the country's mounting job crisis. The association has proposed a 'Jobs near me' Agenda, aiming to create an average of 4.55 million net new jobs annually.
The report, 'From Hustle to Decent Work', highlights the pressure on Nigeria's labour market due to a rapidly growing youth population. To address this, NECA urges the establishment of a National Skills Development Programme and a National Productivity Fund. Key sectors expected to drive job creation include manufacturing, construction, ICT, and professional services, with manufacturing alone accounting for 21% of new jobs.
Currently, the informal sector employs a large share of the workforce but contributes minimally to productivity growth or tax revenue. To sustain job creation, the report stresses the need to address systemic productivity challenges.
NECA's proposals aim to generate at least 27.3 million new formal jobs between 2025 and 2030 to maintain the unemployment rate at 4.3%. The federal government is urged to launch a National Skills Development Programme as part of this strategy.
