Nigeria’s Unemployment, Poverty Level Increased In 2017 – World Bank

The number of unemployed and underemployed people in Nigeria increased in 2017, a World Bank report says.

In the report, ‘Nigeria Bi-annual Economic Update, released in Abuja on Monday, the World Bank said poverty level in Nigeria increased slightly in 2017, despite the country exiting recession last year.

Titled: ‘Connecting to Compete’, the report stated that Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product growth reached 0.8 per cent, driven by an expansion in oil output and continued steady growth in agriculture.

“The decline in the non-oil, non-agriculture sector, however, continued, as aggregate demand remained weak and private sector credit low,” the Bank said.

“The rates of unemployment and underemployment increased in 2017 and poverty is estimated to have increased slightly. Gross Domestic Product growth in 2018 is expected to hover just over two per cent, largely oil sector-driven.

“Nigeria has a big home market, which is constrained by limited connective infrastructure, thereby reducing producers and firms’ ability to reach wider markets.

“This lack of connectivity dampens economic collaboration and cooperation among the country’s regions, limiting market integration and reducing producers and firms’ ability to reach wider markets.

“Spatial fragmentation and limited connections also hurt welfare and prospects for poverty reduction.”

As part of its recommendations, the World Bank said Nigeria can benefit from policies to promote spatial integration and sub-national specialisation, which will stimulate diversified and long-term growth.

According to the report, it can be achieved through market specialisation and differentiated positioning strategies for industrial clusters across the country, according to the report.

“For Nigeria to tap its spatial drivers of development, policymakers may want to focus on investments that reinforce clusters and economies of scale and optimise the connectivity between rural areas and the major urban markets,” the bank said.

It added that policymakers must also address structural and land management issues in major urban nodes and along major growth corridors to remove or alleviate barriers that undermine the growth potential.