Only 84% of working-class Nigerians are self-employed – Report

The National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) has disclosed that 84 percent of Nigeria’s working-class population were self-employed in the first quarter of 2024, reflecting a decrease from the 87.3 percent recorded in Q3 2023.

This is according to the Nigeria Labour Force Survey (NLFS) Q1 2024 report by the NBS.

The report indicates a decline of 3.3 percentage points in the self-employment rate, highlighting a shift within the labour market.

Also, the report noted a slight increase of 3.3 percent points in wage employment in Q1 2024 to 16.0 percent, from 12.7 percent in Q3 2023, which means that more Nigerians got traditional salary-paying jobs by early 2024. It reflects a modest but positive change in the employment environment, indicating a slow but steady workforce absorption into more formal employment sectors.

The report notes that the self-employment rate has also decreased in both rural and urban areas. In rural regions, the self-employment rate fell from 93.7 percent in Q3 2023 to 91.9 percent in Q1 2024.

In urban areas, the rate dropped from 80.7 percent to 78.2 percent, indicating a 2.5 percentage point decrease.

These figures reflect a gradual reduction in self-employment across the country, potentially due to improvements in wage employment options or challenges faced by small business owners in sustaining operations.

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The report also highlights a gender-based decline in self-employment rates. The percentage of self-employed women decreased by 2.3 percent points, from 90.2 percent in Q3 2023 to 87.9 percent in Q1 2024. Among men, self-employment dropped by 3 points, from 82.9 percent to 79.9 percent during the same period.

These figures suggest that while both men and women experienced a decline in self-employment, men saw a slightly larger reduction, possibly due to greater access to wage employment opportunities in certain sectors.

According to the report, “The proportion of persons in self-employment declined from 86 percent in Q1 2023 to 84 percent in Q1 2024. Survey findings reveal an increase in the share of employed persons primarily engaged as employees between Q1 2024 (16.0 percent) and Q3 2023(12.7 percent). The self-employment rate among females was 87.9 percent while males was 79.9 percent. Disaggregation by place of residence, the rate of self-employed persons in rural areas was 91.9 percent and 78.2 percent in urban areas.”