Job Losses Expected As Report Predicts Major Disruptions in Nigeria’s Labour Market
- A new NESG report has predicted major disruptions in Nigeria’s Labour market
- The report identified sectors that would be most hit by these trends and what jobs would be most affected
- Already, a 2024 report from Mustard Insights revealed that almost 50% of businesses sacked some staff in the last year
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Legit.ng journalist Ruth Okwumbu-Imafidon has over a decade of experience in business reporting across digital and mainstream media.
Nigeria’s labour market will experience major disruptions in 2025 that could lead to significant job losses.
This is according to the 2025 projections in a report from the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG), titled “Nigeria’s Private Sector in 2025: Adapting to Economic Uncertainty for Growth and Resilience.”
The report notes that much of these challenges will be driven by economic indicators like high operations costs and lower sales resulting from a decline in consumer spending, structural weaknesses within companies, and an uptick in automation trends.
Source: Getty Images
All of these will combine to reshape the employment patterns across several industries, leading to major job losses.
Almost 50% of businesses sacked staff in 2024
The report covered industries like Services, Trade and manufacturing, all of which have already seen significant job losses in 2024.
Recall the Mustard Insights Business Survival Report showed that more than 44 percent of businesses laid off staff in 2024 in a bid to stay afloat.
Explaining the report to Legit.ng, Founder of Mustard Insights, Ms. Lawretta Egba, noted that the layoffs were at different levels and in different proportions.
“Some laid off 10 percent of their staffs, some as much as 80 percent, but all of these 45% percent had reasons to lay off staffs. It had nothing to do with competency on the part of the staffs, but just a means to cut down costs to stay afloat. They went from trying to thrive, to just trying to survive”
The NESG report predicts a harsh economic climate for businesses in 2025, which will force more businesses to downsize to cut down expenses and survive, according to Independent news reports.
Increased automation in 2025
The NESG projection also sees increased adoption of automation and digital solutions across industries in 2025, particularly in areas like banking, customer service and telecommunications.
These industries will see major layoffs as the players adopt automation to boost efficiency.
The report specifically notes that there will be reduced demand for low- and mid-skilled labour, as automated solutions step in to fill the gaps.
Source: Getty Images
Just recently, popular food delivery startup – Chowdeck – laid off almost 70 per cent of its contract staff as a means to cut down costs and drive efficiencies. Even filling stations say low sales have forced them to sack some staff.
As many of these workers have not yet retrained or upskilled to match the fast-paced changes in the industry, they may be ill-equipped to adapt and end up in the unemployment market.
Even high-skilled employees will not be left out. Zenith Bank recently laid off 66 senior staff in a restructuring move.
First Bank of Nigeria Plc did the same thing, letting go of 100 senior staff.
44% of Businesses Forced to Layoff Staff
In related news, the business survival crisis has forced about 44% of businesses to lay off staff in 2024.
Other challenges in the Nigerian business environment pushed some businesses into bankruptcy, while others had to increase prices or pivot.
An earlier CBN report identified several challenges faced by Nigerian businesses, including multiple and high bank charges.
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Source: Legit.ng
