The manufacturing sector generated the most jobs in the third quarter of 2014, with 54,446 jobs or 37.43 percent of the total 349,343 job employments created, the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said yesterday in its latest job report.
Last year’s Q3 figure brought the total jobs in the manufacturing sector to 1,297,111 employees or 39.98 percent of the total employed in that quarter, even in the face of tight business environment, heightened by poor electricity supply.
The manufacturing sec¬tor jobs increased by 388.83 percent or 43,308 jobs com¬pared to second quarter 2014 figure of 11,138 jobs.
The second largest number of jobs came from the human health and social services with 576,951 employees or 17.79 percent of the total, followed by trade, with 511,869 employees or 15.78 percent of the total.
Almost all sectors, how¬ever, recorded increases in formal employment, the NBS stated.
“By economic activity, the manufacturing sector was the largest employer in the formal sector, with 1,297,111 employees or 39.98 percent of the total employed in Q3.
“The sector became the leading employer in Q3 as compared being the second greatest in Q2 2014. It in-creased from 15.54 percent of the quarter two total to 39.98 percent of the total in Q3 2014,” the NBS stated.
“Human health and social service activities were the second most dominant in quarter three, providing 30,237 or 20.79 percent of all jobs. The wholesale and retail trade activity was the third most dominant, providing 15,286 jobs or 10.51 percent of the new jobs total.”
Read also: Egina FPSO: How NCDMB is boosting jobs, local capacity and investments
But total of 349,343 jobs were created across all sec¬tors of the Nigerian economy in the quarter, the NBS said. Of these, 5,735 or 1.64 percent were recorded in the public sector, 145,464 or 56.72 percent were in the formal sector and 198,144 or 56.72 percent in the informal sector.
From the 78,755 new formal jobs that were created in Q2, this was a rise of 66,710 jobs or 84.71 percent, and an increase of 22,358 jobs or 12.72 percent in the informal sector from the second quarter estimates.
The most commonly cited reason for hiring new staff was business expansion, for which 55,385 new jobs or 34.40 percent of the total were created.
The food, beverages and tobacco activity, which hired 18,398 new employees or 36.52 percent of the business expansion total, mainly drove this, followed by human health and social services, with 6,162 new employees or 12.23 percent of the total.
The second most cited reason was filling a position vacated by a previous employee, which created 42,287 jobs or 28.87 percent of the total and to ease the work burden on existing staff, which created 23,545 jobs or 16.08 percent.
The least common reason was for office restructuring/job reclassification and others which were cited for 1,881 or 1.28 percent of all new jobs and 969 or 0.66 percent of all new jobs.
Total employment in the formal sector in Nigeria was 3,244, 001 workers in Q3 of 2014, rising marginally by 2.93 percent or 92,428 em¬ployees from the 3,151,573 employed in Q2 of 2014.
Full time employment dominated with 3,082,842 employees or 93.49 percent of the total, showing a 1.78 percent point drop in Q3 when compared to the 95.27 percent share held in Q2 of 2014. Part time employees totalled 211,159 or 6.51 percent of the total, higher than the 4.73 percent share recorded in Q2 of 2014.
A total of 145,464 new jobs were created in the formal sector in the third quarter of 2014. From the 78,755 new jobs created in Q2, this was a rise of 66,710 jobs or 84.71 percent.
