Manufacturers Project Massive Job Losses Over Forex Shortage, High Energy Cost, Others
- A report by MAN shows says that Nigeria’s unemployment became worse in the first quarter of 2023
- This is against an earlier report that Nigeria’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.1% from 5.3%
- According to the association, job circumstances will continue to deteriorate in the coming months
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Manufacturers Association of Nigeria has said that the unemployment situation in the real sector is projected to worsen as the employment condition (rate of employment) fell from 51.3 points in the fourth quarter of 2022 to 50.7 points in the first quarter of 2023.
This appears to contrast with a recent report by the National Bureau of Statistics, World Bank and International Labour Organisation (ILO) released on Thursday, August 24, 2023.
The new reports show that Nigeria’s unemployment rate has dropped to 4.1% for the first quarter of 2023 from 5.3 percent recorded in the previous quarter.
Source: Getty Images
The association predicted that job circumstances would continue to deteriorate. Punch reported that in its most recent report on the Manufacturers CEOs Confidence Index, the number could reach 47.8 points in the ensuing months.
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Unemployment will deteriorate
The report is a quarterly research and advocacy product of the association that tracks developments in the manufacturing industry and changes in operator sentiment.
According to the study, the MCCI's overall Index Score decreased to 54.1 points in the first quarter of 2023.
It stated that the unpredictable and challenging macroeconomic situation had made manufacturers' decisions regarding hiring so difficult.
The report read:
The issues of acute shortage of forex and depreciation in naira value, cost of energy and limited supply of electricity, speculation about the effect of redesigning of naira, the National elections and the lingering adverse effect of Russian-Ukrainian war were major concerns of manufacturers in the quarter.
It stated that the unpredictable and challenging macroeconomic situation had made manufacturers' decisions regarding hiring so difficult'.
He pleaded with the government to see the manufacturing sector as one that needs special attention since its success will significantly accelerate economic growth.
According to him, this will help the economy since we can manufacture a lot more items and spend less money importing them.
He noted that the real sector is suffering greatly as businesses are shrinking, and some are divesting from Nigeria. He however added that this would relieve us of the foreign exchange we are searching for.
He said:
If this continues, we will become an endangered sector.
Nigeria ranks 4th among world's top 10 countries with highest youth unemployment
Legit.ng earlier reported that recent data has revealed countries with the highest youth unemployment rate in the world, with African countries featuring prominently.
As the global economy battles with the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, the unemployment rate has spiked to an all-time high, even in developed economies.
A recent Index shows that South Africa has the highest youth unemployment rate in the world, with 52.8% of its youth population being unemployed.
Source: Legit.ng
