The Organised Private Sector has expressed concern about possible jobs losses as the country’s economy in the second quarter of 2023.

The Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product data released by the National Bureau of Statistics on Friday showed that the economy slowed to 2.51 per cent (year-on-year) in real terms in Q2 2023, compared to 3.54 per cent growth rate recorded in the corresponding period of last year.

The statistics body attributed the growth decline to the challenging economic conditions being experienced.

According to NBS, the performance of the GDP in the second quarter of 2023 was driven mainly by the services sector, which recorded a growth of 4.42 per cent and contributed 58.42 per cent to the aggregate GDP.

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It added that the agriculture sector grew by 1.50 per cent, an improvement from the growth of 1.20 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2022.

“The growth of the industry sector was -1.94 per cent relative to -2.30 per cent recorded in the second quarter of 2022. In terms of share to the GDP, agriculture, and the industry sectors contributed less to the aggregate GDP in the second quarter of 2023 compared to the second quarter of 2022,” it noted.

In the quarter under review, aggregate GDP stood at N52.1tn in nominal terms, higher when compared to the second quarter of 2022, which recorded aggregate GDP of N45tn, indicating a year-on-year nominal growth of 15.77 per cent.

The GDP growth in the second quarter saw a slight improvement from Q1, which recorded a growth of 2.31 per cent.

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Earlier this week, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, in its Manufacturers CEOs Confidence Index, said that manufacturers were forced to cut jobs due to the current harsh economic environment.

The manufacturers also projected that there would be more job losses in the coming months, going by its forecast of the economic environment.

While speaking in an exclusive interview with The PUNCH, the President of the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria, Francis Meshioye, expressed worry that manufacturers were beginning to downsize, while others were divesting away from Nigeria.

On his part, the National Vice Chairman of the Nigerian Association of Small-Scale Industrialists, Segun Kuti-George, said the decline in economic growth could trigger job losses due to the decrease in productivity.

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He said, “If the GDP decreases, it can trigger job losses. It means that our output is on the decline. It means there is reduced productivity.”

Also speaking, the Chief Executive Officer of the Centre for the Promotion of Private Enterprise, Musa Yusuf, said the recent economic reforms in the country set off shocks that impacted the GDP growth negatively.

Yusuf said, “It is going to be difficult because nobody foresaw that the economic reforms will hit the economy so badly.

“It turned out to be a major shock, which has affected practically all sectors of the economy. The economy is still struggling to recover from the shock of the reforms.”
PUNCH