The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and the Nigeria Employers’ Consultative Association (NECA) have called on the Federal Government to create a more supportive and predictable regulatory environment that encourages job creation rather than stifling businesses.
Both organisations expressed concern that current government reforms do not reflect economic realities on the ground, warning that harsh macroeconomic policies risk deepening poverty and hardship for Nigerians.
Reacting to the latest report by the Manufacturers’ Association of Nigeria (MAN) on the state of the manufacturing sector, NECA’s Director-General, Adewale-Smatt Oyerinde, lamented the loss of 18,935 manufacturing jobs in the first quarter of 2025 — a sharp increase from 10,981 recorded in the same period of 2024. The MAN report also revealed that unsold inventory in the sector hit N1.04 trillion in the first quarter of 2025, underscoring dwindling consumer demand and weakening purchasing power.
Oyerinde said the government must support the private sector to create jobs, stating that out of 10 jobs, the private sector creates eight.
According to him, if the purchasing power of the household is reduced, it becomes difficult for them to buy products, thereby leading to increased unsold inventory.
The challenge, he said, makes it difficult for businesses to stay afloat, thereby leading to job loss.
Noting that the government should do more to ease the burden on organised businesses, the NECA boss also urged that the regulatory and legislative authorities should not create problems for businesses, saying, “We don’t need a hostile regulatory environment that makes doing business tough. There should be more access to credit, and the interest rate should be reduced to create room for more financing for businesses to create jobs. The number of jobs lost is more. MAN just amplified the reality of what is happening,” he said.
According to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), youth unemployment and underemployment remained critical challenges, with millions trapped in informal and unstable jobs that offer little income security.
The bureau’s labour market statistics for the second quarter of 2024 showed that the labour force participation rate among the working-age population rose to 79.5 per cent from 77.3 per cent in the first quarter of the year.
Similarly, the employment-to-population ratio climbed to 76.1 per cent in Q2, an increase of 2.9 percentage points from 73.2 per cent in Q1. However, this represented a slight decline when compared to the 77.1 per cent recorded in Q2 2023.
The combined unemployment and time-related underemployment rate dropped to 13 per cent in Q2 2024 from 15.3 per cent in Q1 2023.
Despite the improvement, informal employment remained extremely high at 93 per cent, reflecting the precarious and unprotected nature of most jobs available.
It stated that the unemployment rate stood at 4.3 per cent in Q2.
The NBS also noted that 40.1 per cent of Nigerians, about 82.9 million people, live in poverty, a statistic that mirrors the report’s grim portrayal of shrinking opportunities for the younger generation.
The Assistant General Secretary of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Chris Onyeka, observed that the government’s macroeconomic indices have made it challenging for businesses to stay afloat and for employers to employ more people.
He faulted the reforms of the current administration, saying they do not reflect the current realities, but rather inflict more hardship on the citizens.
