Nigeria needs 27 million new jobs by 2030 to curb unemployment crisis

Nigeria, Africa’s most populous country, requires at least an additional 27 million jobs in the formal sector of its economy by 2030 to stem the tide of unemployment as its working-age population expands to 168 million, the Nigerian Economic Summit Group (NESG) has warned.

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The group made the revelation in a report titled, “From Hustle to Decent Work: Unlocking Jobs and Productivity for Economic Transformation in Nigeria,” launched on Monday at the inaugural session of its 31st edition.

The document made a rallying cry for coordinated reforms to bolster productivity and support private sector growth.

It warned that without urgent action, unemployment and underemployment could double by the end of the decade, trapping millions in low-income, insecure work.

“The challenge before us is to move decisively into the consolidation phase, embedding reforms in ways that drive jobs, growth, and inclusion,” NESG Chairman Niyi Yusuf told the conference. “We must lay the foundations for long-term transformation that secures prosperity for every Nigerian,” he added.

The NESG identified five major impediments to job creation, which include a weak private sector, poor skill development, low-quality education, stunted growth in employment-intensive sectors and structural bottlenecks.

Wilson Erumebor, a senior Economist at the NESG, described the labour crisis as “a huge development challenge.”

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“Without decisive reforms to create decent and productive jobs, an entire generation risks being trapped in vulnerable work that neither lifts families out of poverty nor moves the nation forward,” he said.

According to him, informal jobs dominated Nigeria’s population of the employed in 2024, alone accounting for 93 per cent of the total share, reflecting “limited investment in sectors that can deliver quality jobs at scale.”

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The report introduced the Nigeria Works Framework, a blueprint to drive productivity-led growth through skills development, small business support, and expansion in key sectors such as manufacturing, construction, ICT and professional services.

NESG urged the federal and state governments as well as the private sector to prioritise job creation and productivity, warning that Nigeria’s population, projected to reach 275 million by 2030, leaves little time to act.