The Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has warned that Nigeria must deliver 27 million new formal jobs within five years to prevent unemployment and underemployment from climbing to 30 per cent by 2030.
The group urged urgent policy reforms to drive large-scale job creation.
In its Jobs and Productivity Report, released ahead of the group’s 31st summit in Abuja, NESG projected that Nigeria’s working-age population will rise to 168 million by the end of the decade, making the next half-decade a critical period for stabilising the labour market.
The think tank said the solution lies in unleashing the job-creating capacity of five priority sectors: manufacturing, agriculture, ICT, construction, and professional services. Together, these industries could provide 35 per cent of the needed new jobs, while manufacturing alone is expected to account for 21 per cent.
“Jobless growth has undermined Nigeria’s ability to convert GDP expansion into real livelihoods,” the report noted. “By focusing on sectors that can absorb labour at scale, Nigeria can begin a structural transformation process that lifts millions out of poverty.”
The report also underscored barriers holding back job creation, including weak infrastructure, skills gaps, pervasive informality, and regulatory bottlenecks. NESG warned that unless these challenges are addressed, private sector expansion, the main driver of formal jobs, will remain stunted.
To address the crisis, NESG proposed a Jobs and Productivity Agenda anchored on six pillars: developing a skilled workforce, scaling sectoral growth engines, enabling enterprise-led expansion, strengthening data and accountability systems, and improving productivity across the economy.
It further unveiled a Nigeria Works Framework, designed to guide government and industry in aligning reforms with employment and productivity goals.
“More urgent than ever, Nigeria needs coordinated reforms and stakeholder collaboration to unlock private sector competitiveness,” NESG said. “The country’s future prosperity depends on turning its demographic challenge into an economic dividend.”
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