About 71.2million Nigerians are working for themselves and just 12.96million others work for wages out of 88.9million in the country’s labour force, a survey by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has shown.
Among the wage earners, most work in the private sector (9.64 million), while the rest work in the public sector (3.32 million), according to the data.
This is even as there are 116.6million people in Nigeria who are of working age, according to the survey.
Out of that group, 88.9million people are part of the labour force, meaning they are either working or looking for work.
- Senator Ndume’s kinsmen denounce recall plot over tax bill stance
- Foundation launches arts to promote peace in N/Delta
It said about 4.79 million people are unemployed (not working but are looking for jobs) while 84.1 million people have jobs bringing them income.
But about 27.7m people, or 24% of the working-age population, are not part of the labour force at all. This means they are neither working nor looking for work, the survey revealed.
“A significant 85% of employed people in Nigeria are self-employed, indicating that a lot of jobs come from individuals working for themselves.
“The remaining 15% of employed individuals earn wages, with 74% of them working in the private sector and 26% in the public sector,” it read.
This data highlights the structure of the job market in Nigeria, showing a high rate of self-employment compared to wage earners.
Speaking on the survey, a Lagos-based labour issue analyst, Jibowu Shodeinde, said it is a good sign of an economic recovery that the majority of Nigerians are self-employed. This means that soon some or many of them will be employers of labour.
“But this will only hold true if the government’s bad policies don’t drive them out of business,” Shodeinde said.
He called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to make policies that will make small and big businesses thrive in the country.
Join Daily Trust WhatsApp Community For Quick Access To News and Happenings Around You.
