The Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Taiwo Oyedele, revealed startling statistics about Nigeria’s employment situation at the Africa Trade and Investment Summit on Thursday.
Oyedele stated that while Nigeria’s unemployment rate stands at a relatively low 4.2%, equal to that of the United Kingdom, about 81% of those employed are engaged in non-productive sectors that do not meaningfully contribute to the economy.
“We have working poor. We need to create decent jobs,” Oyedele said. “That is the reason why our unemployment rate even though is just 4.2%, similar to that of UK, our poverty rate is still one of the highest in the world.”
Over 113 million Nigerians were living in poverty as of 2022, a figure likely worsened by subsidy removal and naira devaluation policies. Oyedele blamed the high poverty rates on the preponderance of low productivity and value-add jobs.
The fiscal policy chief emphasized the need for government policy changes to drive job creation in productive sectors. He outlined the key mandates of the Presidential Committee as coordinating monetary, fiscal and trade policies conducive for business, manufacturing and foreign investment.
While exogenous shocks like the Russia-Ukraine war contribute to Nigeria’s economic woes, Oyedele said pro-business policy reforms are within government control and can significantly improve macroeconomic outcomes.
The latest labor force figures from the National Bureau of Statistics show Nigeria’s high self-employment rate of 88%, confirming Oyedele’s perspective. Experts have however questioned the 4.2% unemployment methodology, arguing it does not accurately capture economic reality when even brief hourly work is counted as employment.