The Organized Private Sector (OPS) has expressed apprehension regarding potential job losses due to the economic slowdown in Nigeria during the second quarter of 2023.
The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) data, released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), indicated a decline to a 2.51 percent year-on-year growth rate in real terms for Q2 2023, down from the 3.54 percent growth rate recorded during the same period in the previous year.
Services sector drives Q2 2023 GDP with 4.42% surge
The NBS attributed this growth deceleration to the prevailing challenging economic conditions.
The services sector played a pivotal role in the GDP performance of Q2 2023, experiencing a growth of 4.42 percent and contributing 58.42 percent to the overall GDP.
The agriculture sector also displayed improvement, recording a growth rate of 1.50 percent, compared to 1.20 percent in the second quarter of 2022.
However, the industry sector’s growth rate was -1.94 percent, a slight improvement from the -2.30 percent recorded in Q2 2022.
The manufacturing sector specifically noted job cuts due to the current harsh economic environment.
This sentiment was echoed by the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria (MAN), which projected further job losses as the economic environment is anticipated to remain challenging.
Industry experts and stakeholders, including the President of MAN, Francis Meshioye, and the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Segun Kuti-George, expressed concerns that the decline in economic growth could lead to decreased productivity and downsizing in various sectors.
They attributed the negative impact on GDP growth to recent economic reforms that triggered shocks across the economy.
As Nigeria grapples with these challenges, the focus remains on strategies to stimulate economic recovery and mitigate the potential adverse effects on the workforce.
