Nigeria must create at least 27 million new formal jobs within the next five years or risk a sharp rise in unemployment and underemployment to 30 per cent, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group has warned.
The warning is contained in the NESG’s Jobs and Productivity Report, published on its website on Monday, on the sidelines of the group’s 31st summit (NES#31) in Abuja.
The report describes the next half-decade as a “critical” window for stabilising the labour market and delivering inclusive growth as the country’s working-age population is projected to hit 168 million by 2030.
“With the working-age population projected to reach 168 million by 2030, the country faces a defining challenge: to create 27 million new formal jobs or risk unemployment and underemployment rates doubling to 30 per cent”
It identified several key obstacles to employment expansion, including a shallow private sector base, skills mismatch, a weak education system, and jobless growth patterns that have limited the capacity of industries to absorb Nigeria’s growing youth population.
The NESG also highlighted regulatory bottlenecks and infrastructure deficits as major constraints to business competitiveness, urging the government to implement comprehensive reforms to unlock private sector-led growth.
The group identified key constraints, including a shallow private sector base, skills mismatches, shortcomings in the education system, pervasive informality and “jobless growth” that fails to translate GDP gains into employment.
It also highlighted regulatory bottlenecks and infrastructure deficits as major barriers to competitiveness and firm expansion.
To reverse the trend, the think-tank urged coordinated action across government and industry, pointing to manufacturing, agriculture, digital technology and services as priority sectors capable of delivering large-scale employment if supported by the right policies.
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