Nigeria’s fastest-growing sectors account for only 1.5 per cent of total employment, highlighting a widening disconnect between economic growth and job creation, according to the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG).
The finding was disclosed by Dr. Wilson Erumebor, Senior Economist at NESG, during a presentation at the 31st Nigerian Economic Summit held in Abuja. He explained that the data was drawn from a sectoral grid developed by NESG using 2023 figures from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) on sectoral GDP and employment.
Erumebor warned that Nigeria’s current growth pattern is increasingly detached from labour market outcomes, with high-productivity sectors contributing strongly to gross domestic product (GDP) but absorbing very few workers.
According to the analysis, the top five sectors driving GDP growth in 2023 are finance and insurance, water supply and waste management, information and communication technology (ICT), electricity and gas supply and arts and recreation together employed just 1.5 per cent of the workforce. Finance and insurance led growth with over 26 per cent, followed by water and waste management at 12.65 percent, ICT at 7.91 percent, electricity and gas at 5.56 percent, and arts and entertainment at 4.28 percent.
While describing ICT as a highly productive sector, Erumebor noted that its limited employment capacity reflects a broader challenge where productivity gains do not translate into large-scale job creation.
By contrast, sectors with greater labour absorption potential, such as manufacturing and construction, have struggled to expand. He described agriculture and trade as “stagnant giants” that employ a significant share of Nigerians but deliver low productivity, limiting their ability to lift workers out of poverty.
Erumebor said Nigeria must create at least 27 million new jobs by 2030 about 4.5 million annually to avoid a worsening employment crisis. He stressed the need to shift focus from job numbers to job quality, driven by productivity growth and decent work opportunities.
He also identified structural challenges, including a shallow private sector, over-reliance on government employment in many states, and a persistent skills mismatch that leaves many Nigerians unable to access available quality jobs. These issues, he said, contribute to brain drain and widespread underemployment.
The economist further highlighted weaknesses in Nigeria’s education system, citing NBS data showing that fewer than half of children aged four to six can meet basic literacy and numeracy benchmarks.
To address these challenges, Erumebor unveiled the NESG’s Nigeria Works Framework, describing it as a roadmap for a national jobs and productivity strategy aimed at inclusive and sustainable growth.
